Bonfire of the Princesses

Contrary to the rumors I have been trying to spread for some time, Disney Princess products are not contaminated with lead. More careful analysis shows that the entire product line – books, DVD’s, ball gowns, necklaces, toy cell phones, toothbrush holders, t-shirts, lunch boxes, backpacks, wallpaper, sheets, stickers, etc. – is saturated with a particularly potent time-release form of the date rape drug.

We cannot blame China this time, because the drug is in the concept, which was spawned in the Disney studios. Before 2000, the Princesses were just the separate, disunited, heroines of Disney animated films – Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Aurora, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Belle, and Mulan. Then Disney’s Andy Mooney got the idea of bringing the gals together in a team. With a wave of the wand ($10.99 at Target, tiara included)  they were all elevated to royal status and set loose on the world as an imperial cabal, and have since have busied themselves achieving global domination. Today, there is no little girl in the wired, industrial world who does not seek to display her allegiance to the pink- and-purple clad Disney dynasty.

Disney likes to think of the Princesses as role models, but what a sorry bunch of wusses they are. Typically, they spend much of their time in captivity or a coma, waking up only when a Prince comes along and kisses them. The most striking exception is Mulan, who dresses as a boy to fight in the army, but—like the other Princess of color, Pocahontas—she lacks full Princess status and does not warrant a line of tiaras and gowns. Otherwise the Princesses have no ambitions and no marketable skills, although both Snow White and Cinderella are good at housecleaning.

And what could they aspire to, beyond landing a Prince? In Princessland, the only career ladder leads from baby-faced adolescence to a position as an evil enchantress, stepmother or witch. Snow White’s wicked stepmother is consumed with envy for her stepdaughter’s beauty; the sea witch Ursula covets Ariel’s lovely voice; Cinderella’s stepmother exploits the girl’s cheap, uncomplaining, labor. No need for complicated witch-hunting techniques – pin-prickings and dunkings—in Princessland. All you have to look for is wrinkles.

Feminist parents gnash their teeth. For this their little girls gave up Dora, who bounds through the jungle saving baby jaguars, whose mother is an archeologist and whose adventures don’t involve smoochy rescues by Diego? There was drama in Dora’s life too, and the occasional bad actor like Swiper the fox. Even Barbie looks like a suffragette compared to Disney’s Belle. So what’s the appeal of the pink tulle Princess cult?

Seen from the witchy end of the female life cycle, the Princesses exert their pull through a dark and undeniable eroticism. They’re sexy little wenches, for one thing. Snow White has gotten slimmer and bustier over the years; Ariel wears nothing but a bikini top (though, admittedly, she is half fish.)  In faithful imitation, the three-year old in my life flounces around with her tiara askew and her Princess gown sliding off her shoulder, looking for all the world like a London socialite after a hard night of cocaine and booze. Then she demands a poison apple and falls to the floor in a beautiful swoon. Pass the Rohypnol-laced margarita, please.

It may be old-fashioned to say so, but sex – and especially some middle-aged man’s twisted version thereof – doesn’t belong in the pre-K playroom. Children are going to discover it soon enough, but they’re got to do so on their own.

There’s a reason, after all, why we’re generally more disgusted by sexual abusers than adults who inflict mere violence on children: We sense that sexual abuse more deeply messes with a child’s mind. One’s sexual inclinations – straightforward or kinky, active or passive, heterosexual or homosexual – should be free to develop without adult intervention or manipulation. Hence our harshness toward the kind of sexual predators who leer at kids and offer candy. But Disney, which also owns ABC, Lifetime, ESPN, A&E and Miramax, is rewarded with $4 billion a year for marketing the masochistic Princess cult and its endlessly proliferating paraphernalia.

Let’s face it, no parent can stand up against this alone. Try to ban the Princesses from your home, and you might as well turn yourself in to Child Protective Services before the little girls get on their Princess cell phones. No, the only way to topple royalty is through a mass uprising of the long-suffering serfs. Assemble with your neighbors and make a holiday bonfire out of all that plastic and tulle! March on Disney World with pitchforks held high!

Comments

[Lulu]

Great post.

I once had the bad taste to work for Home Depot, or Home Despot, as a friend calls it, and the worst time of year was Christmas, at which all the abovementioned merchandise was offered. (You left out the lamps).

I find the whole princess obsession pretty depressing, now that I work in a library. I once did a keyword search on our catalog, and up popped two long screens of the vile stuff.

Of course, I was never my dad's princess, or his Kitten (as in Father Knows Best), so I'm probably just bitter. But I do wonder what the big deal is.

[Monica]

There is nothing wrong with dreaming of being a princess and with wearing feminine clothes. If that will lead to rape, that must be because the matching male role model, where the man would be polite and "chivalrous" and not even think of harming the woman, was replaced by a desire for quick gratification and by seing beauty as mere sexiness.

When I was growing up in Romania, there was still a spirit of "chivalry" (we actually called it that way), and the fiction that a pretty woman is special was still cultivated. It was still customary there to kiss womens' and teenagers' hands as a public gesture of respect for any woman, not for a (potential) lover.

In fact, losing this special, although not entirely true, status was one of the things that bothered me after I immigrated. Can you imagine that I actually had the idea that being called Miss while the youthful beauty to go with it lasts is an advantage worth keeping, and taking into consideration if a marriage proposal comes along?

Playing princess is just normal child behaviour and appeals to a deep desire to be feminine, which has nothing to do with sexual harm. I used to collect "gems", "gold" and "silver" (made of the shiny metallic paper from chocolate), and kept them in my "hiding place" (under a large desk). I noticed that the jewels and precious metals would gradually disappear, although not necessarily all of them at once. My mom later confirmed that she was throwing that out.

[christine]

I enjoyed your post – someone had to say it!

My mom banned Barbies, and I turned out OK. I’m 34, unattached and without children – so I realize that I might appear somewhat smug or that I recently awoke from a Rip Van Winkle slumber, when I say: what happened to imagination – even Disney’s imagination – when it costs parents $50-180 to curl, paint, pinch and clothe their little ones to look like damsels in distress!

I went to what I now call Children’s MeccaLand, in the mid 80s – when Epcot still had that “new building” smell, It’s A Small World After All was still a sweet song, and hydro-farming looked like the future.

I call it Children's MeccaLand, because the kids are in a state of awe for their entire stay, there is a hightened sense of euphoria when they see or touch the High Ones (Mickey/Minnie) and they leave with a heightened state of enlightment. They have widened their horizons, experienced something big and new, and when compared to their less fortunate peers, have that "I know things," "I've seen things you can only dream about" look.

Now…we have the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Feel like a Disney princess in this magical salon, which is owned by the Fairy Godmother and operated by Fairy Godmothers-in-training. Consider such entrancing options as hair styles, nail polish, make-up and a total package including Disney princess costume and photos.

Girls three and older can choose from three hair styles -- Fairytale Princess, Disney Diva and Pop Princess -- and three packages:
• Coach Package includes hair style and shimmering make-up -- starting at $44.95 plus tax
• Crown Package includes hair style, shimmering make-up and nails -- starting at $49.95 plus tax
• Castle Package includes the Crown Package plus Imaging Package*, and complete costume of your choice with accessories -- starting at $179.95 plus tax
*The Imaging Package includes one 6" x 8" and four 4" x 6" photos in a princess-themed photo holder.

Pick from a host of wondrous accessories, including faux hair and tiaras, at this enchanting place.

Booking in advance is strongly recommended. Call (407) WDW-STYLE (939-7895)† to make a reservation today. We require a credit card as a guarantee. Cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/shoppingDetail?id=BibbidiBobbidiBoutiquePage&bhcp=1

[Hattie]

Merchandising!
But can Disney ever be as pervy as the Victorians?

[Chris]

This is quite funny, I just came back from the movie Enchanted. And as the film's messenger, I must tell you Barbara, your problem is that you're just too cynical. Admit it, you really do want to be a Disney princess.

[Arwen]

I hated pink as a child, and it seems that pink and princess are now the Approved Little Girl Uniform. At my son's kindergarten, I have attempted to find a little girl without a pink article of clothing somewhere upon her person. Since September.

I overcame my prejudice against pink, only to have it start growing back because of its Branded Girl Ubiquity.

I just wonder where the girls like I was are, and what sort of torturous lady hell they're suffering in.

[Anarcissie]

Monica: 'There is nothing wrong with dreaming of being a princess and with wearing feminine clothes. ...'

Maybe not, but if you're a boy, you might have a certain amount of trouble with it.

[kate]

Good show Barbara! About time someone spoke up.

I raised two girls and of course grew up female myself. I didn't lose my femininity because of a lack of Disney or princess fantasies, quite the contrary; nature peeks through regardless of tiaras or plastic soldiers in a girl's toybox.

Disney has made millions by offering parents an easy fix. Rather than spend the time and creative energy it takes to teach creativity and foster imagination in our children, they can run to the Disney store or the mall or Wal-Mart, pick up a coloring book and a tiara and call it done; pre-packaged imaginary play -- no effort required.

By the same token, Disney is able to cash in by not taking the risk of developing full-out characters or modern, original stories. Instead, they simply rehash tired, old tales into gaudy, overly simplistic and mind numbing similarity.

Themes that play on deep seated fears of being 'different' or too 'serious' are hawked to a public that has been effectively trounced into feeling guilty for exhibiting critical thinking skills.

In addition, the shrill marketing for these boring, one-sided, anglo myths of beauty, obedience and social regression not only keep young girls from exploring roles that will afford them success in the future; they also serve to celebrate the very social perversities that tyrannies and monarchies have embraced against the development of democracy.

Yes, Disney's got the secret; create tomorrow's followers, make a buck today and own the world tomorrow.

[kate]

Good show Barbara! About time someone spoke up.

I raised two girls and of course grew up female myself. I didn't lose my femininity because of a lack of Disney or princess fantasies, quite the contrary; nature peeks through regardless of tiaras or plastic soldiers in a girl's toybox.

Disney has made millions by offering parents an easy fix. Rather than spend the time and creative energy it takes to teach creativity and foster imagination in our children, they can run to the Disney store or the mall or Wal-Mart, pick up a coloring book and a tiara and call it done; pre-packaged imaginary play -- no effort required.

By the same token, Disney is able to cash in by not taking the risk of developing full-out characters or modern, original stories. Instead, they simply rehash tired, old tales into gaudy, overly simplistic and mind numbing similarity.

Themes that play on deep seated fears of being 'different' or too 'serious' are hawked to a public that has been effectively trounced into feeling guilty for exhibiting critical thinking skills.

In addition, the shrill marketing for these boring, one-sided, anglo myths of beauty, obedience and social regression not only keep young girls from exploring roles that will afford them success in the future; they also serve to celebrate the very social perversities that tyrannies and monarchies have embraced against the development of democracy.

Yes, Disney's got the secret; create tomorrow's followers, make a buck today and own the world tomorrow.

[kate]

Good show Barbara! About time someone spoke up.

I raised two girls and of course grew up female myself. I didn't lose my femininity because of a lack of Disney or princess fantasies, quite the contrary; nature peeks through regardless of tiaras or plastic soldiers in a girl's toybox.

Disney has made millions by offering parents an easy fix. Rather than spend the time and creative energy it takes to teach creativity and foster imagination in our children, they can run to the Disney store or the mall or Wal-Mart, pick up a coloring book and a tiara and call it done; pre-packaged imaginary play -- no effort required.

By the same token, Disney is able to cash in by not taking the risk of developing full-out characters or modern, original stories. Instead, they simply rehash tired, old tales into gaudy, overly simplistic and mind numbing similarity.

Themes that play on deep seated fears of being 'different' or too 'serious' are hawked to a public that has been effectively trounced into feeling guilty for exhibiting critical thinking skills.

In addition, the shrill marketing for these boring, one-sided, anglo myths of beauty, obedience and social regression not only keep young girls from exploring roles that will afford them success in the future; they also serve to celebrate the very social perversities that tyrannies and monarchies have embraced against the development of democracy.

Yes, Disney's got the secret; create tomorrow's followers, make a buck today and own the world tomorrow.

[Monica]

But in a democracy, power still tends to get into the hands of a ruling class. It's just that now, some of the refinements of the past, such as cultivating the art of sophisticated conversation for the sake of it, or wearing several layers of clothes that are hard to put on without help, have been lost.

There are still rich and poor, but the rich, who do, of course, have nice things, have lost a certain sophistication.

This dream of being a princess appeals to a deep human desire. It is just too bad that, while some things may be better, the fact is that some opportunities no longer exist. One can get a good job, but in the past, it was also possible to be made a noble, and some jobs made that automatic.

The girls who dream of being princesses are dreaming of a world where a few lucky individuals were someone important just for being born into a certain families, while money and some limited opportunities for employment existed, too. So-called democracies have eliminated that kind of extra opportunities. There are no princesses. A rich celebrity can go to jail with the unwashed masses, and I find that sad.

[jult52]

You're linking the Princesses line of toys with a willingness to accept date rape later in life? Is that a joke or have you lost your mind?

[Dawn]

We live in the Mouse's backyard (near Orlando) and I've seen what they offer to 'little' princesses. Little girls with poofy teased hairdos sprinkled with glitter -- reminiscent of the 60s-70s styles -- and overpriced gowns made in Taiwan with matching everything. I always way to grab the mother and ask, "What are you thinking!?" It reminds me of prom night. I loved the year that strapless gowns were in style and all of the teenaged girls went around all night hefting up their dress fronts in the most UN-ladylike manner. Truly they looked like little kids playing dress up. I suppose it isn't the clothes as much as what they emphasize. I was my Dad's 'little girl' and it wasn't about what I wore, it was about being loved so much that he would lay down his life for me, protect me to the last breath and love me enough to let me live my own life.

The princesses Disney seems to perpetrate are the kind who are captive, locked in castles, kept in glass cages, attracted by a prince with a foot fettish because she has the daintiest feet. Women marrying men they don't know but because they're princes, that's OK. The prince takes her away and we're told they live happily ever after. Seems to me that fairy tales have many princesses who weren't so happy....maybe we need to write about them?

Women need to learn what it is to be a woman, not a sex object. I'm ashamed that women are not doing a better job of teaching our daughters the true meaning of female. It isn't just anti-princess, but it is pro-woman that we need to instill in ourselves first, and then our daughters. I don't mean power either. I mean what it is to be a real woman.

Dawn

[Chris Austin-Lane]

I find myself in the interesting position of reading Disney "books" to my little son, the younger brother of a sister who was given much of the paraphernalia by insufficiently deconstructed relatives. He loves them, and wants to be a princess himself. He also loves the statutory trucks, but once built a mama crane and a baby crane, and had the baby crane nurse.

I forced my daughter to save up her quarters and buy her own Barbie's at the thrift store. She did, and she and the brother love them, but at least the experience had one personally empowering component to it. And whenever she is a princess for Halloween, I make sure she has a sword. And I just flat out refuse to read Sleeping Beuaty or the Princess and the Pea anymore. I explain I prefer stories where women are doing stuff.

One simply can't escape the culture one parents in. I find it creepy that the Princess "books" often don't even have named authors or illustrators - which ruins my reading routine and teaching about the bibliographic page.

[Monica]

Maybe they did live happily ever after. I would like to be able to wake up late and then have servants dress me up and feed me, and let me order them around, and call me Your Majesty or by some other similar name, instead of going to work, where I do not get that kind of exalted status, I'm busy working, and I have to make sure I have something to eat. And all that would be just for being pretty and, I suppose, for the usual things a woman does, even nowadays, if married (and perhaps less, as once upon a time, it was better to get mistresses than to divorce because the lady of the house is not giving her husband enough sex). And for my presence around the castle.

[Maya's Granny]

My daughter held out against Disney for her daughter for about six years -- no Disney movies, no Disney stuff. No Barbies. Then, the masses of Disney and Barbies her cousins had became overwhelming and she wanted an Ariel and her mother gave in and allowed one of her aunts to give her one. However, it hasn't led to much Disney, so perhaps even when you can't hold out completely, you can hold the flood at bay.

[Monica]

Why deprive a child of fun and entertainment while she is young enough to enjoy them because of a value judgment she may not share when she grows up? By the time she will be able to buy whatever she wants, it will be too late, even if she will be able to find the same material. Of course, by then, something else will be on the market instead, but if, suppose, she could find it, won't she feel that she was unfairly deprived of all that fun while at the proper age, whereas by then, she will just be too old to fully enjoy it?

[Alice]

I,too, deplore all that is Disney; the hate radio and TV, the slavery 'wages' paid to make the junk,the shallowness, etc. A big thank you to Chris Austin-Lane above for citing the lack of authorship of these cheap books. That fits with Walt Disney's historic anti-union stance - he actually reported union organizers to HUAC! But take heart! I used the lack of authorship as a teaching moment,as well as the slave wages, and one of my granddaughter's first works of art was a sign that says, "Impeach, Remove, Jale" (thank you, Viggo!) I told her that she is indeed a princess, as I taught her mother before her, and she does carry a sword - her incisive mind - and with great ability comes great obligation. She prefers a deeper shade of pink now, namely CodePink! Two years ago (she's 8 now) she decided she didn't want "Princess" anything, and NO LOGOS of any kind on her clothes. She is thousands of times more radiant than any tinselly Disney concoction!

[Ghigau]

Why deprive a child of fun and entertainment while she is young enough to enjoy them because of a value judgment she may not share when she grows up?

Because this isn't an either/or proposition: Either you give your daughter Disney Princess crap, or she has NO FUN WHATSOEVER! Believe me, there are plenty of alternatives out there. Movies? My daughters enjoy My Neighbor Totoro, Charlotte's Web, the Wallace & Gromit movie and shorts, Kiki's Delivery Service...the list really does go on, and it's long despite the lack of Disney movies on it. Imaginative play? My daughters play astronauts, puppies, ponies, and pirates; they explore the backyard for hidden treasures and build forts in the living room. Imagination was not, contrary to popular rumor, invented by the Disney Corporation, and they do not have a monopoly on it.

[Lisa @ Corporate Babysitter]

Oh, dear, I hate to break it to you, but Dora herself has gone Princess )http://viv.id.au/blog/?p=1103)

[mom]

Hi Barbara --
Ah, I have taught your books in class and now here we meet in bloggy land --

Two of my many posts on grappling with the princess empire from the trenches:

http://outside-the-toybox.com/wanted-jasmine-half-shirt-0-3-months-or-saturation-marketing/2007/11/27/

http://outside-the-toybox.com/unchecked-capitalism-and-the-colonization-of-childhood/2007/09/11/

I'd LOVE to have you read and comment!

[Michelle]

I love that you tackled this subject, and I agree with most of what you said. However, what's wrong with Belle? Yes, she fits in with the other "princesses" in some ways, but she was also smart as a whip, kind, loved books, was accepting of others' differences, and refused to say yes to a narcissistic, demanding, violent, and spoiled man like Gaston. Since seeing Beauty and the Beast as young girl, Belle has always been my Disney role model. (Notice I did not say she was my "real life" role model, but if I had to be any of the Disney women, I would choose to be her in a heartbeat.)

[gaby]

Hooray for Barbara! I have always loathed all things Disney and never set foot in any of the theme parks. I never withheld movies or toys from my children, though I am proud to say I am not the purchaser of such merchandise, extended family was.

I am now reading Benjamin Barber's new book "Consumed" which deals with, among other things, the topic of inappropriate marketing, stupefying children (and adults alike) and so much more.

[Lulu Maude]

Is the Princess Wish the precursor to the Lottery Fantasy?

[Monica]

It's more than that. It is an expression of what women want even though this society is discouraging such feelings: the desire to let a man take care of everything instead of taking responsibility. The prince is doing that and much more, as he is not providing a modest home but a castle, a kingdom, the status of a queen, etc.