Moms take on princesses & declare ‘our daughters will be healthy, fit, smart, natural and creative. Stay away Disney princesses!’
When I became a mom I declared our home Disney-free. I hated the exploitation model. One of the biggest US employers provided good working wages and full-time work for few. Cultures were appropriated at best, stereo-typed often, and at worst displayed in offensive and even dangerous images. US ideology- usually far right – was embedded in manufactured and simple dualistic moralities. Then as salt on the wounds, these propaganda-laced stories were pushed at costs cheaper than domestic production rates to countries whose cultures were appropriated or misrepresented. Walt Disney was an (admittedly brilliant & talented) libertarian ideologue who pushed his anti-government and hegemonic agenda in his work and films. And I haven’t even gotten to the main issue- the damn princesses. Presented- like Barbie- in unrealistic, mono-cultural and increasingly hyper-sexualized portrayals of female pseudo-empowerment. So I said no. But this post isn’t about all the reasons I said no. It’s about how I gradually said…okay.
First, it was an unwinnable position. Preschool girls gushed about all the princesses & the lucky few who went to Disneyland saw ‘real, live ones!’ Every b-day party was themed around them. Their moms were also educated, lefty activists, some from a multicultural background, all feminists by practice if not identity. Relatives who saw my daughter as tragically denied this rite of passage, used every gift-giving event to send pink Cinderella-themed toys. And like the other girls, mine was obsessed. So I gave in. I let her pick out the dolls & dress-up clothes. I lightly mentioned what bothered me at age-appropriate stages.
By age 6, she was done. She was interested in art, the world, friends, humor, learning and a few trite or pop-culture things. Now at age 9 she’s a thoughtful, empathetic, critical thinker who cares about social justice. She plays with barbies but laughs with me at their unrealistic proportions. She’s confident in her beauty, lacking in any body shame (fingers crossed!), & like her mom spends a lot more time thinking about what she can create or do. The key is… like her mom. The power of Disney & all consumer products is checked by our sincere interactions and role models. Plus Brave is pretty darn cool & while I’m not team (hyper-sexual) Elsa, gotta love how badass she is to save her sister.
As an aside, Disney's recent anti-discrimination position is awesome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_The_Walt_Disney_Company
