Originally published at: TikToker who worked as Tinkerbell at Disneyland describes the creepy dads who hit on her | Boing Boing
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Um… isn’t Disney the one in full control of all aspects of how the characters look and act, including costume design???
What assholes…
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Older article from a Jack Sparrow character describing the women hitting on him. Looks like a common issue with sexualization of their characters in general and allowing routine sexual harassment to occur in the park. Either that or some people are just gross all the way around.
https://www.lamag.com/longform/jacksparrow/
Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: “I will give you a blow job on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.” I would also get offers from women in my ear: “Anything you want, just find me.” I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park.
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The last time my daughter met Tinkerbell this is how she was dressed:
At the time I just figured that the costuming department was trying to keep the performer comfortable in cooler weather but now I’m wondering if they’re trying to cover her up a bit more in an attempt to reduce creepy behavior from men. (Not that the strategy should be necessary or would even work)
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I mean, as much as Disney may claim the copyright, the character from the film has been sexualized by the general public for almost 70 years now. That’s like blaming one specific idling car for global warming.
Edit: this is a bad metaphor.
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I had a friend who worked children’s parties as various princesses and yeah, dads and other men creeped on her enough that she quit that gig.
But the thing that creeped her our most was dads hitting on her even more relentlessly when she was dressed as a clown.
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I’m sure the women performers receive a LOT more harassment, but Jack Sparrow isn’t the only male performer that has received that kind of treatment:
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when I had men — married men — hand me the keys to their hotel room and tell me where they were staying."
WOW. Presumably with their kids there. Stay classy. 
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Oh wow, that was gross, the things folks have to do to get a fucking paycheck in this country…
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The character was sexualised by the animators
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I was thinking the same thing, plus with the wife also staying in the same room, maybe it was an invitation to a 3 way?
In another video she mentioned having to divert attention to the attendant because you’re not supposed to say no and break character. That seems particularly toxic. Some behavior warrants a real response, especially if guests are breaking general decency.
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Regardless, within the park grounds Disney is in control; their corporate environment is draconian as fuck.
They control the costumes, hair and makeup of their characters, so the claim that the woman in question was sexualizing a character herself is complete bullshit.
Also… dudes in this thread that consider yourself “allies”; please STOP comparing this woman’s abuse to the abuse that anyone else has suffered - it’s not the persecution Olympics, and it is NO help at all to say “it happens to men, too!”
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Honest question, not meant as a criticism: do you believe that the current Tinkerbell costume in the photo that I included above is sexualizing the character?
And in case it’s not obvious, yes, I agree that any accusation that the performer is sexualizing the character is clearly 100% bullshit.
The PROBLEM here is that she’s being sexual harassed on the job. 
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You should think more carefully about what you’re asking.
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Nope.
I don’t even believe this one is overtly sexual:
But then again, I’m not the audience for whose gaze it was designed. Nor am I part of the demographic that automatically sees everything ‘female’ as potentially sexually titillating.
That said, my point is that BLAMING the woman in question for her own harassment because she somehow ‘sexualized’ the character is just a bullshit excuse by abusers and their enablers for their own bad behavior.
All the woman did was go to work, put on the costume and do her damn job.
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Irish guy gets sexually assaulted while working at the Irish pub.
Well you know, Disney’s presentation of the Irish has always been problematic. Not to mention in wider culture.
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From what I’ve heard from a couple of Disney fans who go so often that they socialise with cast members off-set, it goes somewhat the other way with the Tiggers. The males who play him have a reputation amongst both women guests and cast members for exploiting the character’s bouncy nature to occasionally get a little handsy with people they find attractive.
I’m sure the harassment situation is far worse and widespread for cast members like this who have to put up with skeevy and entitled men like the one’s she described. You’re there to give your kids some wonder and magic, dude. WTF?
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THIS.
Doesn’t matter at all how she was costumed. Unless you’re wearing a sign that says “I welcome sexual advances from strangers” you should be able to feel safe at work.
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