My daughter is just starting to get caught up in the "Princess Plague." We keep pushing her towards Tinkerbell, who has wings, wand and powers, but the princesses keep creeping in.
It's not all Disney, of course, but it mostly is. Their princess line -- which can now outfit your daughter head to toe and every single item in her bedroom -- comprises over 2,000 items and is a billion-dollar business. According to the backstory Disney puts out on it they launched it without market testing and was so wildly popular it just took off.
Perhaps that means that these white-bread, cookie-cutter, 18-inch-waisted femmes call out to something biologically inbred in many daughters that cannot be denied. That's Disney's line, anyway.
But I think three points are important here.
First, even if it's true, it's not true of all girls. These things ways sort out on a bell curve, and there are plenty of daughters who would respond to or even prefer assertive and active images of female power.
These are the girls who have made Dora the Explorer a runaway hit in two languages, and they are legion. Yet the industry continues to ignore Dora's success, and treat it as an anomaly.
Aside: The prevailing wisdom is also that boys won't watch girls' shows. Which is why all the TV shows and movies for kids feature male leads. Yet Dora proves the rule is wrong again: her audience is evenly split between boys and girls. Apparently boys don't mind watching girls at all, as long as they're active, assertive girls in action.
Second, there are many girls out there who simply tomboys, or gay. For them, the princess plague is a double whammy. They are not only bombarded with the passive, pink princesses, but they don't see themselves represented anywhere.
What is it like to watch show after show and movie after movie and never, ever see a single girl who looks like you or reminds you of yourself? To see girl after girl who is a success! who wins! not because of anything she does, but because she can attract a boy to rescue her. It must be painful, off-putting, isolating.
For that matter, what is it like for the chubby girls, or the girls who are -- in the old verbiage -- "plain," who have to see being a real girl equated with wasp-waisted femininity, beauty and the attention of boys.
The problem is, media companies like Disney imagine themselves in the entertainment business. But for little kids, they're now also in the education business.
Kids spend more time today with media than in a classroom or with their parents. And it's increasingly a key source -- not just for entertainment, as it was when I was growing up -- but for socialization.
I was lucky if my family went to the movies once every month or so, and I got to watch cartoon shows when they were on -- weekend mornings.
My daughter can watch movies whenever she wants on HBO Family, and there are at least six cable channels devoted to showing kids' TV 24 hours a day. We try to minimize it, but it does sneak in. And many of the shows are appalling. I grew up on Disney (Mickey Mouse Club with Annette and Jimmy, anyone?) and it saddens me that there are shows on the Disney channel I literally have to lock out.
And it's not just daughters. The whole princess thing isn't lost on boys either. They may not buy it, but they're certainly aware of it. They're learning what kind of girls are considered attractive, and which ones are really feminine and which not. Is it any wonder that over two-thirds of girls are already worried about their weight -- or actively dieting -- by the time they're in third grade?
So write Disney. Tell them Walt wouldn't approve. You can email them using the form at http://sdsmail.org.Teach your daughter some "gender literacy." Here are a couple of great links:
And while you're at it, sit your son down, and tell him that not all girls are like these princess, nor should they be. There are strong, smart, brave girls, and when he grows up they'll be waiting for him. And they're a lot more interesting than some sleeping beauty who expects him to do all the work, do all the thinking, and probably schlep out the garbage every night!
