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New York, 12:31 AM
Tue Dec 1
67 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/04/09
08/04/09
Also, Jasmine/Pocahontas/Mulan get no love. Jasmine often gets thrown into the general Disney Princess books (like "The Perfect Dress", gag), but never gets her own. I guess Pocahontas and Mulan don't have pretty ball gowns, so they don't count for anything.
08/04/09
Then I googled "sleeping beauty doll." Lizzie didn’t paper over the blue dress. It was the merchandisers.
08/04/09
08/04/09
I'm often surprised to discover how many of my guy friends hold onto an entitled princess stereotype of women -- women are all vain and/or insecure, women only care about clothes and jewelry, all women want is a big engagement ring, etc. It's disheartening, because I definitely don't see myself that way, and I know plenty of other women who have nothing to do with that stereotype either.
But the incessant emphasis on princesses, whether in Disney marketing machine or in the "princess for a day" wedding fantasy, still reinforces the idea that women prioritize appearances, attention, and money above other things. So the problem is bigger than just its affect on little girls. It's about how society views women in general.
08/04/09
08/04/09
I think that's what bugs me a lot about the Disney Princess phenomenon. Think about what a princess really is--royalty. But not one of these princesses is meant to rule anything. They're not preparing to be Queen Elizabeth I, they're just preparing to be someone's wife. Even if they kick some ass in the process, there's something a bit wrong with encouraging young girls to see them as role models. But what's wrong, in a way, is the fact that this fits so easily into bigger narratives about what women are supposed to be like--namely, what bugs me is how easy it is to sell princesses to little girls.
08/04/09
Currently, it's my two year old son who is into purses and princesses, so my commitment to teaching my kids about a world without limits is being tested. Hard.
08/04/09
I loved the Little Mermaid because she got to live in the ocean and it was my dream to be a marine biologist.
And I loved Pocahontas because she looks like a Disney-fied version of me.
In the end, the characters I loved were the ones I saw bits of myself in and could relate to even just a little bit. None of them made me want to wear pink and prance around, and my love of Pocahontas led me to learn more about my Native ancestry.
Princesses can be bad if parents indulge their little girls and let them believe that Disney movies are how life is. Otherwise? It's a bit of fluff with magic, love and awesome songs.
08/04/09
I didn't really have a princess thing as a kid, though - I had a badass witch thing. Now Maleficent... she kicked serious backside in that movie and she taught me that you can have cool digs, a pet raven, all the powers of darkness at your beck and call, but you throw one little sixteen-year-long tantrum and turn yourself into a dragon and *poof* you're a smoldering ink stain.
(Also, the good fairies were the ones who did the rescuing of the prince.)
08/04/09
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The princess culture has become something much greater than and mostly unrelated to the movies. It is about getting kids branded and shopping as much and as young as possible.
08/04/09
Now EVERYTHING is cross branded. You can't get a regular doll, board game, pack of cards, without it having a Nickelodeon or Disney face on it.
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08/04/09
I'm worried about dumb teenage girls insisting they are a princess. I worry even more about women in their 20s-30s who still think the princess shit is cool.
It's not cute. It's not clever. Fucking stop already. Unless you were born/married into a royal family, cut that shit out.
08/04/09
"Gold-digging Good Enough to Land Mah Boo's Heart"
08/04/09
And it was true! I now live in a castle (pre-WWI apartment); in a magical kingdom (Queens, New York -- get it? Queens?); and am married to the most wonderful Prince in the world.
Gag if you want, but sometimes thinking like that can help a chubby average-looking girl with severe anxiety and therefore horrific social skills get through the day.
Now, being told you're a princess and being raised to be a spoiled little brat is another story.
08/04/09
When you're having a bad day, imagining getting away from it all is just a little harmless escapism. Congrats on living the dream, fellow royalty!