Comments on: Feminism: 1, Disney Princesses: 0 (at least in our house)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:35:48 +0000

Oh well, your kid’s loss. :9 I grew up with Ariel, and she made me love going on adventures. I owe alot of my creativity to the Disney Princesses. They will always be a part of me, because as a child I was ALLOWED to be a CHILD and fantasize. My parents didn’t spoil me, but I still felt like a princess anyway, because I had a very loving family, friends and teachers who all saw that as a child, roleplay is healthy. As a kid [and quite frankly, partially I still am] I didn’t see these girls as “princesses” as I do now, I saw them as GIRLS just like ME. Girls who went on adventures. Girls who had flaws [I am SO SICK of people passing off Ariel as being a "brat". SHE WAS ONLY SIXTEEN, TEENAGERS ARE STUPID] and girls who were able to do things. Just because Aurora wasn’t really doing much, doesn’t mean she is less of a female! She had three strong women who raised her, and if it wasn’t for them, the prince wouldn’t have saved her anyway! Ariel saved Eric two times from dying, plus in the animated series, she’s always the one going on adventures! Cinderella’s fairy godMOTHER helped her, not the prince. Plus, yes, she wasn’t a “good” character, but her stepmother was an independant woman. Jasmine showed Aladdin that for her riches didn’t matter, and she also saved him from getting killed. Belle took her father’s place, said no to Gaston, loved reading, and fell in love with the Beast for who he was. Mulan and Pocahontas not strong??? Give me a break!! Mulan saved all of China! Pocahontas saved her people from going into war, twice no less!! Nala convinced Simba to come back, and the lionesses started to kick ass. Giselle was Disney’s way of poking fun at how people think of the princesses, but in the end she became a strong woman. She didn’t go with the fairytale prince, but she opened a business, and saved New York!

TL;DR? If you’re going to bash on the princesses, read up on them properly. Feminist doesn’t mean you can’t fall in love, or you have to be weilding a sword every minute.

By: DisneyDefender

DisneyDefender — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:42:45 +0000

So you think Disney Princesses destroy young women? Well I’m a university student, I believe firmly in equal rights and can be very feminist, I always hate the “damsel in distress” characters but I find there is nothing wrong with Disney princesses. What I find is wrong, is the parents/adults/academics who have perverted the ideal of these characters and forced their own rather stupid and nonsensical opinions onto children.
Have any of you disney haters actually watched these movies when you were children? I sure did and yet I never had the desire to wait for a handsome prince or be really skinny or anything. Every little girl wants to be a princess, don’t restrict children’s imaginations, thats unfair and the world is just no fun without dreams, wishes and fairytales. While I loved Disney all my life, I wanted to be a paleontologist at the age of 7 which is hardly an airheaded goal. The likes of Belle, Ariel and Jasmine are not stupid bimbos, voicing your opinions is powerful too as a true feminist should know and that is exactly what these girls do, you don’t have to wield a sword to be brave.
Yes Cinderella and Snow White can seem a little bit domestic and weak but you need to remember their context. As fairytales they are old and from a time when this was the norm and even when Disney did them over this is still the 30s and the 50s where females were still not treated as equals in society. Being a feminist doesn’t mean you have to throw reason and logic out the window, just understand the times these stories were made. Give your kids a bit more credit, they’re not stupid but theres certainly far worse out there than Disney…

By: vikkithebabysitter

vikkithebabysitter — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:27:15 +0000

ps very sorry, i agree alos partially with tropicalmama. only just seen her message

By: vikkithebabysitter

vikkithebabysitter — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:25:52 +0000

i totally disagree with you all. im sorry but your poor kids. u let boys have lightening mcqueen, and hes an arse at the start of the film, yet you wont let them have princesees who are always nice. Sleeping beauty is always nice to everyone, belle loves books and jasmine is awesome. she tells alladin she is not a pize to be won, and i quote that. let your kids grow up making their own choices. i have always loved disney princess and it has not made me any less of my own person. if it is getting on with their lives you are worried about, well i have a life, a boyfriend, and 2 jobs. my bf comes last priority, even after my friends, although he is a very important part of life. to close, i just want to point out that you are actually controlling them more than the films by making them think there is something wrong with looking nice or having a boyfriend, ergo, you are making them stereotype other girls.

By: Sin City Siren

Sin City Siren — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:24:11 +0000

That is seriously awesome! Go feminist families! Go feminist dads!

By: Two Knives

Two Knives — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:40:20 +0000

We don’t allow the Princesses in our house. It’s been NO from the beginning. That hasn’t stopped my 5-year-old from being interested in them. (She’s also the one that told me that she was going to have a “Bratz Girl” birthday party after I was dead.) For now it’s enough that she knows I disapprove of them; explaining the reasons why will come later.

By: outside the (toy) box » I’m Shallow. They’re Ugly. Social Class and Cultural Consumption.

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:47:34 +0000

[...] recently read a funny post by subarctic mama about her husband convincing her daughter to get regular (unlicensed) sneakers [...]

By: mom

mom — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:32:28 +0000

Har har har. I’m a professor — did you like the way I spelled etiquette? I’m a moron.

By: mom

mom — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:29:44 +0000

I have a 4 year old and feel in an odd way that I have triumphed in this battle, or at least found some peace with it, to the extent that it can be won, but mostly by avoiding the battle completely — by having a nearly TV free home and also by not taking her to stores with me very often (where all that gorgeous stuff is beckoning (they are beautful and often shiny — who wouldn’t want it?). I have a post on my struggle, if you are interested, it’s:

http://outside-the-toybox.com/finding-peace-with-princess/2007/07/27/

If that is super rude blog ettiquitte, please let me know. I’m in my first trimester and still getting a clue.

But, as a funny aside, I especially avoid taking her shopping for shoes and clothes for this reason among others, so I’ve taken to actually tracing her foot on cardboard and taking this foot out with me shopping. Ridiculous! It worked in the summer though – I came home with 3 pairs of sandals and since she never saw the hello kitty or cinderella options, she LOVED them.

I love your dh and your daughter. LOVE THEM.

By: tropicalmama

tropicalmama — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:33:30 +0000

To cheryl
Maybe cinderella didn’t leave because abused chidren will often do anything to gain thier guardians love and the nice prince saved her, with the help of her fairy godmother, he showed her what life on the outside was like and made her burn with a desire for it.
I love princesses and all that crap but do respect the disgust that it manifests in many mothers of girls.
Yay for your DH and being quick on his feet articmama.