I always loved Disney villain Ursula, the portly six-legged sea-witch who swaps the Litte Mermaid’s tail for a pair of legs in return for her lovely singing voice. And you’d think that dressing up as Ursula, or as the inevitable “sexy” Halloween version of Ursula, would be an option for women who are actually shaped like the character. Nope, not so fast!

There could be many legitimate reasons for this, of course. Plus-size costumes are harder to fit and cut, especially fitted sleeveless bodices like this. Maybe there just isn’t as much demand for a large Ursula as there is for a Cinderella of Size or a big & tall Prince Charming. But the message is clear: in order to be considered “sexy,” Ursula has to slim down a lot.

As Tavie, the tipster who sent this story to BoingBoing noted in her e-mail,

It’s outrageously exclusionary – it basically tells fat women that we’re too fat to play a fat character; it also tells fat women that in order to be sexy, a character must be made skinny.

We’re not endorsing the phenomenon of “sexy” Halloween costume versions of well-known characters, even if we are the media outlet that originally brought sexy dog costumes to the world’s attention.

Sassy Ursula

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