Fighting Princess Propaganda

In this article from Relevant Magazine Ms. Mayfield discusses princess paraphernalia for girls and The Little Mermaid... how The Little Mermaid was cooler before she became human.

I grew up refusing to wear pink, fighting my mom when she pushed florals and pleated skirts on me, and digging up bugs for worm farms and terrariums. I taught myself some hieroglyphs when I wanted to be an Egyptologist, and spent my summers swimming in lakes and hiking.

Yet I loved Disney Princesses... they were wild and dangerous, they weren't scared to take risks for love, they had passions... Belle saw a Prince where everyone else just saw a Monster, Jasmine got over her rebellion to love a Street Rat, Cinderella's kindness and sweetness drew the heart of a Prince, Sleeping Beauty's reckless rebellion inspired her Prince to fight dragons for her, Pocahontas defied her father to save the man she loved...

As I got older, I started easing up on my anti-girly mentality... I wore make-up, and eventually began adding pink into my wardrobe, wearing dresses and shorts, but more importantly, I began to love myself and love that I was a woman. I could be strong and smart and a woman... it wasn't mutually exclusive.

Somewhere around college I realized that I didn't like girlyness because I didn't like myself. I didn't like that women were supposedly weaker, so I went for the tough-girl approach.

But in the Bible, women who are mentally and spiritually strong, who have strong characters are more effective and alluring than other women and many men... Women who are beautiful and intelligent, who are responsible, caring, nurturing and who have an iron core... the women who offered hospitality to the enemy and drove a spike in his brain, the daughters who were bold enough to ask Moses for an inheritance, Rahab who hid the Israelite spies in her house, Ruth who risked her honor to help her mother-in-law Naomi.

Living in my community, I have to say that women around here seem somewhat girlier than I remember being at their age. They shriek at flies and bees, they scream and run from soccer balls and wear makeup and clothes more mature looking than me. It sometimes worries me that teenagers might know more about being woman-ish than me... and then I think looking the part isn't as important as what's inside.

Is it wrong for little girls to think they are royal? Is it wrong for them to wear glitter and prance? I don't think so, as long as they also learn the responsibilities that go along with royalty... compassion, graciousness, service... if they also learn that being a princess isn't about getting everything and being above, but that leaders serve and beauty heals and that love reaches out and isn't afraid of anything. This is what I remember watching Disney Princesses...