My favorite quote: In a piece about Princess Di, she asks (and I paraphrase): "Why is it that we teach our little girls to be the princess, but never the queen"

um... that could literally be one of the stupidest questions in history. Apparently Marjorie Williams' eden is some kind of impossible world run by power-sharing super alpha females?

mariospants

umm... why do so many (presumably uptight and dogmatic) people seem to think you have to have grandiose ambitions to be happy? 95% of the little girls growing up today will end up in some shitty job in a marriage that will have a 50% chance of being loveless... and now a jackass wants to take away their youthful princess fantasy and force some communistic ideal of a dragon-slaying comrade female down their throats. Sorry, but those princess stories are STORIES. They're FUN. Some people don't see open-heart surgery as much fun. I sure don't remember anybody playing that game when I was a kid.

mariospants

It's wierd but I wanted to be a pilot, a nurse and a vet when I was little and I ended up being a Disney character... aah the irony!
I still work for the house of mouse at the Park in Paris but I now work in an office doing probably the same kind of job as 90% of the population. The real Disney is more boring than all the hype.

Rbkboot

BeachLover

BeachLover

dummyfakeroller

Like many here, as a child I was into the scrappier Disney stuff...there was no Princess industry.

My daughter has learned to be skeptical...but I'm not banning her from the Princesses (she's picked Belle as her favorite - score!) She also like Hannah Montana, which to me is fine, because comparatively at least the girl has a job.

There's also a lot more to Disney than the movies, and that's what has sucked me in, ultimately.

The Disney Channel can be grating and twee, as we all know...but the shows and the TV movies surprised me with the level of socioeconomic/cultural diversity they represent, even in terms of nontraditional (esp. single or remarried parent) family structures. It makes me feel good...it prevents my daughter from feeling weird that we aren't status quo. It's such a broadly viewed network by all types of kids across the country with basic cable (nearly all of them?), and I think it handles that responsibility fairly well.

They aren't just towing the line of picture perfect happily ever after, anymore.

ObtuseIntolerant

bilsemon

I'm leaving tomorrow for orlando, and my husband and I have already planned the drinking around the world part at Epcot...fun times! Especially when the real Europe just wasn't do-able this year : ) The fake plasticy one will be an experience!

Avi

My favorite quote: In a piece about Princess Di, she asks (and I paraphrase): "Why is it that we teach our little girls to be the princess, but never the queen?"

Melanie

2. I pined for tonka trucks, hot wheels, action figures, tinker toys, and other "boy" toys but got Barbies and Cabbage Patch Dolls instead. And that really, really, sucked. My daughter will be allowed to play with whatever the hell toys she wants. (And if my boy wanted a Barbie, I'd buy him the whole fucking playhouse!)

3. It was all about the Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes for me. My first car had personalized plates that read "BUGSLVR".

4. When my folks would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said the same thing from age 6-13: Batman.

ceejeemcbeegee

Finally, a cartoon character that looks like me and 9 million other women!

ceejeemcbeegee

To me, reading theknot is a deterrent in the way that babysitting for an evening is. Want to talk yourself out of having your princess dream wedding? Check out what some people obsess over when the real focal point should be something sappy like a union between souls!

I have no problems with girls who want to be princesses. I think we've come a long way towards teaching our girls that you can wear a tiara and still have a brain. I'm a liberal feminist who isn't exactly tough as nails but fairly close; but I still harbor a little girly-girl in me and still fondly remember the days when I used to want to be Alice in Wonderland.

Those Disney bridesmaids dresses, though: THAT'S going too far.

MumbletyEmma

Ashdee

CyberSkull

Okay, she actually says she wants to be a farm. Minor details, I tell you!

Umisaurus

"Der der der...(thing we're talking about), soop-soop."

SqueakyGasket

SqueakyGasket

You got to give some props to them for Belle (always my favorite) because she loved to read, fell in love without someone who wasn't a handsome stereotypical prince and was a lot more ballsy then the other princesses.

ELovejoy925

hotpotatoes

allora

hotpotatoes

Anyway, my girls (5 and 3) are obsessed with all things Princess (more so the 5 year old), so after Christmas, I told them there were no more Disney Princess-themed things left to buy, that they had them all.

And they believed me! Until their Aunt bought them both those light-up-when-you-walk shoes with Ariel on them....HATE!!!!!!

allora

TechnoDestructo

haguenite

I wanted to make robots and rides and light shows and CGI movies and special effects and everything else their magical fleet of "Imagineers" do.

I wanted to be a Princess too, but I think that complex came more from The Princess Bride movie.

SomeLikeItTech

MissPeacock

I was also totally immersed in the whole Princess thing until I was in fifth grade or so, and then I discovered Spice Girls and boy bands, and then I became a Future Sorority Girl.

I'm much better now.

hellodarling!

Kvinna

@petuniacat: Reading that, I'm so glad that I don't live in Utah. And I'm sure that my brother is happy to have gotten away from there! (This is someone who didn't apply to BYU because he didn't want to deal with their restrictive rules.)

@petuniacat: In St. Louis, I noticed that *a lot* of the Mormon boys grew up to marry nice little Stepford Blondes and/or women just like Mom. Also, there was the pressure to marry before age 25 (or 30), lest you be considered a "menace to society" - why can't people let go of something that was said over 150 years ago?

@incurable paranoiac: The statistic about Utah women on antidepressants doesn't surprise me at all. And I agree - I'd love to see a thread about Jezzies raised Mormon.

scarletvirtue

trujunglist

Hah! I don't REALLY miss it, but I DO miss the hot guys in pick-up trucks. Living an hour from Daytona Beach, I never understand the Dale obsession. Sad yes, but he drove cars at 200 mph for a living, why are people surprised that it eventually killed him?

TheOtherJen

Algren

rbdfoxes

Algren

drunken marmot

FattyCatty

Algren

VegasDarling

Apart from that I wanted to be president, an astronaut, an Olympic gymnast, and a paleontologist (2nd grade was my dinosaur phase).

Nicorette

chocolatecoffeebeans

chocolatecoffeebeans

However, shortly after he started to get into toys (only stuff with wheels, no matter what else we put infront of him), the movie CARS came out.

That thing has been a GODSEND. Now he has a ton of cars with eyes to keep him entertained (he lines them up, he vrooms with them, he uses them on a racetrack, he puts them in a cart, he puts them in his Diego rescue pack) and I have a never-ending mission to acquire every single one since all my Strawberry Shortcake miniatures melted in a house fire. Disney fills a void in all our hearts and should be embraced.

Now to find a house in Celebration.... BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

bethanyp07

Well put. Little girls liking princesses (which, as has been pointed out, predates Disney) doesn't mean that those little girls will be directionless, tiara-crazy automatons who gobble up the Disney Dream when they are adults. Hell, I was a BRIDE for two years running for Halloween when I was a little girl--because I loved big fat frilly dresses. Now? Unmarried, not sure if I want to take the plunge.

I went to Disney for the first time last month and, well, it was enjoyable but I won't need to go again. My assessment is that it's best enjoyed by those between the ages of four and ten. Space Mountain rocked, though.

Oh, this may have been brought up in previous comments, but this is a good book that examines Celebration, FL:

[www.amazon.com]

Mego

Maybe that's why I read tarot cards.

ItchykooParker

I am 28, juggling loans, bills, and am an administrative assistant with a law degree. Most days it makes sense to me, but occassionally the uphill battle I am confronting can be so overwhelming. So yeah, I'm an annual pass carrying Disney lover. Trust, nothing will take your mind off of a bad week like getting stoned, eating the hell out of some chimichangas in Frontierland, and then arguing with your friends about whether you want to go to the Haunted Mansion before or after you get your FastPass for Space Mountain.

mmm, chimichangas...

odinsraven

The Boyg

PennilynLott

lolacat(ΩΜ)

I knew these cartoons weren't real, but it didn't stop me from wishing I could be a flying elephant or a mermaid. Ah, memories.

The Hammer is my penis.

by the time I was 8 I was openly mocking all of my cousins and friends for "drinking the kool-aid."

thanks, cause-tastic Dad!

Bellzaboo

meg9

lolacat(ΩΜ)

nenasadije

briardahl

not.a.clever.name

nerdsausage is a busysausage

incurable paranoiac

Witchtit

Because, of course, there's only one Wendy's in the county =P

Didn't get out of the car, though. I stay in my car, windows open, doors locked, going through that part of the state.

not.a.clever.name

I have some dear friends who do just that. They go about once a year. And they bring back all sorts of memorabilia that is displayed throughout their home. Lots of Mickey art, in frames. If you stay the night with them you can use Disney-hotel soaps and shampoos.

I find it incredibly weird, but they have their heads screwed on otherwise, so I can't hate.

fol_de_rol

chocolatecoffeebeans

LDS is FASCINATING to me. I've read tons of books on it...Harold Bloom claims it's the american religion. i wish there was just a thread about jezzies raised mormon!

incurable paranoiac

Sev

andBegorrah

@tallyhoe: One time I went to the Wendy's in Starke with a male African American colleague. I swear I heard that sound like a record scratching to a stop when we walked in together.

blackbirdfly

tallyhoe

"Come on, fight like Mulan!" *dropkicks kittie*

Kali Mama

peliroja

Except, I mumble a lot, so when I used to stay I wanted to be a ballet dancer, everyone heard "belly dancer." And there's nothing like a 4-year-old who wants to be a belly dancer.

lilredpanda

TheCityGirl

SouthernComfort

incurable paranoiac

Personally, I wanted to be a leprechaun. You get to wear green all the time, have an endless supply of magical gold that silly humans can never manage to steal from you, and you get to live at the end of a rainbow. Not to mention the sugary cereal perks.

The Boyg

megnificent

Even their run-of-the-mill office assistants tend to be Disney brainwashed. They use phrases on their voicemail greetings like "Have a Mickey Day" and their computer passwords are all character names. They work for Disney 40 hours per week and will still spend their vacation time at the themeparks.

Nice people, very patient, very cheery. But complete corporate propaganda-spewing zombies.

Gumbina80

SouthernComfort

Holla! LOL. We just got a sonic in my hometown and last weekend when I was home I MADE my mother take me to get a cherry limeade. Fantastic.

TheOtherJen

megnificent

@SouthernComfort: I'll be damned. I will be kicking myself if there has been one near me this whole time.

blackbirdfly

But she fuckin' crazy.

tallyhoe

SouthernComfort

But I think Parchman (Mississippi's state prison) is creepier.

blackbirdfly

SouthernComfort

megnificent

brookidy

tallyhoe

petuniacat

I can totally vouch for the rest of Polk though--I lived in Bartow for a year. Hated it.

HuggaWugga

layladylan

I was immediately picturing a parent saying, "You can be anything you want dear, as long as you're a queen." and wondering what it would be like to start developing ideas of what you wanted to do, only to have it be crushed by being born into your job.

Maybe she'll be lucky and want to be a queen?

Xavoc

blackbirdfly

To Central Floridians, the Pacific Northwest is pretty much the promised land.

tallyhoe

@blondegrlz: man, me too! and so did at least two women i know in real life. why did we all want to be marine biologists?? my theory is, because of dolphins.

lalochezia

SouthernComfort

@tallyhoe: I was just complaining to someone about this very issue the other day. Why must they taunt me with Sonic advertisements when there are no motherfucking Sonics anywhere near here? And WHY aren't there Sonics here? I mean, this is still America, right?

blackbirdfly

megnificent

SouthernComfort

tallyhoe

BAngieB

tallyhoe

Been here since the 80's and I am still wary of most people here.

SouthernComfort

I used to live in Clay County and worked in Putnam County. SCARY. And when I'd drive from Tampa to Jacksonville every other weekend, the only way to get there is back roads through cracker country.

not.a.clever.name

@blackbirdfly: amazing. really really amazing. i wish i saw such cool stuff when i was little. haha. i am so jealous of your commie-aware youth!

ineffable.me

blackbirdfly

Mr. Megnificent has been inside Starke several times. He says it's the single creepiest place he's ever been.

megnificent

Yeah, then reality hit and I found out that it's a bunch of lab work and not just swimmin with the fishies. I still got certified, and I love to dive, and dude, I would totally cage dive with a white. Probably not uncaged though....I'm not suicidal.

WhateverCraig

My husband is asked at least once a day AT WORK what church he goes to. I'd tell him to quote the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti monster, but I don't think they'd get it. Three more years and we're moving to Oregon if I have to sell my soul to get there.

megnificent

blackbirdfly

BraidMyHair

gluecake

YAY! Florida Girls! I am from North Brevard county and now I live in NYC and I totally miss the pick-up trucks plastered with number 3's and Sonic's.

TheOtherJen

petuniacat

I'll friend the South Floridians of this board as well! As for the real life ones, I have extreme reluctance toward all.

tallyhoe

However, I sang "A Whole New World" at a school talent show when I was nine and inadvertentdly dressed like Belle in provincial garb when I went on a elementary school field trip to a colonial village restoration. So maybe some influence, but not bad.

As a kid I wanted to be a writer or a killer whale trainer. I soured on the latter when I feared that the whale could eat me alive.

I've been to Disney World twice. Once when I was three, where Snow White's adventure scared me (think the Willy Wonka boat ride), and when I was fourteen, where I felt sad by seeing too many obese people on scooters. Though I did like Space Mountain, an Alien-based ride, sitting in a theater that made you feel like you were flying, and a movie featuring robots and Jules Verne.

beatrice3000

haguenite

Archetype

Oh. And Robin Hood IS awesome. "Not in Nottingham" is the best song ever.

LaComtesse

But who said that children have to be educated all the time? I'm all for edutainment -- but "Alladin" is just FUN. "Cinderella" is FUN. the songs are great, the animation is beautiful and the story, while unrealistic, does carry valuable lessons about good and evil, right and wrong. Animation is escapist. I don't see why everything has to be accompanied by controversy. Some things are just what they are.

the whole merchandising empire they've build out of it, though, is unforgivable. But, you know, a company's gotta make money -- those Technicolor paints can get expensive!

dashenbka

petuniacat

Oriana

I think my parents wavered between thinking I was a genius and thinking I was insane.

blackbirdfly

Stay strong. Don't let the bible thumpers rain on your sinnin' ways.

tallyhoe

TheOtherJen

SouthernComfort

I think one of the reasons the princess stuff never caught on with me is that all of the princess movies featured witches, which was a deal breaker. I was so petrified of those Disney witches, esp. Malificent ("Sleeping Beauty") who still freaks me out, to this day.

You're all making me feel bitter... I only got to go to Disney once, when I was nearly 5. And it was in the late '80s, before all the cool stuff came in.

Varina

Archetype

DorothyZbornak

ArtfulSlingerBARACKED THE VOTE

blackbirdfly

petuniacat

J.D.Regent

ineffable.me

@andBegorrah: Ooh, I didn't have that. I did have one of those She-Ra sticker books though, the ones where you bought the packs of stickers to try and fill the book. It was such a rip-off because you could never get all the stickers to complete the book, but I loved it anyway.

I also still have a bunch of my She-Ra action figures at home in my attic.

DorothyZbornak

It only recently occurred to me that someone at Disney must have been on something when they thought up that movie. Really, who jumped up from his/her desk and shouted "I know! We should do Robin Hood! But with foxes and lions and bears!" Also, why are the foxes the same size as the lions and bears? Makes no logical sense as an adult. But the movie is excellent, so who am I to complain?

Oriana

frozenblueberries

tell Dolly Parton again

My brother in law and I were totally creeped out by it. My 10 year old niece thought we'd ended up in the residential area of Disney!

I was waiting for my frontal lobotomy, a peter pan collar dress with sensible 1 1/2" closed toed heels and an apron to happen.

GeektasticallyDelicious

SouthernComfort

funnyface

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

andBegorrah

Because dude, she could read and walk around AT THE SAME TIME and I was just all over that! And I wanted that library hardcore.

But I also loved Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louisa May Alcott and wanted to be Princess Leia or a Power Ranger or a doctor, etc etc etc.

I think if the parents are the ones who foist the princess love on the kids and maintain it to the detriment of other dreams, then it can be bad. Otherwise, let your kids enjoy what they will. Sooner or later they'll stumble upon something else to adore.

awesomesauce

megnificent

I went to Disney World with my extended family in eighth grade and thought it was the most boring, overrated thing ever. My little siblings and cousins liked it ok, but I don't think they were crazy about it or anything. I really don't see the appeal.

layladylan

it sounds really lame when i think about it.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

But in my house, my mom and dad always told me that I could do whatever I wanted with my life--that there was nothing that boys could do that I couldn't do. In fact, I went through a phase where I decided I was going to be a king. Yep, not a princess or a queen--a king.

Dad gave me a "crown" of a yellow trucker hat he'd gotten as a promotional gift from a seed-corn company. It had a big dorky DeKalb logo and everything. I had a paper towel tube that I'd encrusted with crayon jewels, and my royal robe was a blue blanket with airplane print. (Fierce.)

Two good friends of mine, a married couple, have two little girls, one four, one about nine. The couple is NUTS about Disney. They go there for every vacation. The girls have EVERY.DISNEY.PRINCESS.TOY ever made. But y'know what? They're good parents. Mostly the girls want to play soccer, get dirty, and play astronaut.

I'm going to side with dosido here. Sometimes I feel like I'm a "bad feminist" because I actually find some harmless fun in things that are traditionally marketed at girls and women. I don't think I should have to feel bad if I like the occasional Disney flick or electric aquamarine boysenberry-appletini. Yeah, I'm still an enormous butch, but that doesn't mean I can't be girly once in awhile, right?

tscheese

petuniacat

I also wanted to be a fireman, a doctor, an astronomer, an astronaut and princess. When asked why princess and not queen, I sassed my English aunt right back and said, "Because I am an American, so if I marry Prince William, I will always be princess, even if I tell him how to run the country. But I think I want to marry Prince Harry because he's cuter. But I'll still tell William what to do when he's king."

not.a.clever.name

"So for a long time now I've tried to force myself to be more like that ideal, because I thought no guy would want me the way I am (I'm working to change my thinking)."

petuniacat