I have been pondering a response to Melissa's post. She, being a brilliant person and master debater, brought up a lot of good points.
Finding good role models for girls is incredibly hard.
My niece was in town for a volleyball tournament this weekend. So my sister and I took her to this place to get her prom dress... It seems that all the girls want to get their dress here because they have a guarantee not to sell the same dress to anyone else going to your school's event. Yeah, I know. Anyway... check out these dresses that 16-18 year old girls are buying. I was SHOCKED. My niece, thankfully, got one of the more tasteful dress - but it was backless...
Project Runway had an episode (yes I love this show...) - a PROM challenge. They had to design a dress for the client but the mom was looming in the distance. None of the designers could bring themselves to designing revealing dresses - even as the girls begged them too.
What does this have to do with Princesses? Well, when all the images of the Disney Princesses (and Barbies) are about being in ball gowns with perfect make-up and hair, I find it rather disconcerting. As a woman with major issues (yes - the body kind), I really would love to figure our a way to prevent my daughter from having them. I guess my opposition to the Princess franchise boil more down to marketing than the content of the film (although...).
I know that eventually she'll meet those gals - the princesses I mean - and I hope it's Belle first. She reads. She's cool. Please understand I actually love Disneyland (in the off season) and played with Barbies until well... lets just say until I was too old to be playing with them.
But there are other reasons I avoid those films...
The villains in all those movies:
Snow White: evil stepmother
Cinderella: evil stepmother
Sleeping Beauty: evil fairy
Little Mermaid: evil female octopus
Okay - Beauty and the Beast has the bad guy being the good looking fella... very nice...
Ya get dead moms all the time in the Disney Films: Snow White, Cinderella, Bambie, Finding Nemo, etc...
Mel's is right - you could go crazy if you stick to a feminist high horse on all those films. Perhaps I am over sensitive.
Soph loves Dora the Explorer - asks to watch it over any other show. As I look at those other programs on TV - that seems to be the only show with a girl lead. Blue's Clues is a girl dog. Anything I'm missing?
5 comments:
I love you~
And I have the exact same dilemma with the body/image issues....I am conflicted about that as well....How in the world will I help my daughter to not have those issues when I cannot escape them myself? It is a quandry....and one that I am not even close to having an answer to...I understand the marketing thing- but Disney does at least try in the movies-- Snow White was fairest not just because of her looks, but because she was kind and gentle...Personally- if I am going to ban something it would be those Bratz dolls...I hope and pray that Bella never likes those things....but if she does- it will be time for some discussions...
There are male bad guys too in Disney films- Mulan for example, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Aladdin, Pinnochio. Granted- they are not the Princess films...but it might be more disconcerting to have the female heroine be put upon by a MALE villain and have to be saved? There is something---I don't know---icky--about Cinderella being kept locked up by her evil step father...? :) And at least Cinderella had a fairy godMOTHER as well (and wasn't "saved" by the Prince. She was saved by MICE! :))
But again- you have to go back to the source material on a lot of this....Blame the Grimms!
Female leads--that is a tougher one...Do you count Max and Ruby? I am not sure if Wubbzy is a girl or not...The Backyardigans is a nice ensemble with 2 girls... The new Winnie the Pooh series has a girl named Darby in it (not sure how I feel about that- although Christopher Robin has visited), The Little Einsteins have two female leads in the group...Jack's Big Music Show has Mary (I consider her a lead because she is always there)
To be honest- I am not sure why I have held on to this issue... maybe a part of me doesn't want to let the word "feminist" become dirty and I kind of feel it has because we make these kind of things the issues...part of it is there are many women out there who make me feel like a bad mother because I let Bella like the princesses (you are NOT one of them K!)I don't know...
it is an ongoing debate and a vicious circle...
xoxo~
Mel
This is a really interesting topic to me as well because I grew up watching Disney movies over... and over... and over... blame my obsessive personality. I played with Barbies, My mom put me in froofy dresses all the time, etc. I went to an all-girls' school and had all the opportunities to develop body complexes in the world - but I've always been comfortable with my body, even when I had quite a belly, a whole lot of behind, and let's face it, a pretty round face. I also had really terrible acne, did I ever tell you that? And somehow I turned out okay. I credit my mother a lot with constantly reminding me that my brain was more important than the way I look, even though it's fun to look good. I think I remember being 9 or 10 years old and having her explain to me the biology of good looks - "Animals shun other animals that aren't well groomed because they think they are sick or that their genes aren't good." Of course then she had to explain to me what genes were.
Rambling. I guess knowledge is power, as they say. And though I don't deny that Cj looks a hell of a lot like those Disney Princes, I never had any illusions about happily ever after.
Happily, sure. ;)
Wait!~ I thought of more:
Pinky Dinky Doo
Kim Possible
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
64 Zoo Lane (her name is lucy)
Miss Spider's Sunny Patch
of course when they get a little older we have Hannah Montana and That's so Raven.
And yes- it is sad I know all these.... in my defense I have a 2 year old and I don't want to watch the same thing all the time! ;)
Oh geeze - don't know if I can handle Hannah Montana....
LOL~ Well- me either....Actually Raven is more annoying...
but I would rather she like them than let's say...Lindsey Lohan or Britney Spears.... ~shiver~
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