Thankfully, a recent societal shift has put these standards under a collective critical lens.
No longer is the thigh gap, thinspiration, and perfectly fit figure highly idealized (or, if it still is, the cultural zeitgeist is at least questioning it). Instead, self-esteem and positive body-image are more highly valued. Disney’s live-action version of Cinderella is one of the first fairytale movies to come out since this conversation started snowballing—but you’d never know it given the way Lily James, who plays Cinderella, looks. The promotional materials for the film, including the trailer and posters, are being lambasted for showing off an impossibly small waist on James. And now that the press tour’s started, it’s all anyone’s asking the young Brit about.
When the first trailer came out, in early February, social media immediately broke out in debate over whether or not the actress’s waist was digitally manipulated to appear smaller. According to Disney, the 25-year-old star is just wearing a corset to make her appear extra trim, and no post-production editing was done. Of course James, who is fronting her first film with Cinderella, has been placed in the center of this controversy and has landed at the receiving end of countless questions regarding body issues. Defending herself to the Los Angeles Times, James said, “I naturally have a really small waist. The skirt’s big and the corset pulls me in, and that’s the point. That’s the shape [costume designer] Sandy Powell created.”
“I think it’s all very hypocritical, and they contradict themselves, and they’re drawing more attention to it. I think all that stuff’s so negative, and you’ve got to let it wash over your head,” James said. “I’m so healthy. I’ve got hips and boobs and a bum and a small waist.”
While true that James is naturally small, from certain angles she does appear to be unrealistically slim. A corset, however, is supposed to do that. The waist-trimming apparatus has been helping already small women obtain even smaller waists for centuries. Buzzfeed spoke with a corset expert who said that it’s possible for the accessory to cinch a waist to 18 inches, or sometimes less. The voluminous tulle skirt of the dress and pouffy shoulders also help to create an illusion of a smaller mid-section. Furthermore, James is a fan. “I think it’s a beautiful gown with a beautiful shape,” she said. “I love the curves. I think it’s very old and ’40s, the way it goes in and out. It’s what made me feel like I could be a princess.”
Even if retouching wasn’t at play, many think that Disney is still at fault for perpetuating impractical and unhealthy body standards. Yes, the movie is fantastical and therefore innately far-fetched and unattainable, but shouldn’t a character that will most definitely be idolized be crafted differently? James, as she points out, is a healthy young woman, and leaving her waist the way it already is would be the revolutionary–and smart—idea.