In Defense of Disney Princesses
In Peggy Orenstein's soon-to-be-released book Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Orenstein shares a moment she had talking with her mom friends after dropping her daughter off at preschool:
"It's a matter of practicality," Dana, a thirty-eight-year old stay-at-home mom said [about letting her daughter play with Disney Princess outfits in the house]. "They're really helpful for the endless playdates. And Eleanor loves to swim so she identifies with Ariel." I began to ask Dana how she felt about the rest of the Little Mermaid story, but she cut me off. "Oh, I don't let the actual story in the house," she said. "Just the costumes. Eleanor doesn't know the stories."
That turned out to be Mara's policy, too. The issue to her was not princesses, it was plotlines. "Those stories are horrible," she said, making a face. "Every single one is the same: it's about romance, love, and being rescued by the prince. I will protect my daughter from that."
WhooooOOop-de-whooOOooop! That's the sound that it makes when my eyes roll. Because my eyes are rolling. These "moms," if that's who they really are, think they've answered the age-old question of what the fuck is wrong with our daughters. And the answer is Snow White.
This is alllllll Snow White's fault
The conversation ended with Orenstein pointing out that she had actually witnessed Dana's little girl giving a full recitation of Ariel's story. "Well yeah, she hears it from her friends," Dana admitted. "But at least not at home."
Orenstein, who is a smart person and a wonderful mom, went on to wring her hands over every single pink purchase her daughter requested (actually lashing out at her when she wanted to buy a princess item), kind of forced her daughter to wear engineer overalls and play with trucks, and then acted embarrassed when her daughter defaulted to dolls, blaming it on the fact that the little girl's male playmate told her, "girls play with dolls."
I'll agree with Orenstein this far: toy marketing is creepy. If you think back to when you were a kid, you'll remember there wasn't nearly as much pink on the toy shelves. Surely you know that mothers used to buy everything for their babies in white to make cleaning easier, and when colors were introduced, it was pink for boys (a watered-down red, a strong color) and blue for girls (an innocent color, think Virgin Mary.) The original Easy-Bake Oven was turquoise and the Suzy Homemaker line was teal. Classic Sleeping Beauty wore blue, but the marketers changed that to make her more sellable. Now she's in pink.
Disney Princesses existed when I was tiny, too, but they weren't an entire empire as they are now. You can thank ex-Nike exec Andy Mooney for that. In 2000, he noticed a gap in children's merchandise that needed to be filled: princess gear. His idea is worth $4 billion today. Apparently Disney doesn't even do market research or anything when it comes to the princess line. They just throw shit out and the little Aurora and Belle ('s mothers) buy, buy, buy them right up.
I guess if I was raising a daughter amongst this madness I'd wonder how it was affecting her too, but I'm tired of hearing about how Disney Princesses are the root of all evil. How they make girls anorexic. How they make girls have unrealistic expectations about love. How they discourage little girls from making same-sex friends (a huge threat to girl power), instead swaying them to spend all their time fawning over boys and hanging out with talking animals.
Finally a princess I can relate to
In a Newsweek article, dad journalist Po Bronson fretted over the fact that his little girl was excited to see The Princess and The Frog. I mean seriously. Make a reservation at the rehab clinic now. That girl is fucked.
Bronson stumbled upon a study (which, like all studies, is pretty much bullshit) that found when 121 girls, ages 3-6, were asked to pick the "real princess" from a photo collection of girls in ballerina costumes, 50 percent of the girls chose the thinnest ballerina.
"My daughter's been infatuated with Disney princesses since she was 3, and she's also now showing some early concerns with her body image. It's important to her to 'look pretty,' or 'look cute.' She's said things like, 'Those sneakers make my feet look fat.'"
Bronson admits he doesn't know for sure if Disney princesses are the problem, but while he's scratching his head, I can answer emphatically they are not.
When I was growing up, I loved Princess Belle because she had a beautiful singing voice and loved books as much as I did. I loved Ariel because, hey, who amongst us hasn't dreamed of living under the sea? I loved Cinderella because she had so many animal friends. I didn't like these girls because they had small waists. I didn't even notice.
In fact, another study (this one is probably bullshit too) watched 121 girls ages 3-6 play after half of them watched princess TV clips, and half of them watched non-princess TV clips (like Clifford and Dragon Tales). After watching the clips, both girls played the same way -- the princess group didn't pick up wands and combs or worry about their dresses. So when you hear that terrifying study that says 31% of the little girls said they always worry about being fat and 18% sometimes worry about it, point to their moms or the Real Housewives of Orange County or Kirstie Allie (Bronson even admitted his daughter says things like, "being fat is bad" and "my mommy thinks she's fat").
Oh please. It's adorable.
Dr. Melanie Waters, a feminist theorist at Northumbria University, claims that princess dolls of all sorts promote the wrong kind of femininity. "I think they are regressive," she said. "They encourage girls to be passive, and to nurture. There's an aggressive focus on beauty, hair accessories and other images that promote the idea that girls should be concerned with their appearance."
But little girls aren't reading the princess stories like a blueprint, they're smarter than that. They know these are stories, and they almost always grow out of their princess obsession (if they don't, there's something else going on, something out of Cinderella's control). If moms are really concerned, they can, you know, talk with their daughters about it. And how about this: they can not buy princess merchandise. Aurora isn't putting a pink, blinged out gun to their heads.
I go to Disney World five times a year, which means I see about eight kabillion little girls dressed as princesses. And as cynical as I am, the girls are so happy it makes me feel good about the world. Each of them seems like they are Princess of The Universe -- they seem to feel special in a way that adults rarely do and exude the confidence we see girls lose once they get to middle school. Peggy Orenstein brings up some good points, but I'm glad I don't see the world her way. I'm glad I can be a dumbass who thinks princesses let girls experiment with fairytales and play and explore their imaginations in a sweet, fun way.
At least Disney princesses aren't Bratz dolls. Those whores.
There is something wrong with a mother who watches the beautifully animated Beauty and the Beast, listens to the amazing musical score (Christ, it's good!) and immediately thinks, "my 3-year-old is going to walk out of this movie thinking that she must find a man and stay loyal to him in order to change his unwanted qualities so he'll be a suitable mate." No. If she's like I was, she is going to walk out of that movie thinking, "SNACK TIME!" or "I just peed my pants."
You know what would have been more traumatizing than Disney Princesses? My mom agonizing over my toy box or freaking out on me if I asked for a pair of princess shoes, like Orenstein did in chapter six. It must be exhausting to be this woman (not to mention confusing for her little girl) -- bearing the burden to wipe out all stereotypes and feed her daughter the politically correct version of everything. I'm glad my mom was one of those half-assed moms and didn't give a shit about my upbringing. I'm glad my mom let me wear a pink princess hat every day for eight months straight in 1989. I'm glad I flew through childhood by the seat of my pants. Errr, my dress. My frilled-out, lacy, pink, sparkly dress.
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And I thought I was the only one that thought this way.
While I agree with Dr. Waters' belief that princess-related dolls promote a high awareness of a girl's appearance and focus on beauty, consumers drive products. And parents educate their children, not media.
If mothers took the time to watch these films with their daughters and have a conversation immediately following - discussing her immediate reactions, the values of the film to hold on to and those to ignore - then maybe there wouldn't be the percentage of girls who are affected by some of the outdated themes of the stories.
As for Po Bronson's concern over The Princess and the Frog - Princess Tiana is easily the hardest working, most self-sufficient and independent women in Disney's history.
Not only do I agree with the basic premise of your post, I think Disney should be lauded for promoting images of skinny girls. There's nothing wrong with a little anxiety about one's body image if it leads to exercise and healthy eating habits. Of course, it is certainly regrettable when that anxiety grows to full-on depression and gives rise to unhealthy habits like bulimia and anorexia, but those cases seem to (understandably and rightfully) get disproportionate amounts media coverage.
I think, in the interest of fairness, it's time that we recognize and give thanks to Disney for the millions of girls who, after seeing The Little Mermaid, went out and pursued a healthy pescetarian diet and swam a few laps in the pool, eventually leading to a lifetime of exercise and eating right.
I agree. I like strong female characters. I am not a mother. I was actually born the year " Ariel" and The Little Mermaid came out. And I am now a 22 yr. old woman who still loves all the Disney Princesses very much, its what I grew up with. Ariel is my favorite. I am actually a heavier girl. I always have been and have found this " Disney Princesses make girls feel bad" to be very stupid. If you as a person compare yourself to a drawing, you got more problems than eating or not eating. A cartoon princess, is a cartoon princess. I guess my mother and father told me when it came to Barbie and Disney Princess, that those are fake and " pretend". Yes, pink is my favorite color, but it just happens to be. Pink does not make one less feminine than another. Sick world we live in. People read too much between lines. Thats like saying Reading Harry Potter will turn you into a witch. You can say those made-up words all you want nothing will happen. If you have a brain, and are taught to think for yourself. There will be no issues.