What's Wrong With Cinderella?

originally written Dec. 28th, 2006

I am very pleased by this article (cut and paste):

"http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24princess.t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ei=5124&en=3887685b453b9e60&ex=157680000&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&oref=slogin"

It sums up the complexity of the princess paradigm very well.

I, for one, do not apologize for loving the Disney princesses for one reason: they taught me to think for myself. Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine showed me at a young age that it was cool to have an independent spirit and that it was okay to not want what everyone else wanted for me.

I love the princesses, individually, in their individual movies... but I hate the "Disney Princess" merchandise. It strips them of their individual characteristics and stories, and lumps them under one heading. Belle is cool because she's bookish-- but that is not reflected in the merchandising. This is why I always go for the Tinkerbell merchandise, because Tink is allowed to remain her sassy, spritely self. What's even worse is that Esmerelda, Megara, Pocahontas, and Mulan are almost entirely forgotten in the merchandise.

I don't really think there's anything inherently wrong with playing princess-- it's an accessible way for little girls to feel special, and hey, shiny things are shiny and pretty. But this article makes a very good point-- the problem is that princess play is dominating all other types of play for girls, and they are being left with few other options.

Sure, play princess--- but then play pirate, and then veternarian, and then lawyer, okay?

So, what is this all about?

I have been feeling the need to start a public, topical blog for a while now, but I've been unable to come up with a concept. There are so many things to write about, and yet, writer's block is a difficult hurdle to overcome.

But there are certainly topics I am known to ramble about. Children's entertainment often seems to come up, be it Sesame Street, Disney movies, the Baby-Sitters Club, or maybe even Arthur. And I am known to segue into how girls and women fare in these particular works, and what young girls might be taking away from it. Although you DO NOT want to get me started on the dangerous messages in the Twilight saga, there are plenty of other subjects I can pontificate on amicably, maybe even articulately. Let's find out together, shall we?

Although Disney is most likely to be scrutinized regularly, there's too much out there to limit myself to just one creator.