Disney and Inclusivity: Targeting Nontraditional Clientele

• In Event: 64.026 - Disney as Curriculum

Abstract

Utilizing Queer Theory (Hall, 2003), this paper identifies oppressive aspects imbedded throughout Walt Disney World (WDW). Navigating WDW for five days as a marginalized queer person required balancing my cynicism with my tourist ideals. The Disney Company has a rich past of offering a utopian escape, and for many people, an opportunity to return to a time of innocence and nostalgia. This nostalgia, however, comes at a cost. As a company that originated almost half a century ago, many of its foundational norms reify ideals which are problematic for a multitude of marginalized populations.
Disney places a considerable amount of effort in maintaining cohesive relationships with all of its guests and clientele. Participation with a corporation that reifies the marginalization of specific populations offered unique insight into consumer needs and experiences. The unexplained phenomena identified in the park included witnessing and participating with a corporation that continues to leave marginalized populations oppressed by not advocating for them, and recycling the dated heteronormative white propaganda of its roots.
Disney chooses to stay the course of deflecting negative commentary by walking a fine line between all patrons’ need for representation in the parks. To ensure a small amount of acceptance for marginalized guests, Disney provides a vast array of ideas, merchandise, and story lines to appeal to a large following. Disney’s patrons interact with and create their own perceptions and guests can choose to participate with the park and merchandise at whatever level they would like, thus scaling their experience and buy-in. The queer community has therefore redefined how Disney (re)presents hegemonic ideas by adapting Disney merchandise and storylines to meet the unique needs of this historically underrepresented population (Helmsing, 2017).
This research project concludes that while Disney does make an effort to expand its outreach through marketing, little is done to target historically marginalized populations. Instead, its diverse clientele queers Disney to represent individual interests. This queering has manifested into a large following where Disney is now recognizing and monopolizing on the potential revenue of marginalized populations. In this relationship Disney receives both profit and publicity while queer populations receive flexible branding to claim what they choose (Lehmann, 2015).
Disney’s far-reaching impact along with large-scale production of goods and media, positions the company and theme parks as an attractive travel destination and societal powerhouse. The recognition of Disney’s impact and intended messages which are misread, misinterpreted, and adapted to meet unique and diverse needs require further exploration to identify the nuances recognized and experienced by its patrons.
Utilizing personal observations and interacting with the park and cast members as a patron allowed me to gain first-hand knowledge of Disney’s relationship with queer bodies. Additionally, a tally counter afforded me the opportunity to track visibly marginalized populations within the park. This information provided specific numbers with regard to marginalized guests percentage. I was then able to locate through merchandise and planning how these bodies find/view their representation in the parks output.

Author

• Whitney Roach, Texas Christian University