Disney Princesses: Positive Role Models for Young Girls?

It's just part of a typical day at Walt Disney World. You walk through the park, Dole Whip (or turkey leg, or popcorn box) in hand, on the way to the next ride or show. Inevitably, along the way, you encounter a Disney Princess.

No, these aren't the cast member "face characters" whom Disney employs for our entertainment.

These are the scores of young girls, decked out from head to toe as their favorite Princess character.

At first, I uttered the same "awww, isn't she cute?" that so many visitors do. But after a while (and many, many more trips to my favorite weekend "playground") I started to question the appropriateness of such a display.

Over the past several years, the Disney Princess franchise has exploded, and nowhere is this more evident than in Disney's theme parks. Entire sections of stores, which used to offer unique merchandise, are now devoted to selling the accoutrements of Disney royalty for children: not only dresses, but wigs. Shoes. Sceptres. Jewelry. For those parents willing to drop a hundred bucks, your daughter can walk out of the Emporium looking like Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Ariel (in both her human and mermaid form!), Snow White, or Belle.

And, if you're willing to drop even MORE, you can have your child professionally primped by the stylists at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (which now occupies the space in Cinderella Castle which used to house one of the Magic Kingdom's most unique stores, an Art of Disney gallery which also sold jewelry and decorative swords in a vaulted-ceilinged room; I suspect many WDW purists and aficionados shed a tear over that loss). The volume this kiddie-salon generates causes endless traffic jams in the passageway beneath the castle, where now, to view the beautiful mosaics, you must run the gauntlet of bedecked little girls, in addition to the mobs trying to get into Cinderella's Royal Table across the way.

I do not intend to criticize parents who are willing to spend this kind of money on their children, or who take pride and joy in dressing their little girl up in such a costume; indeed, if these outfits had been popular during my childhood, I guarantee I would have begged for one, and my mother would have bought me every piece of Princess stuff I could lay my little hands on. It certainly makes for a "magical" experience in many ways, and lots of girls get extra attention from the "real" Princesses and other Disney cast members. However, I believe that many parents do not always take into account the source material for these costumes: Disney films like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid. These films in many ways seem to glorify values and ideas we may not wish for our little girls to emulate; namely, the concept of the "damsel in distress."

Today, it is more important than ever to teach our young girls self-reliance and the value of hard work. Many of the Disney princess films come from a different era, where the role of women in society was quite different, and it was expected that they play a more subservient role to their male counterparts. Thus, heroines like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White find their "happy ending" in a handsome prince, who comes along unexpectedly and whisks her away from life's problems, be it an evil stepmother, an evil queen, or enchanted sleep; and at the end there is a beautiful wedding where "all her dreams come true." All of them are beautiful, young, and troubled, and none of them are shown seeking an alternative solution to their problems. These characters' most glorified qualities seem to be their beauty and their helplessness. And, while I do not advocate parents boycotting these films just for these reasons (I admit to having ALL of them on DVD and they certainly have their value and charm), I do feel that it is important that parents consider using them to teach their daughters lessons about self-reliance and the changed status of women in today's society. And while Disney, in its quest to drain wallets even further, likely did not think of the backstories of these princesses in their marketing strategy and is not consciously advocating the values they portray, a thoughtful consumer and parent has to ask: What is the true value of this fad in the long run, and what lessons are we teaching our kids by buying into it? Is it more than just a dress, a tiara, and a glittery hairstyle?

The only Disney Princess who seems to alter this tradition of the helpless heroine is Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. While she does end up with the handsome prince in the end, Belle is a "modern" woman, who is not afraid to be intelligent and state her opinions. She is distinctly non-traditional, even within the village where she lives; she reads unabashedly and longs for "so much more than they've got planned" for her. She spurns the handsome but stupid suitor and eventually falls for the ugly and troubled Beast. She chooses her captivity in an unselfish act to save her elderly father, and finds beauty in the most horrible of creatures. And while Beast does become the proverbial "knight in shining armor" at the end of the story, Belle has more than proven herself capable of caring for herself--her marriage to the prince is a personal choice, not a reward or a "way out." She could, conceivably, have left the castle and done any number of things, but finds herself content with what she has found.

Strangely, this "damsel" concept does not extend to many other characters in the Disney universe; in fact there are many who exhibit admirable qualities. During the Depression, Mickey Mouse was a national symbol of resourcefulness, pluck, and optimism; his longtime girlfriend Minnie, while always loyal, never misses an opportunity to express her distaste with something he's done wrong by her. Goofy became synonymous with the lovable oaf; despite his ineptitude at so many things, he never quits trying and faces adversity with a grin. The Toy Story characters show the power of friendship even in the face of danger; Finding Nemo's Marlin is a wonderful example of love for one's children. Even among the "lesser" Princesses, Pocahontas and Mulan both show strong resolve and independence; however, their popularity is but a fraction of the heavily-marketed "ballroom gown" Princess characters' appeal.

Is allowing our young girls to revel in the Disney Princess fad setting them up for a lifetime of relying on others to solve their problems? Likely not. However, we would be short-changing our children if we did not use the opportunity to teach them lessons that will make them self-reliant and productive members of society. They are more impressionable than many of us give them credit for. We do not want to destroy our children's fantasy, but we do need to supplement it with a dose of reality from time to time.