I am a princess

Yesterday, I stumbled upon Princess Diaries by chance on TV and watched it. I know it s a pre-teen movie and in theory I am way too old and intellectual for that kind of movie, but I am a sucker for Disney movies. Every little girl has always wanted to be a princess in a fairy tale especially a Disney one, where life is filled with colorful characters, evil characters are ugly, the prince is always handsome and the ending is always happy. Come to think of it, even big girls want to be a Disney princess. All through my childhood I have been mesmerized and fascinated by the different stories and back drops of the animated characters, on a deeper note though they all seem to be a positive influence on girls unlike some of the violent cartoons of today.

Cinderella manages to find her prince even though she lives a tough life after losing her father and being treated like a maid by her step mother and step sisters.

Ariel is an explorer and defies her father, King Titan to follow her enthrallment with all things human and then fights for her prince. I have always had a soft spot for the mermaid with her red hair and amazing world under the sea.

Pocahontas teaches tolerance of other cultures and shows that acceptance and respect really can go a long way.

Snow White is a princess who learns the hard way that trust should be earned not given to anyone, and that even tiny dwarfs can be yours best friend.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast learns that even ugly beings can be really beautiful inside.

I could go on forever, and even though I know that I am slightly dancing on the cheesy side of life, I think ever girl is a princess in her own world and should be encouraged to believe she is (without being catty or bitchy). If I am blessed with a little girl I think I would like to read her the stories first and explain why she too is a princess, a princess who can grow up to be a scientist, a doctor, an artist or anything else she wants to be and then let her enjoy the movie on her own. The world really is a girl’s kingdom we just have to teach them and show them how it can be.

Which Disney princess are you?

How Fairy tales shape our lives.

At 2007.10.22 14:42, SexyCoolSuperSpy said:

I’m a guy. I used to work in a bookstore and in our kids’ section, we used to sell books featuring the Disney Princesses. My first though upon seeing toys and books that use these characters was that it was a shame that the old “maiden in distress” archetype was so alive and well. The old stereotype of the beautiful yet wholly ineffective princess waiting to be rescued by her dashing prince is archaic and slightly misogynistic.

But reading your post made me re-think that. Those characters actually represent a lot of good qualities. Those princesses, within the context of their stories, might teach young girls about valuing humanity over superficial elements, the importance of trust, treating others with kindness, etc. Ariel especially is a great character, as she teaches kids about following your heart instead of bending to established patriarchal hegemony. That’s a very important lesson.

Thanks for the eye-opening blog entry. Cheers.

- Bishop

[Reply]

At 2007.10.25 06:13, jessyz said:

Bishop,
Thanx for your comment, and you do have a good point too but I guess young children find it easier to associate good with pretty colorful things and evil with dark and ugly characters and things.

At 2008.02.02 00:43, can said:

son lo maximo siempre quise ablarles y estoy muy anciosa x dejar mi mensaje.
actúan re bien.

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At 2008.02.11 18:23, elira said:

princess elira is very veru beautifoul

princesha elira eshte shume shume e bukur

the princess elira is originale and is sirena

princesha elira eshte origjinale dhe eshte sirena

At 2008.02.13 09:31, Dr.Chathurika said:

In my point of view, these little princesses are made by combinig love,kindness,thoughtfullness,a positive attitude towards life, and most importatntly the ability to beleive in yourself.what else a girl need to make her life a successful and a satisfying one?

At 2008.02.20 06:56, lene said:

its so beautiful……………….

At 2008.03.14 11:41, Mari said:

That was beautiful… thank you for writting it. i do still love disney princesses inspite of the fact that i’m not a little girl. And you are right, there is a princess in every girl’s heart we just need to discover it.

At 2008.04.16 11:05, Nkkkita said:

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I love u

At 2008.04.22 06:40, Milagros said:

I loved how you approach the “princess issue”. My daughter is 2 1/2 and all my friends have been complaining about the princess paradigm.

Personally, I think that Belle rocks! She has a father, which she has a loving and caring relation. She is so selfless that decides to stay in the casttle to set her dad free. She LOVES BOOKS!!! that’s great, it is a great motivation for my daughter and she loves reading as “Belle”.
She doesn’t like the “strongest/ most handsome guy” in town because she believes he is a bully and finally, she does not need to be rescued by a prince, nor being kissed for somebody in order to have a happy life: Moreover, she explain us that kidness and love is the secret to happiness. I wish there were more influences like this for our children.

At 2008.04.22 10:11, tako said: