Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Princess in all of us

A few weeks ago I caught a few minutes of a radio talk show on the subject of popular culture, the media, and in particular, disney princess movies, and their effect on young girls. The idea was that girls are becoming far too interested in their appearance, boys, and sex at younger ages and that it has a negative infuence on their self image. One caller agreed. A second caller surprised the host with a different view of princesses. She is the mother of a three year old girl. She had the child while in an abusive relationship. She has since left the man (whew!). This woman is not worried about her daughter's love of princesses because to be a princesss means being treated like, well like a princess. I interpreted her comments this way: princess doesn't just mean wearing a pretty dress, it means being confident and beautiful and special. Princes don't put down their princesses. They don't hit them. They treat them with all the love and respect that they, and we, deserve.
My all time favorite princess just happens to be an ogre. She is beautiful on the inside. And she can belch better than any man. And who didn't enjoy watching Fiona take out Robin Hood's annoying merry men?  If you haven't seen Shrek, go rent it. Seriously.
Thanks to all who are reading and commenting. When this computer illiterate writer figures out how to comment on your comments you'll hear from me!

2 comments:

  1. I, too, have always liked the Princess themed stories especially the ones from my childhood--"A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett and "The Princess and the Goblin" & "The Princess and Curdie" by George MacDonald. I guess I like the fantasy of it all--going from rags to riches and living in a magical world. Of course, "The Princess Diaries" is a fun movie and yes, being a true princess is all about conduct--behaving princely.

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  2. I agree 100%! And besides all that, this is a tough world now...there's nothing wrong with spending some quality time in fantasy-land. Kids grow up too fast...if imagining life as a princess, or prince makes life a little happier...I'm all for it!

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