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In another one of its attempts to create humor using satire, ridicule, and sheer ridiculousness, TheOnion.com has once again taken on the persona of real news by “reporting” about the latest decision to come from the American Psychiatric Association as it relates to “Disney Adults.”
Credit: Disney
Disney Adults have been a hot topic of late, especially with Disney’s announcement of its newest business development idea: Storyliving by Disney. Storyliving by Disney will be a series of master-planned residential communities around the country, each one functioning independent of the others. Per Disney, each Storyliving community will consist of “vibrant new neighborhoods that are infused with Disney’s special brand of magic.” In addition, the entertainment giant says that each of Disney’s Storyliving communities “will feature distinctively designed spaces, unique amenities, and Disney’s brand of world-renowned service.”
Credit: Disney
For the everyday Disney fan, it sounds like a fun idea, right? (Well, let’s wait until we see some pricing in print!) But to many who don’t care for Disney, who don’t consider themselves fans, and who just don’t get why anyone would be of legal age and still love all things Disney, the idea of a residential community designed by the same company that created Mickey Mouse and operates several massive theme parks around the globe was just too much to take and too much to not make fun of.
Credit: Disney
Snarky, rude, and just plain mean comments began flying all over the internet, nearly breaking it in half, and they ranged from “what a strange idea” to “what kind of psychos would be so into a kids’ franchise that they’d live in a master-planned community created by the same franchise?”
According to The Onion, however, this isn’t the first time “Disney Adulting” has been considered a symptom of psychopathy. In fact, The Onion proposes the idea that until this year, Disney Adulting was a form of psychopathy, as defined by the DSM published by the American Psychiatric Association.
The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is “the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders,” according to Psychiatry.org. The manual includes symptoms, descriptions, and other criteria used in making a mental health diagnosis.
“In a long-overdue move to help modernize clinical practices, the American Psychiatric Association announced Thursday plans to update their Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition to stop classifying adult Disney fandom as a form of psychopathy,” reads the post from The Onion.
Credit: Disney Parks
But the post’s satire doesn’t end there. As if stoking the embers leftover by years of Disney adults fans being ridiculed for loving Mickey, wearing mouse ears, and frequenting the parks, The Onion continues with the following:
“‘For decades, theses guidelines have resulted in grown Americans being branded as deviants and outcasts merely for loving the Disney enough to own multiple T-shirts featuring Mickey, Goofy, or Donald Duck,’ said APA Director Jennifer F. Kelly, noting that while an individual must have neurodivergent qualities to not feel a deep feeling of shame while belting out the chorus of ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen, this alone was not a reason to stigmatize those with Adult-Onset Disney Fanaticism.”
By itself, that part of the post could have cleared out rooms of Disney Adults, as most feel absolutely no shame in belting out “Let it Go” and more recently, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure” from Disney’s Encanto.
Credit: PopBuzz
The post goes on to suggest that “a mentally healthy adult should experience a pervasive sense of self-loathing after revealing they spent their vacation at Disney World despite not having children of their own.” (Childless millennials, anyone?)
Also according to the fake news in the post at The Onion, the APA director hopes that the change in the DSM-5 “ushers in an era of tolerance among friends and coworkers for those suffering from this severe, debilitating condition.”
So Disney Adults aren’t mentally healthy, should experience self-loathing, and are suffering from a severe, debilitating condition? It sounds like a writer or two at The Onion might be hating on Disney Adults themselves. We’ll remember that when we have our first dinner parties inside our new home in the Storyliving by Disney neighborhood, and none of them will be invited!
