Sayonara Cinderella

March 14, 2008

OK, folks. One question: what is the appeal with the Disney Princesses? The fact that they are pretty? That they have a prince and a poofy dress and live in a castle? I’ll pass, thank you very much. Please pardon me if I sound a bit jaded. I just have a slight bitterness about the princess madness that has played a role in Emily’s live for the past 2 years. She played dress up with the outfits, went to see them on ice, and has a multitude of trinkets and other such princess paraphenelia. Handel’s

"Hallelujia" chorus practically resonated in my ears when she uttered the highly anticipated words, "I think maybe I am not so much into princesses anymore".
Don’t get me wrong, she still has an adequete love for pincessy things, and this much I can handle, but I am oh-so-pleased to report that the undying adoration has come to an end. I must say that I do appreciate the princesses mannerly ways, their poise, and their ability to perservere when they encounter adversity These young ladies did have their strong points. That Cinderella did not bend over and accept her fate as an unappreciated servant. I get this. Way to go, blondie. Unforutunately, she waited for a prince to come along and save the day. What’s up with that? Is this really the role model we want for our impressionable girls? I think not.

And what about that Mermaid...disobeying her father like that and "flitting to the surface"? Putting her life in danger and giving up her voice, her God given gift, to hang out with a fella she had only seen from afar? Superficial much, Ariel? Seriously, you’d think one of her sisters, or at least Sebastian, would have stepped in and let her know that there were other fish in the sea. You need not give up part of yourself to make your dreams come true. Really.

Quite honestly, the only princess I would hang out with, and want my daughter to learn anything from, would be Belle. Yes, the bookworm who saw the true beauty in the ghastly beast gets an A in my gradebook. She didn’t fall for that egotistical Gaston. She stood up for her father and took a stand. She valued education and heart over beauty, and this is a lesson I would like to send to my daughter.

I look forward to the opportunity to revisit these stories with Emily when she is old enough to learn the right lessons from them. I am just happy, for this moment, that I do not have to worry about her expecting some guy on a white horse to come sweeping by and rescue her. My girl can stand up for herself, thank you very much, and I intend to be sure she knows it.
OK. I am climbing off of my soapbox for now. Carry on!