A guest blog by Bizarro Anita (aka Doug)
Save us Princess!
Recent slanderous comments towards the great benefactor of the feminist movement, aka Disney, need to be address with hard facts.
Think back to the dark, un-enlightened days of the early 80’s. As recently as 1980, men outnumbered women in bachelor degrees awarded (Men: 469,883, Women: 465,257) However, based on current enrolment, female undergraduates will outnumber men almost 1.5 to 1. (2016-17 (estimated) Women: 1,057,000, Men: 707,000).
What changed? How did the most dramatic shift in gender educational ratios in the history of the world occur? The answer is clear: the increased participation in post-education activities by women is directly correlated with the introduction of the Disney Princess line. The combined inspirational power of Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Cinderella and Jasmine has achieved what decades of suffragettes could not: they have taught women that they can pursue any dream they chose.
Sure, feminists feared that a generation of girls raised on visions of princesses would destroy all the hard work of decades of women fighting for equality, but that simply has not happened. The explanation is clear: the incredible, remarkable potential of women is not that they must act like men, nor that they must act like princesses. The miracle of femininity is that they can do either, or both, or neither. The “sky is falling” viewpoint forgets the most obvious thing: women are smart enough and secure enough to forge their own path. They are not so weak as to be swayed solely by a cartoon dream. They can enjoy the princess dream as a child, much like little boys can dream of being knights or astronauts. But when the time comes to make real decisions about their lives, our little princess girls are making smart, independent choices for their future. And for the most part, those choices involve textbooks and laboratories, not pink dresses and ballrooms.
So please, stop underestimating the ability of our future women to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. The girls are fine. If they want a pretty little doll in a fancy dress, then allow them their joy. They’ll make the right choice when it really matters.
However, we must remember the impact of thin-ideals expressed in Disney movies on the body images of little girls, preteens, teenagers and even adult women. In my opinion, I have never thought of princess movies as suppressing women but instead as negatively impacting how we feel about ourselves, our bodies and our relationships.
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