She’s Hispanic. Well “kind of, almost…” according to Disney, remember? Not too long ago there was a whirlwind of controversy about this make believe character’s exact ethnicity and cultural identity. Some considered her “not Latina enough.” Others found it kind of ridiculous that Disney would not come out and just claim her as 100 percent Hispanic, instead of only 50 percent through her mother. And irregardless of this debate, children everywhere (the target audience for the Sofia the First line of products anyway) fell in love with her from day one.
Since then, we can’t so much as walk into a store without seeing at least a dozen products plastered with Sofia’s face on them, and lots of kids walking out of the store with their Sofia the First purchases in tow. It makes me wonder. How much money has Disney already made from this controversial princess character? And how many of those earnings came directly from the pocketbooks of Latino families in the U.S.?
I still think her ethnicity shouldn’t be a big issue. She’s a make believe character after all. But I would be willing to bet that a lot of the Sofia the First purchases made to date have probably been by Hispanic families. What do you think?