So that little girls of color get to see a protagonist that they can relate to. White shouldn’t be the default and Snow White’s whiteness isn’t actually a defining characteristic of hers. It’s inclusivity, not white erasure.
Snow White’s whiteness isn’t actually a defining characteristic of hers.
Here’s a quote from the (translated) original German tale: “[A queen] had a daughter, with a skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, and she was named Snow-white.” That’s pretty much her definition
Are you absolutely sure that "Snow White"s whiteness is no defining characteristic of hers? I mean sure, change Ariel or whoever, but “Snow White”?
This is a new level of blatant and boring racism. If someone has a surname of brown, do they need to be non white? Weirdo shit.
“Snow White” is the name of the princess because of her alabaster skin. It’s in the story.
“How I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony.” Some time later, the queen dies giving birth to a baby daughter whom she names Snow White.
Sure, it doesn’t matter that she’s white, but this story specifically makes it a topic of the plot. There’s no reason to forcefully change this specific story. You can change literally any other story where it’s not a plot point.
I’m all for inclusivity and in most cases the race of the cast doesn’t matter. Make little mermaid black, have Cinderella be brown, have Cinderella be whatever. Or better yet, make new stories with varied cast. But in this case however, it’s literally in her name. She was named that because of her skin white as snow.
