And What is the Deal With the Princess Thing?

On an episode last year of the enduring television show The Simpson’s, the plot line involved the also enduring Krusty the Clown character being unceremoniously upstaged and outmoded by someone called Princess Penelope (you can watch the episode here). This princess typified all that was feminine, enchanted, and magical about princesses, down to the train of her dress and the unicorn she gracefully rode through the sky. The effect was near narcotic for the girls viewing the show (including Lisa Simpson) and as Princess Penelope would introduce more and more props and tropes of “princessness”, her audience became more and more rabid, enraptured, and ecstatic.

The point of this being that there is some near primal appeal that princess iconography and lore has over young girls (some would argue young women as well). Would it be assuming too much if I said that little girls were hardwired to love all things princess? Generalizations aside, the princess phenomenon is huge, and a huge moneymaker at that. According to the New York Times, sales at Disney Consumer Products, which packaged all nine of its princess characters a decade ago under one royal rubric, have shot up to well more than $3 billion globally from a meager $300 million in 2001. There are now more than 25,000 princess items at last count, and likely a few thousand more after the recent release of Disney;s The Princess and the Frog (featuring Disney’s first African-American princess).

No matter how popular or how cute this whole princess spectacle might be, it is unequivocally problematic. The whole princess myth reinforces very specific ideas of femininity, passivity, body image, as well as well as the desire to get married above and beyond any other desire, thus modeling girls who largely view themselves as objects to be desired, admired, and obtained. According to an article written in 2006 by Peggy Orenstein for the New York Times, “…there are no studies proving that playing princess directly damages girls’ self-esteem or dampens other aspirations. On the other hand, there is evidence that young women who hold the most conventionally feminine beliefs — who avoid conflict and think they should be perpetually nice and pretty — are more likely to be depressed than others and less likely to use contraception.”

Of course there remarkable subversions of the princess myth that change the trajectory of the happy ending. There is the children’s book The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch that depicts the princess as an indisputably stronger and more resourceful character than the prince (and the dragon for that matter) and portrays a happy ending consisting of the princess’s rejection by the prince, and then ultimate awareness that she was better off without him. There is also the notable retelling of the Atalanta myth from the 1972 book and recording Free to Be…You and Me by Marlo Thomas. In this version, Princess Atalanta is to be married off by her father the king to the fastest suitor in the town (as proven by a foot race). Princess Atalanta herself trains to win the race, and winds up tying the race with a potential suitor, Young John. Instead of following her father’s wishes, she and Young John become friends and go off into the world (separately) to have adventures of their own. This particular story reveals a distinctly independent, and some would say feminist, retelling of the princess myth, while presenting a new contemporary model where friendship is the true reward and romance may or may not happen.

So what is it with this whole princess thing? Is the princess lore as significant and influential as the critics would make it out to be? Does the whole princess spectacle reinforce negative gender stereotypes? Or is a princess sometimes just a princess and nothing more? I am certain there are parents (as well as reformed princesses) out there who have experienced this firsthand and have distinct opinions on the matter. I encourage you to share your thoughts, feelings, and enchanted stories.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Berny P.

7:16AM PST on Feb 19, 2012

Every little girl daydreams of being a princess as does every little boy dream of being a fireman etc.
Life is going to be hard enough for our little ones without us trying to take the joy out of their life by destroying their fantasies.

Why should we distroy fantasie??

Live and let live and stop analysing everything!

send a green star

Zuzana K.

7:08AM PST on Feb 19, 2012

When I was little (and now) I loved Disney, but never was keen on Snow White, or Cinderella. My favorite was Mulan - the brave non passive warrior, the inquisitive, spirited, courageous Pocahontas, and Ariel who explored and was interested in going beyond her surroundings. Those are good role models. And now more recently Tiana - who is my most favorite because she is hard working and down to earth. I am not keen on the Princess franchise, for princesses seems such a stereotyped, as the article says, passive mindset - I notice usually, it seems to be Jasmine (the spoiled rich girl whose only 'rebellion' was not agreeing with her father's choice of husband), or Sleeping Beauty (self explanatory even by name). There should be more emhasis on the more rebellious females of the Disney world as they are the best role models. It's also the nature of the products that's problematic - 'pretty fashion glitter dress' or 'beautiful horse' - why emhasise the peripeheral when this is SO reductive! Instead they could focus on the virtues of the princesses - like Snow White's affection for animals, Princess Rapunzel's art or agility skills (as opposed to focus only her hair - which in fact of course oppress her as it is magical and is the reason the evil 'mother' keeps her locked up) which would give a much better message.
In real life my favourite Princess was Lady Diana because of her charity work - which made me admire her for her kind nature, not for her status.

Eternal G.

5:56PM PST on Jan 29, 2012

I hate pink princesses stuff.

Mary L.

11:21AM PST on Jan 8, 2012

Ameer and Christin, you both made good points! You explained the feelings that I have. Thanks. My daughter and granddaughter did not wait for some man to rescue them. They are strong women! Sometimes they lead and sometimes they follow. That is what life is...give and take. Not dominance by females or males but working together.

Jacquie J.

1:26AM PST on Jan 5, 2012

Every little girl daydreams of being a princess as does every little boy dream of being a fireman etc. Life is going to be hard enough for our little ones without us trying to take the joy out of their life by destroying their fantasies. Long live Pink

Christin F.

10:07PM PST on Jan 4, 2012

Victoria, I really resent your generalizations about feminists. I am a feminist and I don't see anything wrong with princess daydreams. All women are equal but not the same, just as all feminists are not the same.

P.S. Feminists are the reason that you and I are allowed to vote, are allowed to own our own property, get protection against spousal abuse, get paid fair and equal wages, etc. Please educate yourself on the subject

9:59PM PST on Jan 4, 2012

Ameer, your words are eloquent and wise. I believe you said it all.

I am more than a little ticked off by all these anti-princess stories. Why does the princess have to represent the anti-feminist. I myself was raised a feminist and have a little girl as well. I feel very proud of my feminist upbringing and will try and bring some of that wisdom to my daughter's upbringing.

I never imposed the idea of the princess or gave her any ideas about outer beauty. From the time she was eighteen months old, she knew who she was and she was a princess. She loves everything girly and fancy, and she decided this. Neither I nor society told her who she was, she figured it out and loves being a girl. Do the people who write these articles even have daughters. True there are little girls out there that are not girly in the conventional sense, but if you were educated on the subject you would know that many, if not most, have that "primal" sense of self as a romantic and feminine character. I'm sorry, but you can't intellectualize your way out of this one. I would rather have a little girl with a vivid imagination and sense of self then one who is forming an identity based around a pc agenda being forced down her throat.

jayasri a.

6:47AM PST on Jan 4, 2012

Thanks for the article

Ameer T.

10:10PM PST on Jan 3, 2012

All great visionaries were and are dreamers. it is these visionaries or dreamers who envision a better world for us and design systems, technology, create art and endeavor to show you a world or a way of life that would be better than the one you are in right now. All dreams are products of imagination first and foremost and all imagination leads to creative outcomes sooner or later. Without imagination we would not progress.

Who is to decide what one should imagine or dream of. imagination is the true freedom of mankind. no one should be fettered down by what to imagine or set rules for dreaming. imagination is so much more but most importantly it is the shape of things to come.

Are we as adults really any different than children. agreed we dont think about princesses or toothfairies or dress like fairies and angels or play with the same toys anymore. The models change but the process remains essentially the same. We may not dream of being a princess but we do dream of being the CEO of our company, we may not dress up as fairies or angels but we do dress up in a certain way for offices in line with how we imagine ourselves to be or want to appear to others, we may not play with rattles and dolls but we have our own toys all the same. We all dream the same way we did as children. its just that now we have the power to put our dreams to action therefore name them soemthing respectful like Goals, objectives, strategies and so on.

Sam T.

8:06PM PST on Jan 3, 2012

Don't get me wrong imagination is what makes the world go round! Just please make sure kids imagine fun and healthy things!