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
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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
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• Castle Package includes the Crown Package plus Imaging Package*, and complete costume of your choice with accessories -- starting at $179.95 plus tax
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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.
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[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.

[GOAM]

I feel for mothers who have daughters with a princess fixation, but I am very fortunate in this regard. My 4 1/2 year old daughter has managed to maintain an immunity, despite her best friend being very "pink and princessy". Dee's grandparents have given her all of the princess dress-up and accoutrements, and she has no interest in playing with them. However, she has a dog costume and a Spider-Man costume that she will wear, declaring herself "Spider-Man-Girl" while sprinting around the house. We went camping this weekend, and her friend and two other girls decided to play pretend. M was the queen, the next oldest was the princess and the other girl was a fairy. They told Dee that she could be the fairy god-mother, but Dee declared herself a super-hero and went to play in the sand pile.

I think it has a lot to do with not being exposed to it and to her being a high-energy kiddo. Princesses sit and wait to be rescued; super-heroes get to wear cool costumes and beat the bad guys!

[Monica]

And that's the kind of attitude you don't want to encourage in a girl, if you want her to be happy with a man. For her future well-being, a girl is better off playing princess or playing with a toy kitchen.

[matthew]

I am quoting from memory, but Pauline Kael described Disney's physical depiction of The Little Mermaid as:

"a teeny tootsie in a flirty seashell bra"

Stuck with me.

[kate]

"Imagination was not, contrary to popular rumor, invented by the Disney Corporation, and they do not have a monopoly on it."

Bravo ghigau, you said it so well and I am encouraged to hear from other mothers out there who feel the way I do, plus Barbara. Yes!

Monica, either you are hired by some corporate monster to shill here or you are in possession of a pretty, sparkling clean wide open space between your ears.

[Monica]

Sometimes, I feel that maybe, if I were more stupid and uneducated, I would have been happier because I would have married a man and I would have been happy to have him around instead of working at the office and then "needing my space" and time without people. Instead of hardly having time to clean my home, that would be my main job, and I would not have to go work outside the home on top of that. For a few simple things like that, including cooking, which I love, I would get to stay home and still have a roof over my head, food, clothing, and so on.

I wish I came from a more backwards country where I would have been kept at home, not forced to go to school. I come from Romania, which you may find backwards enough, but they made me go to school. Unfortunately, I can't undo the results of my schooling.

[Anarcissie]

Monica, when trolling, you don't want to go over the top like that or you'll lose your audience.

[Laura]

Here's how you play princesses and have a lot of fun with your daughter, neice, cousin, etc and still incourage critical thought. You want to be a Princess, but what does Princess do to handle affairs of state? What if Princess finds out the beautiful jewlery she's wearing to the ball is the stolen treasure of another kingdom and her father, her brother, her uncle, the Duke and the prince she is engaged to are enslaving the people of another sovereign nation? Will she protest? How when The People expect their princess to wear beautiful jewels. How will she react to the People when the want their Princess to be beautiful and lovely and a symbol of all that is good about their country? What about being a strong leader and wise and just? Which should the people value more and how can we get them to do so? Perhaps write a song or poem about how wise and just the Princess is? What about when the Princess is forced to be engaged to an evil prince whom she doesn't want to marry. (this is my favorite part of the game because then we run away and become wood madiens and I was always more fond of playing Robin Hood than Maid Marian as a girl anyway). But pay attention to your daughters. you can still teach them by playing Princesses and remember if she's the princess you can be the Queen. Guide the story.

[mom]

Michelle - since you asked what's the matter with Belle... it's a pretty awful domestic violence parable, no? Belle is kidnapped by a beast who is rough with her, and turns him into a prince with her love? Not what i want to teach my daughter -- we don't love people who kidnap us and people who are cruel to us are not to be tolerated.

Beauty and the Beast, Jeckyll and Hyde -- not terribly opaque.

[Monica]

You forget that a long time ago, many women were married off to less-than-perfect husbands, sometimes far from home, or even enslaved (by the Turks, for example) and then taken as concubines or married. If, suppose, you were a Polish woman brought to Turkey, what were you to do? If married by some guy, especially by one who was kind of OK in many respects and had kids together, you would eventually have been eager to find some redeeming quality to that guy. Why, even being saved from slavery, if you became a legally free married woman, mistress of the household, would have been an opportunity in comparison! Or just being in the harem of a rich man or, even better, his wife instead of a slave...

It is in this historical context that I see such stories. Women had to do with bad and not-so-good circumstances, and a story like that makes their situation look better and inspires hope.

[Jennifer]

I, too, find the princess fad pretty nauseating and creepy.

And, no, Monica, I don't think there's any intrinsic desire in little girls to be feminine or aristocratic or find a *gag* "chivalrous" man to take care of them properly.

(How the hell would a 3-year-old even know what feminine or aristocratic or chivalrous means?!)

BUT...that said, I do think there's a risk of getting alarmist about the princess fad too.

Lots of childhood fads are accompanied by excessive adult hand-wringing. (Oh, my God! Scooby-Doo is going to make them potheads! Phillip Pullman is going to make them atheists! Disney princesses are going to make them Stepford go-bots!)

Chill out.

Yeah, from an adult perspective, I agree with everything in this post.

But kids define things differently, both as children and later when they reach adulthood. And, to a reasonable extent, we adults should respect that.

They need some breathing room to define these things for themselves as they mature.

We could very well find that, in 20 years, all these little Ariel-wannabes have completely rejected the whole idea of the princess thing and become strong-minded, independent women as a RESULT of playacting the helpless, mindless, fainting naifs.

We just don't know.

But one thing's virtually guaranteed: nothing will make little girls love princesses more than if the adults flip out burn them all.

Slander the princess-bride, hasten the wedding...as the saying goes...

[Jennifer]

Oh, yeah....reading further, I see Monica is a troll all right.

Nothing says troll faster than "I wish I were a dumb bimbo so I could have landed myself a man."

Monica, either get therapy or get lost.

Preferably both.

[Monica]

Look. People often don't appreciate the things they have been pushed into doing and feel that they may have preferred the exact opposite.

Women who were encouraged to be barefoot and pregnant may appreciate some of the things I got just because of how things were in my country and in my family. Going to school and to university, for example.

I was surprised to hear women in university saying that why am I there if I'm not a feminist, and that women fought for the privilege of getting an education. I was like: "Not me. That's just how things are nowadays, and my parents and the economic system made this chore necessary. I would rather be home, cooking Romanian cabbage rolls instead. But since I'm here, I will do the required work to get a degree, even quite well if I can."

[Anarcissie]

Ah, Romanian cabbage rolls! You must realize, though, that as a princess you would never be allowed to get anywhere near a Romanian cabbage roll, much less make one.

[Monica]

It doesn't matter. A princess would have cooks and servants who would bring her delicious food.

[Rich]

Boy you people need to lighten up!! Sounds like you never have had any fun!

[Dave]

Hey Barbara - leave those with imagination, heart, and creativity alone; keep your bitterness and cycnicsim to yourself. Why the overwhelming need to vomit your sour ideas all over others? Sounds like you are threatened. You are also showing your ignorance; as anyone who truly examines these films (rather than take the surface stereotypical view that you display) can see, there is much more to these "princesses" than a cute face and a tiara. Why should a woman be criticized for wanting to be a princess/housewife? If it's all about choice in life, why slam this particular one? Make your own choice in life and be comfortable with it. Masochistic Princess Cult? Get a life!

[kate]

Speak for yourself Monica, this woman and many others have always had the desire to take care of ourselves.

[Brian]

American Marketeers are brilliant at exploiting archetypal psychology in consumers and spinning that into gold. Its a crass, low brow effort really if you just step back from what they seem to be selling to look at what they really are selling at an exhorbinant price. The anglicized dream of Kings and Queens, Princesses and Princes, courtyards and battles and demons to slay, rites of passage, and all that is exploited ad nausuem and that is the hidden appeal of effective "advertising". If adults really cared about not exploiting this in children, this type of subliminal advertising would be banned as simple pandering pornography. Because that is what it is. In a country so fixated on burning predators(its current witches) while allowing this type of sexualization to go on right at the dinner table and the shopping mall, for money and improving one's self worth through exploiting their children, is a disgusting contradiction. That is why they demonize predators so strongly through voyeuristic television shows or in the press(the details are always carefully put there for all to see). Its this sort of mentality(where sex in general is taboo or highly problematic and unfun, while the advertising promise for it is amazinging easy as a mirage) that puts people at risk(as it pushes the unstable right off the pumpkin cart), and tragic stories like the Natalee Holloway or Jon Bennett even happen.
So society demonizes these crimininals when it finds them(helps make them), but allows corporations to subliminally sell sex right in their own home without question as it seems clean money. The thing is archetypes are key to our human psychology as we are creatures that embrace symbols. We truely are. The symbols we embrace reflect our group culture and aspirations and in fact are our natural religiousity in play. Strange how we let others manipulate us and our children so, so they can make money off of deep insignias in our minds. I think this goes right the the general lack of awareness of our people and how their schools and approved institutions of religion fail to raise conciousness when all is said and done. Just another symbol is left behind, a school, a university, a church, and tall building. It amazes me to no end how little an investment society has put in helping ourselves understand ourselves and what drives us. Even the concept of territory is nothing more than an attempt to remain whole. You don't have to be a dyed in the wool Jungian to see there is a lot to this. But this is the state of our cultures lack of a robust life embracing mythology. Instead we just have the myth of sex, the reality of violence, and now that rock and roll is gone, the ipod to plug our minds into so we can purchase more of their commercials(now mistakenly taken as music). Children need to be protected from this type of manipulation, otherwise give up and just let them supersize all their fries for that fine fiberless, hi-carb, hi-fat, near proteinless, and certainly vitaminless dinner you're giving them.

[Monica]

From the end of the 14th century and all through the 15th, fashionable shoes called poulaines or crakows had toes extended, sometimes to as much as 24 inches (60 cm) beyond the foot, stuffed with fiber or straw to keep them in shape.

Of course, some were excessively long and/or flesh-coloured. I leave to your imagination the reason why some people found them obscene, yet they were popular.

This is just an example of how subliminal messages will always find their ways in popular products. I like the way Brian explained the appeal of products that have some kind of connection with certain archetypes and repressed desires, but you just can't get rid of that kind of thing, which existed even before modern advertising. If it's not princess-themed products or the poulaines, there will just be something else instead.

[Anarcissie]

But capitalism - industrialism - liberalism ramp up anything that works to the limit of breakdown. Telling fables about princesses and princes, for instance, was a small business, a craft, in the Middle Ages and early modern era. First books, and then other media, changed all that; now the production of fables is a major industry where a few people handle billions of dollars' worth of products, wield significant political power, and have very powerful friends (and enemies) as well. Roughly the same motivations, desires, tastes, but handled very differently.

[Jennifer]

Ah, Dave...but we lap up Barbara's sour vomit!

It is to us but sweet ambrosia!

Jesus...now I remember why I never visit the comments section...the loonies always manage to take over the asylum...

[Anarcissie]

Dave's not a loony, he's just defending the sacred conventions. For instance, that no one has imagination until Disney sells it to them.

All right, it _is_ somewhat disconnected from reality, but he has a lot of company, which forms a reality of its own.

[Monica]

But the reality itself is a social construct. What is considered the reality is based on the ideas that are generally accepted in society at the time, as well as on the state of science and technology at the time.

For instance, it was once believed that people who have hallucinations or what is now called "schizophrenia" were saints, in touch with God and the saints, in a special state that is a good thing, not a disease, etc. There are also all kinds of different or technically wrong (in our view) explanations for various physical and biological phenomenons.

I remember reading about some culture where intercourse was not considered related to pregnancy because it did not produce pregnancy every time and in some women, it produced no pregnancy whatsoever. To each culture its own reality, as it is seen at the time, even if it subsequently proves wrong, or so we think.

[Anarcissie]

If you go around saying "reality is a social construct" you will get some people very excited, like Dr. Sokal, who will invite you to step out his 22nd-story office window to see whether getting mashed on the sidewalk is socially constructed or something else. A dangerous word, "reality" -- sorry I mentioned it.

[Monica]

I see what you mean, but much of what is taken for granted as being the reality is not so directly obvious in such a physical sense. You may say that whatever depends on a belief system is not actually the reality, but people often assume that various beliefs (questionable scientific facts, for example) are part of the reality.

Or take psychological facts, for example. Someone's hallucinations is somebody else's mystical experience. And no, despite speculations about a "chemical imbalance", there is no objective medical test for schizophrenia. In fact, religious people may argue that brain activity, if proven, is just a physical manifestation of what is in fact a form of communication with God.

[Anarcissie]

Sure. Reality is a hotly contested issue. Unless one wants to embark on a bottomless metaphysical argument, one should avoid the word. All I know, really, is that my perceptions are different from those Dave reports. I observe imagination in people, especially children, occurring spontaneously; he appears to see it as a corporate product. That may well be his life experience, his "reality".

[paperpusher666]

I must have the wrong kind of imagination, because I'd classify those shoes along with 2-3 inch long fingernails: a symbol of not having to do manual work. Wouldn't having one's feet extended as much as twice their length make it difficult to walk?

[Monica]

Obviously, but many other things that were worn to show status and the fact that the wearer was not working, or not physically (pretty court dresses with tight corsets underneath, for example) were also sexualized. One does not prevent the other.

[Michelle Manchir]

I wrote something similar last summer for my college newspaper:

http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=36395&comview=1

Thank you for this post! I'm thrilled to have come up on this blog. Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Swith are among my absolute favorite books -- and most recommended.

[Michelle Manchir]

I wrote a similar argument for my college newspaper. Thanks for this post!

[Anarcissie]

My favorite Disney movie is the original _Fantasia_. It was all downhill after that, as far as I'm concerned; so I'm not really that knowledgeable about the Disney _oeuvre_. But I think you have a point -- in the Disney movies I can think of offhand, the young women are indeed pretty helpless. One of the things that made _Star Wars_ (the first one, now _S.W.IV_) so different was that Princess Leia Organa was s tough cookie.

[Larry In Lethbridge]

I don't really understand why Barbara is so pissed about Disney. I mean when Walt started the enterprise way back when, his intentions were quite good and for many years ran a good show, but things really took a nosedive Micheal Eisner assumed control.

Romanian cabbage rolls uh ? Those sound like they can kill you .

[Chris S.]

All this makes me glad I'm not female and have no daughters.

[Brian]

There is only "perceived" reality in that some kind of agreeable measures were made. There is no such thing as reality as a clear open and shut case. Quantum mechanics has taught us this is true and we have the many replicatable experiments to prove this so. What we think of as reality, is just duplicative measures on a template with an acceptable standard deviation from the norm. Statisticians have the most accurate measure of reality and also the probabilities of it being so. Quantum mechanics is modeled after statistical thermodynamics and proves most useful in the micro-atomic world of particle physics. In fact it blends into the topology of mass differentials in changing energy gradients. Relativity teaches us that the energy in a field defines its geometry, ergo mass. When liberal arts majors start discussing reality from a couture philosophy of appreciation of the sentient world to the mammalian eye and neural-net brain, everything is lost in the multi-translations. Its cute, but has no structural foundation. I only say this, not to demean any curiosities, but to deliniate the physical world from the imaginal. There is a big big difference, yet strangley they have familiar templates.

[Nancy]

I have to speak up for the Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid was the first Disney princess, to the best of my knowledge, who took an active role in her own destiny. And she took action because she was in lust with the prince.

I'd say that acknowledging that females have sexual desires and can act on those desires, rather than be just passive objects of desire, like Snow White, and live happily ever after to boot, is a step in the right direction.

Disney's never going to be on the front lines of the revolution, so even a little bit of progressiveness is surprising and unexpected. And something worth noting.

[Laura]

I have always been fascinated that the central ambition of the eponymous little mermaid is to acquire "legs"--to replace her tail below the waist with limbs and, presumably, genitalia, which she doesn't seem to have as a fish-girl. So in *The Little Mermaid* at least, the sexual content could not be much more explicit. On the one hand, I'm not sure it's completely a bad thing for a girl to want genitalia, although to get it for good she has to entice the prince to kiss her (there is no way for her to assert her sexuality, which can only, literally in the movie's plot, be bestowed on her by a man--no kiss, no "legs".) On the other hand, the boy coming-of-age movies often seem to represent such transitions with a bit more complexity. I just saw *The Water Horse* with my son, which is still a light fantasy picture but nevertheless represents the boy's coming of age as multi-faceted and not bound up in hetero-normative coupling (in fact, the Water Horse itself reproduces asexually).

[Monica]

Would you feel comfortable if you had a tail instead of legs? Or if you had any kind of non-human or highly unusual legs, such as goat's legs? What about marrying, or sleeping with, a person like that, if s/he did have normal (or compatible) genitals? Would you have made fun of people like that when you were a kid? Would your classmates have made fun of you, if you were like tha? Would you feel uncomfortable if you had any relatives like that? I see this desire to have legs as simply wanting to be normal.

[Anarcissie]

A mermaid without legs _is_ normal, for mermaids, that is.

In any case, what's so great about normality?

"Tell me about your new girlfriend / job / apartment / car / work of art / recipe / golf club!"

"Well, it's, uh, _normal_."

[Andrea]

True Story:

At the High School where I used to teach, our Leadership Training Seminar for club presidents, student congress members and team captains were engaged in an exercise. This is an all-girls school, so the moderator asked the girls to find positive mother figures in popular ficiton, television or movies. Disney offered nothing.

There were plenty of evil step-mothers, one or two people who would steer you wrong if you asked for advice, and in at least one case a perfect vacuum, but nothing like a mother.

But Disney implies through its actions what a mother figure should do for you: she should buy you lots of pretty things and encourage you to play with them. Never mind where she is to get the money or what else she might have in mind for you. Mom, keep the wallet open and the mouth shut.

For me, it isn't so much that the role presented for girls to follow is too trivial (although it is), or that the world presented for her to occupy is too dangerous to be conquered alone (although that is the message), but rather that there is nothing for these girls to look forward to beyond being a Princess for those few years between acne and wrinkles. Of course, very young girls don't look forward to such things, but nor can she look about her and assign positive roles to the older women around her. I, for one, am a little tired of being cast as The Wicked Stepmother by my niece, who of course plays Snow White.

To be sure, the Fairy Tale genre is inherently oriented toward casting the young upon the world without help to make their way as they can and in doing so, to grow up. But some Fairy Tales do exist that feature supportive parents in the early part of the story. I'd love to see Disney tackle a few of those.

Or, let's encourage our girls to drop the princesses and embrace their inner Doras. Dora might play princess every so often for fun, but when she's done she throws her shorts and backpack on and goes off to do something worthwhile.

[Jillian S]

Okay, Ms. Ehrenreich, I really respect you and your point of view. And I'm definitely in favor of challenging sexist stereotypes wherever they exist, and we can't deny that sexist stereotypes exist both in mass-market culture and in fairy-tales and folk-tales. But a one-dimensional attack on the Disney Princess phenomenon is hardly fair. I'm not a college-educated intellectual, so my retort will hardly seem eloquent, I'm sure. But I must point out that Cinderella's opportunity at escaping oppression came from the decidedly-female fairy godmother, a vestige of the goddess archetype and a positive symbol, not only of woman's potential for power, but of hope and creativity for everyone. In the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, Belle is the most literate and probably most intelligent person in town. She has no interest in Gaston, the self-important macho villain of the story who is intent on wooing her, and she champions progressive values of tolerance and compassion. The little mermaid, Ariel, overcomes millenia of merfolk-prejudice against humans (much of it earned) and defies her overbearing father-figure to seek freedom and opportunities in a strange land. So the good definitely exists alongside the bad, as far as I've seen. While it could definitely be argued that the Disney corporation pushes commercialism and materialism to a certain extent, I do not see how it pushes sexism or female passivity more than any other aspect of American culture does. In fact I think they've done the opposite, they've been ready to create and re-create female protagonists who really resonate with kids and teach lessons of teamwork, perseverence and optimism.

[Anarcissie]

Jillian S: "...Disney corporation pushes commercialism and materialism to a certain extent...."

Heh.

[Sheila]

Okay, that's the last time I tune in to ABC for squat. Thanks, Barb.

When I see some of the responses that you've drawn, here, I understand better why it's like having your face slapped with somebody's uninvited, greasy, smelly navel, boob or butt, every time you step outside or tune in to media. Most sporting & democratic of you to publish ads like the Disney rep's. (Hey...that's the kind of imperviousness to common decency that it takes, for mondo money success. Right? Rev up the old bulldozer! Ignore the !#&!@! laws! Above all, DRIP SEX!)

No wonder raising my kids was like trekking across the Sahara alone.

Guess what, guys. Hate to tell you, but it WORKED.

[kristin]

Much to my horror, my sister-in-law presented my 1 1/2 year old daughter with a pink furry chair with a large picture of the "Disney Princesses" on it. I had been fastidious with keeping my precious little girl away from all "princess" merchandise and I thought that I'd vocalized this to everyone in my life. Either my sister-in-law was messing with me or honestly clueless - and I imagine it's the latter as she really is a nice gal. Since my baby really likes sitting in the chair and "reading" books, I think I'll find some material and whip-stitch it over the "Princesses". I'd feel much better, and my daughter wouldn't know the difference.

[Linda]

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[Willofthewisp]

Oh jeez. I think you have to realize that most of these stories and characters you are bashing existed long before Disney came along and the company was just being faithful to the stories.
I was six when "Beauty and the Beast" first premiered, so I was at just the right age for Disney to influence me. Instead of demanding I be rescued while wearing skimpy outfits (which is what you say all the Disney princesses ever manage to do), I was overcome by the art of animation and storytelling. As far as the princesses go, I was thrilled Belle loved to read as much as I did and saw value in it. I loved that these women wanted to wait and marry for love rather than marrying for money or status. Characters in stories cannot be completely evil or completely pure because then people can't relate to them. You're only pointing out the negative traits of the princesses. Even the older ones like Snow White and Cinderella taught children that optimism and goals in life are important.
And are we supposed to mourn the fact Pocahontas and Mulan, "the princesses of color" don't have the fancy European ball gowns? I thought your whole point was that girls shouldn't want that sort of extravagant caprice. I have seen plenty of Mulan dolls in her matchmaking gown, which is as close to a ball gown as ancient China had.
Disney has always been a product of its time, and when women became more vocal and proactive about making their own life choices and following their own dreams, Disney embraced that by giving us heroines who defy authority, appreciate the simple things in life, and follow their hearts. Oh, and they managed to do that while still being loyal to the ancient stories that inspired them.

[Anarcissie]

Disney is not particularly loyal to the ancient stories. As one example, use Wikipedia to check out the difference between Andersen's original Little Mermaid, and what Disney made of it.

Disney's central motive was always to make money by appealing to the lowest common denominator of majority taste. Whatever stories were told were altered to provide a simple, usually simplistic, view of life and a happy ending. This approach fit the culture and industrial configuration of the times: mass production of cheap products for the broadest possible market. The mental age of the customer base was assumed to top out at ten or twelve.

This was loyalty to the dollar, not to ancient stories or any other form of traditional culture or any other kind. When feminism went over in the 1970s, Disney identified a market and started selling to it. This is hardly criminal, but it isn't idealism or good art, either. Let's not delude ourselves as to their practices and their motives. Disney is just one more instance of mall culture.

[Elliott]

Oh, Monica, wake up. Some women may want to let someone else "take care of everything" but I assure you, not all of us do. If someone else is taking care of everything, they can also take it all away.

Thank you Barbara for this. It reminds me of a project I was told about where highschool girls were given Barbies to make-over as real life women; one of the first things some of the girls did was take a belt-sander to ol' Barbie to give her a more human shape. There were trucker Barbies, farmer Barbies, police Barbies, etc. Perhaps the Princesses could do with a make-over?

[The Promiscuous Reader]

Monica, one of the many troubles with the line you're pushing is that even if every woman wanted to be a princess (and I doubt that), not every woman can be one. A princess needs an extensive support team to put on those layers and layers of clothes, carry the chamber pots, do the cooking and cleaning, etc. What about those women? More to the point, being a princess requires that other women, most women, can't be a princess. Only one person can be at the top of a human pyramid; the lower you are in it, the more weight you have to carry. This isn't obvious to children; they have be taught it.

As for your claim that "this society is discouraging such feelings" -- selfishness, the desire to evade responsibilty (you think that's a virtue?), the desire to have someone else wipe your butt throughout your life -- it's refuted by the fact that, as Barbara has pointed out, these "princess" dolls and the movies they're based on are making enormous amounts of money for our princes of industry.

[Elda]

I apologise in advance for the spelling and such, but I usually speak swedish instead of english, and am not really used to writing this kind of things.

I don't understand you people.
To be honest, most of this sounds just like "Bo-hoo, disney makes out daughters want to wear dresses and tiaras. -We- never got that kind of stuff when -we- were young!" - And that scares me a bit.
Disney princesses aren't that bad.

Ariel saves the life of her prince, goes right against her father's wishes, and instead finds her own way by becoming human. She chose the life she wanted.

Cinderella didn't do it on her own, but she still managed to get to the ball in a beautiful dress against her stepmothers orders, with the help of her godmother and her friends. And what's wrong with getting help from your friends to do something you really want to do?

Aurora went outside, spoke to strangers although she wasn't allowed to, and fell in love. Later she is too curious, pricks her finger, and fall asleep - because of her own choices. She couldn't really do much more than waiting while her prince showed that he was willing to slay dragons and stuff just to save her. I don't think he did it for the sex - picking up another girl would have been so much easier.

Belle, as others have said, reads too much, refuses to marry Gaston, saves her father, learn to see beyond appearances, and on it goes...

Jasmine sneaks out though she isn't supposed to, because she want's to be a normal person. She gets into trouble, gets out of it with a little help, and marry the man she loves.

Snow White has to run away from home in order not to be killed. She finds a cottage full of dwarves, who she makes friends with. She takes care of the house while they're at work, because she want's to be helpful in some way. She speaks to and recieve an apple from a stranger, even though she was warned not to, and gets poisoned. Her prince wake her up, and take her home, and we don't really know if they got married or if he just gave her a place to stay for a while.

Mulan and Pocahontas, the "almost-princesses", are no real princesses by either marriage or birth as the other six, and you already know that they have a good deal of adventure and killing in their movies.

On the whole, I don't see the problem. None of the princesses are passive crybabies, like most young women today. All of them make their own choices, gets help from their friends when needed, goes against their parent's (or "authority's") wishes... Ooh, that's it, isn't it?

I want to be a princess, I want to be like Belle. Because I'd like to read, be able to turn down the "cool guy", get a bunch of friends and a loved one no matter their appearences, be able to do something heroic to save someone else - twice. I'd really like that.
When younger, I wanted to be Ariel, for much the same reasons - have a hobby that I enjoy (collecting things), reach my dream on my own no matter what my parents said, and meet my true love.

I really can't see what's wrong with that. I believe, that most of you people are simply
1. Jealous, because you didn't get to be a princess when you grew up,
2. Angry, because when you grew up you had way to many pink and fluffy things, and got tired of them,
3. Scared, that your little loved ones might go right against what you tell them because they've been taught to "find their own way", or
4. Plain stupid.
Honestly, bonfires and pitchforks?

[Terry Rogers]

Ha--Ms Ehrenreich, you caused a waterfall of thoughts as usual! Well done. While I'd agree with much of Elda's comments, I also find much to empathize with in many others above, from all sides. The agonizing truth is that so much about the inner-workings of gender issues cannot be generalized into 'right' or 'wrong' ways to raise a child. Alas, the forces of Mother Nature and the justifiable equalities of Civil Rights do not always necessarily intermingle in a cohesive manner. The great Emma Goldman foresaw this huge dilemma in her beautiful essay 'The Tragedy of Woman's Emancipation' (1906).

Much about Disney is harmful, as is much of West ern Civ's big cinema offerings. Stop going, and stop buying the crappy merchandise. Support your local independent theaters.

[g mom]

How funny! Have to admit that my girls were more into softball, football, and tree-climbing; one determined grandmother insisted on presenting the little Barbie things, and was thrilled to see my number 3 daughter at about age 6 holding a Barbie picnic basket. Gushing and gooing, she went to her and nearly died of a heart attack when, in response to Grandma's request to do so, my child opened the picnic basket to display the contents - a tiny, ring-necked snake, which my girls loved to use as rings! Whoops!

[Amanda]

Absolutely spot on!!! My daughter loves Disney and I have to admit that I once bought the dream, but now want to know which avenues to pursue in order to obtain my refund!!!

[Jane Murphy]

My daughters are 11 & 13. When they were little, I encouraged play-acting and dress-up, but we never had to deal with the full Disney Princess obsession for one reason: I would not allow toys or clothing marked with logos of any company or licensed character. No baby clothing with Pooh bear, no Big Bird pajamas, etc. My sister-in-law thought it was weird, and tried to subvert it at Christmas. (Some of her gifts were passed on to Goodwill.) My father was a newspaperman, and he taught me that we do not give free advertising to profit-making companies;his livelihood depended on those companies paying for their ads.
This meant my girls could pretend to be Cinderella, sure, but they put the costume together from the stuff in the dress-up bin (which included gowns, capes, armor, swords, etc.)and their imaginations. Today my 11-year old likes to dress in her Hogwarts robes, mounting the rope swing with a broom to play Quidditch. But she knows better than to try buying a sweatshirt emblazoned with OLd Navy or Aeropostale.
It takes a concerted effort to raise children without brand names all over them and everything they see, but it is worth the effort.

[Cara]

Great post, Barbara.

Monica, you're full of it. I suspect you're not even female. "What women want." Pffft.

[Irene]

Remember Bettelheim's "Uses of Enchantment?" Old folk tales and fairy tales, on which many Disney characters were based, were grim. Bettelheim argued that children live in a much darker world than adults want to believe, quite full of fear and threat. Most of the tales make heroes of those who confront their fears, outwit and kill the monsters, act courageously.

Real princesses lead difficult lives. The appeal of the pink dresses and tiaras has to do with a child's need to feel safe, special, protected.

As for me, I fantasized about running away to sea and being a cabin boy.

[Irene]

Jane, I just saw your post about logo-free clothing. Way to go!

[XiXi]

Um, what exactly is wrong with Disney princesses? To me, they embody innocence and kindness, and it's a person with a very hard heart that thinks being kind in the face of adversity is a "weak" thing to do. I can't understand it. I went to the Disney theme parks, and they were beautiful, beautiful, and will always remain one of the best experiences of my life. Is liking feminine things wrong now? Do we have to slather everything with a healthy dose of cynicism to seem like "strong women?" This is ridiculous.

[Ashley]

In response to some of Elda's points, among others:
'The Little Mermaid's Ariel, in the end, does not 'go right against her father'--he ultimately gives her permission to no longer depend on him and in turn depend on Prince Eric instead. Also, Prince Eric killed Ursula and saved Ariel, she did not save herself.
If Cinderella didn't have a fancy dress the Prince never would have noticed her. Hell, he never would have met her! Do you think the Prince would give her a second glance of she was in her ragged clothing scrubbing floors?
And no, of course Prince Phillip did not save Aurora so that he might get to have sex with her--there is no sex in Disney land, kissing only.
Belle is more of a mother figure to the Beast, teaching him how to use eating utensils and how to read. Not exactly the ideal of a perfect relationship--well, not to me anyway. And Belle would never marry Gaston, that's obvious--he hunts for a living, he has no castle full of servants and expensive clothing and books to offer her. And yes, Belle reads, but pay close attention to what it is that she is interested in reading. The book she checks out of the town library is about a prince. The book she uses to teach Beast how to read is Romeo and Juliet (there's a happy ending for you!)
It is not just because of Michael Eisner that the princesses are popular--take Snow White for example. Every frame of that film had to pass Walt's standards. And in the tale by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White does not have to cook and clean for the dwarfs to let her stay with them--unlike Disney's version.
The reason that people find it unfair that Mulan and Pocahantas don't have 'fancy European ball gowns' is because the message Disney sends is that girls who are not white do not deserve them. There are parts of the world where monarchy is the ruling form of government, and not all of these real-life modern-day princesses are white. Further, the characters of Mulan and Pochahantas have distinctly Caucasian facial features--the whole lineup of Disney princesses reminds me of a Miss America pageant. The point is that Disney CHOOSES to tell certain stories over others, and these choices have an impact on how children--girls AND boys--view the world. Disney does not do much for boys either. There are no examples of good fathers for them to one day possibly embody--fathers are altogether absent if not distant/cold or completely stupid and useless. And what exactly does Prince Charming do besides charm a girl into marriage? Ride a horse? Wear tights?
I am currently taking a course called, "Mickey's American Dream". A girl in my class said that when she was growing up, she asked her mom why there weren't any black princesses, and her mom never had an answer.
Also, all of the princess tales involve 'getting the guy' in the end, as the be-all-end-all definition of a woman's life. What about girls who don't like boys? What about girls who don't want to get married?
Try reading Andersen and the Grimms' tales that Disney based their films on--Disney tales are NOTHING like their sources.

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[Jessica Rogers]

Well said. I was just musing on this idea the other day, although not Disney Princess-- pop princesses and boy bands. (I'll admit this was brought on by the New Kids comeback.) I was thinking how sad it is that some middle-aged men are sitting in a board room somewhere figuring how to lure preteens to be the desperate fans of these guys, or of Mylie Cyrus, etc. Little girls, like all kids, don't have the frontal lobe development yet to think as critically as adults. They will believe what is presented to them. It's scary how much marketers exploit that and how difficult it can be to combat an idea once it takes root. Like you said, just try to pry the Barbie from the 5-year-old's fingers...

Jessica Rogers
Owner, Sakura Rose Boutique
www.sakurarose.com