Not really, but I own a few princess movies from Disney....and I let Pumpkin watch them on occasion.
We now living in a society where the media is littered with images of too-skinny girls and how to be like that. Let's face it - a VERY small percent of the population actually looks like that on their own. I saw a poster once of 2 sets of similar legs legs from about mid-thigh down. The question was posed at the bottom "which one is the super-model and which one is the child dieing from malnutrition?" The honest truth? I couldn't tell the difference. We are dieing (literally) to be thin and the pressure is on all of us - especially teenagers.
When we look at dolls and princesses that are presented to very young girls, they ALL have these skinny girls with impossibly small wastes, full breasts, small feet, dainty hands, perfect completion, no freckles or glasses or bad hair days. Barbie is the worst culprit - if she were a real person, she would fall over. Her waste is too narrow and her breasts are so disproportionate, that shes too top heavy.
Then come the princesses - and they all look about the same - only they are proportionate. But more than the looks of them, it's the message of what they tell our young impressionable daughters.
Ranked (in order of best to worst)
Tiana (the princess and the frog) This hard-working gal brought diversity to the princess brand. She dream of owning her own restaurant and never gives up.
Belle (Beauty and the beast) She loves reading and chooses the less-than-lovely Beast over hottie Gaston - she sees inner beauty. But some of the scenes with the Beast have a domestic violence vibe about them.
Jasmine (aladdin) She keeps a tiger as a pet. So tough. She isn't content with being just a princess - she ventures out to see the world and finds a Diamond in the rough and marries a peasant.
Aura (Sleeping Beauty) Her obedience to her fate is a good lesson for all girls - in the end she ends up not only obeying, but gets the prince too (with a little help from the fairies)
Rapunzel (Tangled) What can't this girl do with her hair? Too bad it takes a hot guy to give her the guts to climb out of her tower.....
Cinderella (Cinderella) This rages-to-riches girl teaches how to have a good attitude when life hands you lemons and not grumble and complain even though her life is anything but fair. Not much else here except the lesson that Ugly = Evil.
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) She loves house work and falls for Prince Charming at first sight. Her ability to talk to animals is sweet, but hardly a useful skill at all. She shacks up with 7 men until she takes off with Prince charming.
Ariel (The Little Mermaid) She gives up her family and her voice to join some guy who may or may not even like her. Her rebellion and disobedience to her father and ohter authorities lands her in trouble with the sea witch.= - she falls in with the wrong crowd to try to get what she wants....and all at the age of 16. How charming.....
It is very tempting to clear out my DVD rack and just avoid the risk that my daughter is learning that life is all about being skinny, blond and rich. But I know that she'll get a princess for a birthday or a christmas gift from a family member, or see Barbie on the toy shelf. I don't plan on sheltering her form the imperfections of pop culture, just loving and supporting her enough so that she grown up thinking of herself as a princess on her own terms.
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