Princesses

I read an article recently about an actress (I think she was one of the Disney princesses) who said she didn't let her daughters watch certain Disney movies because of the message it sends.  No Cinderella--don't wait for a man to rescue you.  Rescue yourself!  No Snow White--it's not OK for a man to kiss a women while she's sleeping or without her permission.  No Little Mermaid--don't give up your voice for a man!

On the one hand--I totally get it and really appreciate the difference Disney has made in the way their heroines are portrayed.  Moanna is a strong gal.  Rapunzel looks out for herself without emasculating her man.  Mulan is fully prepared to go against gender roles and fight for her family honor and her country.  Tianna is a hard working woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.  BAM!  Those are my kind of ladies!

But I also think we have to remember the time during which Cinderella and Snow White were written and adapted into movies.  We have to remember that step mothers were fewer and far between, not to mention all evil.  Now that step mothers are kinder and more prevalent, we can rest assured that any stepmother today would never poison a child nor make a step child feel inferior to her own biological children.

Ok so that's not true.

But I'd rather take Cinderella and Snow White and use them as examples for my girls.  If you found yourself in that situation, how would you respond?  This is why we don't take food from strangers.  How would you react if you woke up to a strange man kissing you?  And by the way, here's how to hit where it counts.

And I do take exception with the notion that Ariel shouldn't have given up her voice for Eric.  We sacrifice for love all the time.  And that's not a bad thing.  I sacrifice time every week for my children (don't get me started on my body!).  I sacrificed the normal dating life for the long-distance relationship.  Nick sacrifices time at home for the job he loves.  There are many, many things I love.  I'd give up any one of them for my daughters or my husband.  They are more important.  I don't begrudge Ariel for making that choice.  It was, after all her choice.  Plus, women have been sacrificing for their families since time began.  And so have men.  I don't think that's a bad message to send.  Plus, Ariel was raised by a really strong single dad who manages to also raise her seven sisters by himself as well as keep his kingdom.  Wow!  That's a great message to highlight.  And I also like that in every story, none of them are perfect.  There are flaws and bits of reality in each and every story--it's (at least a little) reflective of real life.  We're making it.  We might be a little worse for wear when we get to the end, but we will get to the end with amazing memories and stories created along the way. 

Think of what Snow White shared with her grand children who might have asked about her first kiss--what a story!

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