Princess Culture

When we began talking about princess culture in this class I was well aware of the effect it can have on children. From the time I was 12 years old until now, ten years later, my cousins have been having children. From three different cousins they have had six baby girls and two baby boys. As these girls have grown up I have seen the same trend continuing. My cousins will buy them princess dresses to dress up in, backpacks or lunchboxes with their favorite Disney princess on them, and even take them to Disney World so that their dream of meeting these princesses can come to life. They were raising these girls with an idea of  I never thought about the negative aspects that this could have on children, though. All of that changed when a new movie by Disney and Pixar was announced.  

Brave was released in 2012, but before anyone could even see the movie there was an uproar over this new character, Merida. She was a new type of Princess. In the norm of Princess culture the characters are Beautiful, submissive, and ultra feminine. However when the preview for Brave is seen it is clear that she isn't submissive or ultra feminine (at least not the way society defines femininity). She talks back to her father and mother and wants nothing to do with a husband. When the media gets a hold of this trailer they're immediately confused. They don't seem to understand how this woman could want to be independent there has to be some ulterior motive behind this... she must be... a lesbian! Of course! It makes perfect sense. She is a beautiful, strong, and independent woman with no interest in being married. She must be a lesbian. It's the only logical response they could have made.

Or they could have gone along with Disney and Pixar on this journey and not worried about her sexual orientation. I remember being offended at the thought that just because she does not tie into traditional gender roles that they would jump to a conclusion. Especially about a cartoon character in a movie. I just think it's a horrible thing to assume someone's sexual orientation based on a few outward characteristics or, in the case of Merida, not wanting to be in a relationship and having more traditionally masculine interests.

I hate to think that guys are judged this way or that girls are judged this way; mostly I hate to think that my nieces and nephews and little cousins are growing up in a world that will judge something so personal based on how they choose to dress or where their interests lie. I think Princess culture (and Superhero culture) is doing a lot of harm on the side of understanding gender and what it means to be a man or a woman in today's America.