I just had to respond to say that your post is absolutely wonderfully worded and well stated. thank you

I read your post on your own blog but did not respond. I’m not sure what your motivation is in coming back and pasting your post here but here are some thoughts…

There is an entire body of academic thought behind what Annie is saying, whether or not I agree with her conclusions, about Disney, about feminist ideology, about female role models.

I don’t meant that to say that her perspective has more support, just to say that if you haven’t read, or at least skimmed, some of the same texts, I’m not sure you’ll be able to “get” the point of view. Just like debating certain ideas with a Christian without reading the Bible and major works of theology won’t enable you to have a true discussion.

You are coming at this from an entirely different perspective…and what you might see as filial piety, others may see as passivity.

The problem is not that some parents are concerned that their girls will become look-obsessed and boy-crazed because they watch a Disney movie or two…or that they are abdicating their parental responsibility in communicating values.

The issue is more a saturation of images, through an entire consumerist-machine that bombards girls with messages about what it means to be female. And that this message involves being activated only in relation to men.

I guess I didn’t respond before on your blog both because I’m not really interested in being the champion of one particular viewpoint or another (and by the way, I am a Disney fan, for the most part) and also because I have a strong suspicion that this is being approached from such different perspectives that there won’t be a genuine dialogue.

Again, excellent post Annie.

Your message might be better heard/listened to here if you left the parent blaming out of it. The statement “If you have a little girl who is obsessed with being a princess based on disney’s empire, and she thinks being beautiful and marrying rich are the only things that matter, it is not disney teaching this message. It is lack of parenting.” does not sit well with me and is not likely to sit well with most of my readers either.

I feel like some of the people fighting Disney so hard about thier horrible stereotypes have not done their research. To prove my point I plan on walking you through the “Major” Disney Princesses.

1. Snow White – Alright, I will give you the fact that she is a princess through and through. Dainty, soft spoken, and kind. I dont’ know about you, but those aren’t necessarily bad traits…and everyone has a personality, that just happens to be hers. She is also a hard worker. When she is forced to flee from her evil stepmother (who by the way is also a woman!!!) she doesn’t just mope about it, she finds a place to live and does her best to earn her keep. Yes, she is cooking and cleaning, but more importantly she is recognizing a need and fillign it. I hope my girls have that skill. Her only major fault is trusting a stranger, and it turns out terrible, but that is another lesson I want my girls to learn, so in this case I think it carries a strong message. The happily ever after is the end of the story, not the journey itself.
2. Ariel – Okay, I’ll give you this one, she is terrible. As far as princesses go she is the worst. Disobedient, disrespectful, and defiant. She makes a deal with the devil and it works out in the end for her anyway. She is NOT a good role model for little girls, and I hope my daughter does not fall in love with her. That’s one for the bad examples, however, she is STILL not portraying the lazy girl who doesn’t want to do anything. She doesn’t let life happen to her or want to marry a prince. Instead she falls in love with a guy, without knowing who he was. She makes things happen, rather than waiting for them to happen for her. Even though I do not like her, she is still not the “stereotypical” pretty face-empty headed princess.
3. Belle – Possibly the best princess of all time. Belle is smart, driven, and caring. She loves her father and does everything she knows how to protect him. She sees beyond images to the person underneath and finds what really matters. I want my daughters to emulate her. Good things happen to her because she is a good person who works hard and is kind and loving. She even makes the right choices in tough situations. She never sits at home to be rescued, but does the rescuing herself. She is so far from the “princess” stereotype I don’t she should even be included.
5. Cinderella – She is the hardest worker I know. And she is EXTREMELY respectful. She is kind to her step-sisters and step mother, even when they torture her. She leaves the prince not wanting marriage, but humming about love. She did not even know he was the prince! She was only looking for happiness, and the message is that her happy ending comes from her being a good person, not wanting to marry a prince.
4. Sleeping Beauty – Yes, she is a princess, and yes she is my favorite, but that is besides the point. She is raised to work and help out around the house, not even knowing she was a princess. In fact, when she learns she is supposed to marry a prince, she is mortified, because it is not what she wanted. She wanted to marry for love, not riches. It is only due to sheer luck that the prince and her love were one in the same, otherwise it would not have happened. Again, a message and example I want my girls to follow: Love and hapiness are one in the same, not love and wealth/royalty.
5. Jasmine – Again, she is a princess to start, but a strong and independent one. She tries to run away from being forced to marry for riches or title. She takes life by her own hands and refuses to be forced into anything. Clearly she is not looking at image, but a person who makes her happy.
6. Tiana – Anyone who actually watched this adorable movie would never even bucket her in the “princess” category. She is one of the hardest working characters ever displayed. Her prince is shown as selfish, and is the one who needs to change before things work. When he is a selfish prince she is not interested. It boils down them falling in love while they work hard to overcome a difficult situation. She was happy with him as a frog….a FROG!!! Clearly they both learned to see past images! Another great example for girls.

Okay, so perhaps this not the best writing, but I think the argument above is solid. So based on these examples, here is my conclusion. This is not mean to be a personal attack, rather a comment in general. If you have a little girl who is obsessed with being a princess based on disney’s empire, and she thinks being beautiful and marrying rich are the only things that matter, it is not disney teaching this message. It is lack of parenting. Disney has provided some great learning opportunities here for us to teach children about what is really important. If children walk away from these movies thinking that the gender roles of being “beautiful and finding a rich guy to marry” are what these movies are about, then perhaps it is the parents who are not teaching because that is certainly not the message of these films…..

Personally I favour the Sesame Street Rapunzel. She gets her hair caught in trees and so on and asks Prairie Dawn to cut it for her, Dawn tells her she needs to keep it so the Prince can come and climb it, but Rapunzel insists Dawn cut her hair anyway. So that she can move, and rollerskate and run.

Mine are a bit over-the-top at times, insisting on wearing princess dresses to the grocery store, the park, the bookstore. They (and their dresses) get dirty often during princess play. So I hope that by letting them enjoy being a princess in all they do, they will see that it’s not about being rescued or taken care of by someone else.

My hope is that they’ll see that being a princess is about treating others with kindness, having a sense of adventure, and using good manners. I’ve got my fingers crossed.