The Modern Lives of Disney Princesses

In Disney's fairytale world, princesses chat with birds, sing with dwarves and swim with talking flounder. The biggest worries of these ladies are evil step moms or horrid octopus women. But once their prince comes along, it's sunshine and daisies for these leading ladies.

Unfortunately, the real world is not always as sweet as anything Disney could drum up. A series of artwork by Alana Mays shows us what kind of lives the princesses would have without the magic and glass slippers — trust us, it's not pretty.

Mays reversed the movies' gender stereotypes to create harsh real-world effects. Mays tells Mashable that she applied a critical eye to the "body image" and "male dominance" themes, and used her digital paintings to parody those scenarios.

Do you agree with Mays' view of Disney and women in regards to body image? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

"In the Disney film Snow White, the Snow White that we all know of is stereotyped as beautiful. Disney gives the impression that it is important to be beautiful on the outside in order to be rescued.

"In this concept, I have created a twist by making Snow White not beautiful. Snow White has passed out from choking on an apple and she is in need of CPR to be saved. A man is about to give her CPR, but because he does not find her desirable, he looks repulsed. This idea shows that if you are not beautiful, then you will not be rewarded."

Jasmine from Aladdin

"In the Disney film Aladdin, the heroine Jasmine has been stereotyped to be a prize. Men desired Jasmine for her title and beauty instead of her inner beauty. The concept shows Jasmine inside of a life size game machine, surrounded by toy cars, to play on the idea that she is a prize or trophy to be won by a male. She is worried as she knows that eventually she will be won by a man rather than be swept of her feet by a man of her choice. This idea implies that women are sometimes seen as an object rather than as an individual."

Ariel from The Little Mermaid

"In the Disney film The Little Mermaid, the character Ariel is the sterotypical example of comprimises made to meet the concept of ideal beauty. She transformes her tail for a pair of legs and sells her voice to win the man of her dreams. Disney is displaying ideals of beauty through portraying female characters as not good enough the way they are and that they should be willing to change their body for someone.

"This concept shows Ariel getting plastic surgery transformation which shows that women today are focusing on their outer appearance and are going to the extremes of plastic surgery to meet societies' expectations of beauty."

Aurora from Sleeping Beauty

"In the Disney film Sleeping Beauty, the main character Aurora, that we all know of, is stereotyped as beautiful. In this concept there is an un-attractive version of Sleeping Beauty inside of a kissing booth at a carnival, asleep, as she has been waiting for too long for some one to arrive. This idea shows that if females don't meet the expectations of beauty then they will be an object of ridicule and will not be noticed by a male."

Cinderella from Cinderella

"In the Disney film Cinderella, the heroine is stereotyped as a poor domestic slave. In this concept Cinderella is in an office where she is working but is still wearing her dirty, used kitchen gloves. This shows that even though women have the right to work these days, they still bear the title of being the domestic housewives when they go home."

Images courtesy of Behance, Alana Mays