Where did the days go when people saw the Disney princesses and thought, "YEAH!" In different media outlets recently, I have seen a turn around on Disney princess and their lives. In an effort to become bra-burners, the ultra-feminists (or as I like to call them, anti-feminists), have decided that the princesses have to go. Being a girl myself and growing up with these icons, albeit significantly less present than they are these days, I would like to put in a defense for the princesses that are taking a bashing from princess haters.
I loved the princesses as a kid. Well, I did with the exception of Snow White (due to the fact that her voice was way to breathy for me... bleck). I dressed like a princess. I must have driven my mother mad at times with my little airs and graces. I had "tea," and of course I owned my own castle - even if it was a slightly raised garden of my mother's. However, I never waited until some Prince Charming came into my life. It was way too much fun to just be a princess. The pretty clothes, the fairies... way more tempting to my little mind then some hardly temporal prince that would save me from myself.
The princess fallacy states that little girls are taught to simply wait until some handsome prince comes around to live their lives. Well, do you give your daughters dolls to play with? Or worse, Barbies? Well, there is no going back now. Plastic surgery and anorexia are the only course of life that your daughter can now take. I hope you are happy with yourself!
Do we take these positions without giving them thought? Maybe the parents should concentrate more on what their reactions teach their daughters. A lot of information can be conveyed through the way you live your life, and if you don't invest the time, she might just take herself into a fantasy world where she will someday have somebody who really cares about her!
Now, I know that this is my personal opinion, but this is media that I have consumed. It was also my childhood. I like to think of myself as a competent adult now. I am not waiting for my prince to save me. I can save myself! As for waiting for life to begin with my prince, I would just like to say for the record that my life began the day I was born, and it can only get better from here! Happiness is where you find it, and if you attach too much influence on what the media says, those you can about will see... and act accordingly.
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Princess Prophecy?
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Last week in sacrament meeting, a young man kept referring to Tangled. Kinda funny. But as he did, I realized how the movies all seem to have the same theme- having a dream, and changing that dream due to a change of heart. Why do I eat it up time and time again? Is it timeless?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think this entire conversation, including your other links, raises a bigger question to me: what do we want daughters to become? Strong, ambitious, unbreakable women? Or soft and caring? There is a very delicate balance, and what the world says is different than what church says. And princesses either support it or fight it, but it all depends on where you're coming from.
Um, thanks for letting me play with this a bit. I still want to be a princess. It's the dresses that get me.
I often wonder this myself. When do we let nature take its course? If we keep messing with kids we will soon have a test-tube nation, and let's be honest, what could POSSIBLY be the fun in that?
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