I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sure I don't necessarily agree with the message of a prince coming to save a girl and then living happily ever after. I do, however, like seeing how it puts a smile on Lil-lil's face, mainly cause I remembering loving these stories when I was her age. I loved them so much that for a brief moment Snow White and all seven dwarfs were my imaginary friends, which meant setting up the dinner table as I insisted a little difficult. Of course, in my day, there wasn't such an aggressive product push. I was totally into Princesses and 'happily-ever-afters' though, I also didn't need Disney as I had a real-life fairytale wedding with Charles and Diana I could swoon over. I remember watching the royal wedding and then a week or so later getting a pink dressing gown for my fifth birthday which I was convinced made me look like Princess Di. Let's face it, I think a Disney Princess was a better role model than Princess Di was for me. Di has a lot of similarities to a Disney Princess including the evil stepmother, though the Disney Princesses have a few less issues than she did.
I guess at the moment I'm not too concerned as Lil-lil hasn't become too obsessed with it all. She has a quite a bit of the stuff, but at the moment to her a Princess is a pretty girl who likes to twirl around and have adventures. The only films she's watched are Little Mermaids 2 & 3, which were about Ariel saving the day instead of being saved herself (though I'm not adverse to her watching any of the other movies). She actually loves Peter Pan at the moment as they fly. Goosey on the other hand just yells 'Mermaid!' every time she sees a Disney Princess, which completely annoys her sister.
I also hope that my girls have enough good role models in real life that they're able to indulge in a bit of fantasy now and again and, most importantly, learn to know the difference between the two.
How do you feel about Disney Princesses? Have you allowed your home to turn into a pink palace? Do the mothers of boys have similar issues to deal with? Is it Ben 10, Cars? Why is it we're so conscious of what our little girls watch/like.
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Some of the princess are pretty good role models. Belle - reads books, is a bit nerdy, falls in love with "ugly" beast.
ReplyDeleteThe Bug has only just started getting into Disney - She adores the Little Mermaid and Aladdin. A nice change from The Wiggles I have to say, now to just wean her off Bear In The Big Blue House! I must admit, I'm abit curious about what O will get into as he gets older!
ReplyDeleteI agree - it's not all THAT bad - but ladies, just you wait until you are in the terror that is Barbie as Rapunzel, or Island Princess or the Diamond whatever...NASTY stuff I tell you.
ReplyDeleteOh God, Barbie Island Princess... Don't know if I can stomach that!
ReplyDeleteLoved your bit about Snow White's step-mum - I agree she's one hot mamma - the fairest one of all, perhaps?
I also remember thinking when I was young that Snow White would probably have had more fun if she'd stayed with the seven dwarfs, instead of riding off with the boring old prince.
How do I know I'm doing an okay job as a Mum? When I was talking about a Disney Princess sticker book my 2 1/2 yr old and I were doing, and I asked her if she wanted to be a princess. She said "No, I be Dora, she do more fun stuff". Aaahhhh.... :o)
ReplyDeleteJust make sure that they know the difference between reality and fantasy! They'll be fine! Don't overthink it.
ReplyDeleteI would rather see Disney princesses as role models than someone like Taylor Mortensen dressed in hooker outfits. Maybe it's just me!
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