Disney Princesses As Role Models For Little Girls: Yes Or No?

Posted by Vulnadia on Mar 24, 2010 at 09:51 AM I found this on another thread and at face value found it disturbing. "Little Girls & Disney Princesses The older my daughter gets, the more she is getting into the princesses. she's 4 now and is talking about marriage to her prince, etc. and I want to scream! any thoughts? " I know, for the most part, these stories are harmless but still... i want my daughter to grow up to be a strong person who can think for herself. Most of the princess stories have them pining over some unknown prince, falling into a bad situation, being rescued by said prince, and then getting married at SIXTEEN! it's all about living for someone else instead of knowing who you are - i know i'm reading too much into this but why shouldn't we be? our daughters are smothered with this stuff for years and years... wouldn't it make sense if they were influenced by it in some way?! The other day, she asked me who my favorite princess was. I thought about it for a minute and then said - Jasmine! she asked why and i replied - because she's strong, she thinks for herself, she's intelligent, and she speaks her mind. My daughter just blinked with an expression of "yeah, whatever that means" and said - i like Belle because she has a long yellow dress and i think it's beautiful. i just smiled. she's only 4. This makes me have to stop and wonder what is society coming to? Is the supposed feminist movement evolving to the point where women only see the bad in a story that has much more to offer than just royalty, money & glamour? Sure, some of the Disney movies are a sign of the times they were originally produced during, and let's not forget the age in which the original stories/fairy tales were written and what they were designed to do. But seriously, what is wrong with Belle? Not only was she the first of the "Princesses" to be depicted as different (& the idea that it was actually allright to be yourself in spite of society) she was also the first shown as openly literate at a time when women were faulted for it. Ariel taught us about growing up, Snow White perservered in even the worst of family predicaments, and even though she is often overlooked due to her gypsy heritage, Esmerelda had a lot to show us as well. But have things gotten soo far out of hand in this day and age that we (the average woman) are taught to only see the Princesses as materialistic and miss the actual messages in these movies? Some of these stories are considered classics and the actual books will show up in school for many children. Others are age-old stories, considered fairy tales, that have all sorts of lessons to be learned embedded within them. What do you think? Are we seeing only stereotypes and missing the point, allowing it to blind us to the actual context or is society grown too used to seeing only the outside of things? by Vulnadia on Mar 24, 2010 at 10:59 AM ya know, oddly enough, my daughter did come hardwired believing she is in fact a true princess...but i dont think she defines it the way most would think... to her it hasnt anything to do with waiting on a prince, heck i dont even think she gets the concept of marriage or has even given it any thought yet... to her its more of her status within the family-but she is the only girl...& they were treating her like glass in the nicu before i even met her for the first time...seriously she had nurses that weren't even hers wrapped around her little finger & they were doing things for her they didnt have to & everything...& she was a preemie who couldnt talk & couldnt even tolerate clothes yet!!! so i kind of meant that born that way bit!!!! i just find it soo very superficial of folks that watch those movies & only see the surface/face value of the characters- its as if they arent even listening or paying attention to the themes & all of them they see snow white & cinderella as only capable of scrubbing floors...as women who must rely on their prince when they both actually have more to them than that- snow white actually survives basically on her own, taking CARE of the dwarves, not so much them taking care of her-& taking care of herself actually- i mean, who is thrifty enough to run off & live in the forest & actually survive...she makes friends in places she doesnt have them...she grows as a person & its shown even if it is a sign of the times for when it was first aired...cinderella doesnt assimilate & become like her step sisters or her step mother when she very easily could have... funnier still, if they are soo worried about the fairy tale portrayals, they should check out "Into The Woods" by sondheim- its on video, & actually the first half is a fairly straight version of the fairy tales, then the 2nd half is what happens AFTER they live "happily ever after" ... silly me lets my kids watch that one too though...but i have a soft spot for the witch...& love how the princes are portrayed...its funny... ya know, nobody ever makes a fuss over how men are portrayed in these movies...which is a whole other thread unto itself!!!!