In the 2007 movie Enchanted Patrick Dempsey plays the single father of a 6 year old daughter. Early in the film Dempsey’s character presents his daughter with a book of great women in history instead of that fairytale book she wanted. The idea being the emphasis on reality and practicality.
This is just one example of the on-going argument that fairy tales and princesses instill in little girls a warped sense of reality teaching them to look to men to find fulfillment in their lives.
Disney princesses especially seem to be viewed as the main culprits; destroying a whole genders’ sense of independence, self-esteem and so on. Well I’m here to tell you that not only do I enjoy Disney Princesses for their sheer entertainment value but I actually admire many of them because more than a few of these princesses show more moxie than actual women I’ve met. Lets explore this further shall we…
Of the nine most well known Disney Princesses, only the three created before 1960 can be described as hapless and helpless women awaiting the arrival of a prince to save them… and even Cinderella showed evidence of some pluck. The other six? Independent women. That’s right, all of them modern women who had personal goals, passions, talents and desires for their lives and took active steps to take matters into their own hands and pursue those goals and passions.
- Mulan took up arms to keep her already disabled father out of the front lines of of war.
- Pocahontas defied her father and tried to bring peace between her tribe and the “strange visitors”.
- Jasmine was bored with the idea of marriage for the sake of it and set out to experience life outside the established boundaries.
- Belle, an avid book reader, makes it clear where her interests lie and would rather be chased down by wolves than be married to “the most eligible man in town”.
- And the most recent princess to join the ranks, Tiana, was a woman with a true entrepreneurial spirit who was focused establishing her own restaurant.
That these women happened to find love along the way should not be held against them. Most women today will tell you that to find love and marry does not detract from your independence but is a reflection of your ability to balance the pursuit of individual interests and sharing them with someone you care about.
Even Ariel whose primary goal was to become human and be with Eric was ballsy enough to do what it took to make it happen. Her methods may have left something to be desired but the easy thing would have been to accept the status quo and do what was expected of her but she would have none of it and instead did what she had to do to get her man.
So in honor of my planned trip to Disney World, I say hats off to the princesses of Disney and kudos to those women who live their lives on their own terms and to all the men, both real and imagined, who embrace a woman who knows who she is, what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.
And now its time for you to weigh in. Do you think princesses set little girls up for disappointment or has Disney done well in creating princesses with an independent spirit?
Uncommonly U 