The "P" Word

I just finished reading an article by Monique Fields in which she gave her opinion on Disney's legacy of princess films. The article surrounded her opinion on the next establishment in Mickey's closet full of princess friends, The Princess and The Frog, which arrives in theaters this fall. While Fields applauded Disney for their creativity in featuring a black-American princess, the main focus of the article was in bashing the whole concept of princesses in general. The "P" Word. She went on to elaborate on the trials (in her opinion) that a parent has to face throughout the life and process of raising a little girl and the struggle it is to establish to little girls that dreaming of becoming a princess is neither an obtainable goal, nor an acceptable one if it were obtainable.

Really, did she not watch Disney's last princess movie, Enchanted? The "P" word isn't "Princess," it's "Parenting." If Monique was confident in herself as both a parent and a woman, she wouldn't have to worry about her daughter growing up with unrealistic expectations. In her article, Fields worries about her daughter wanting something that she and her husband cannot afford, or trying for something and then failing. I fail to see how this picture is either wrong, unhealthy, or somehow caused by Disney.

Fields also manages to list a whole troupe of names of Disney princesses, and them blames them for giving her daughter false expectations and an unrealistic values of outer beauty. An interesting and not uncommon accusation thrown at Disney. Interestingly enough, however, I grew up with those princesses, and my mother taught me to value them for their personalities and go-get-'em attitudes. She told me that they were so pretty on the outside because their inner beauty was shining through. Cinderella got to where she was through kindness and friendship. Mulan had passion and fought to protect her family. The Princess of next fall wants to follow in her father's footsteps and own a restaurant. These women are not the demure and coy cushion sitters that Fields makes them out to be.

My mother and I had discussions about what made the ugly stepsisters ugly, about why good choices are sometimes hard to make, and about values and morals. We also talked about other characters, like Fivel, the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, and the Alley Cats. As a kid I learned that it was important to value all shapes, sizes, and colors; not just the princesses. Beauty isn't always about looks, but it can be, and that's OK. Fields wrapped her article up by explaining that she would, "let her ugly stepmother out at the first chance," to explain exactly how the world works to her daughter. I was shocked. To crush a child's fantasy is just as bad as allowing them to fully live in that fantasy for too long.

It made me angry that Monique Fields could publish an article abusing a childhood ideal in this manner simply because [it seems] she either will not or is afraid to take the time to sit down and spend the time with her daughter and establish the whole picture about what being a princess means. It's not all powder puffs and playgrounds. The world is also not all harsh words and failures. She's afraid that her daughter will grow up to be prissy and bossy because she believes in princesses and she's rightfully so. If she doesn't teach her child to value inner beauty and outer beauty in balance, she'll end up with one hateful kid on her hands.

By the by, if you want to read the article for yourself, you can find it here.