Disney Princesses (Free Topic)

As a little girl I loved Disney movies more than anything. The princesses were my heroes: I idolized them. They were beautiful, had beautiful voices, cool pets, and best of all, men that adored them. But that has gotten me thinking, what about them appeals to me now?

First: it is important to note there are two types of Disney princesses. First, there are the main six: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, and Jasmine. There are also other Disney princesses that are well known, but don't have the type of following as the main six. Disney princesses such as Pocahantas, Mulan, and Meg fall into this category.

One thing they all have in common is they are strong, beautiful women. On the other hand, they are each in need of one thing: a man to make them happy. Even Belle, the most "independent" of the Disney six is told to "look for a man" and her father tries to set her up with Gaston, the handsome, but wicked, man of the town. She is also seen as "odd" and "peculiar" by other townspeople because of her lack of a man. Mulan begins the movie by looking for a man, then goes off to war and defends her country but doesn't bring honor to her family until she finds a man at the end.

Disney's perception of females and what should be important to them hasn't changed much since Snow White appeared in the 1930s. Even still, we have to wonder if it's what Disney and the corporation find important or what American little girls dream about. It's far more common for little girls to play house and dolls than soldier and cowboys. With this in mind, some little girls do go the "tomboy" route, but there are movies like Cars for them.

Bottom line, the Disney Princesses may be sexist and anti-feminine, but they are a small piece of nostalgia and innocence from my childhood that is still around. Little girls don't understand the sub-text of the storyline. They are much more concerned with the songs and the singing animals. Let them watch their movie with joy instead of trying to inform them that they should be happy scrubbing floors.