Cinderella? Is that you?

Cinderella? Is that you?

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family, kids

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I've got something on my mind and I need to get it out. So if it's ok with you, I'd like to deviate a bit from my usual blog content.  So I'm not going to talk about crafting, DIY, or anything of the sort. I'm going to talk about princesses, specifically Cinderella.  Let me step up onto my soap box.

Have you seen her lately?  Disney sent her to some fancy plastic surgeon to get some work done. I'm beyond angry about it. 
I know she's over 50 and maybe even a bit old fashioned but that's what we loved about her. She was all lady.

Cinderella as she appeared in 1950:

 Source: IMDB



Source: IMDB



Source: Paideia

Aww, isn't she sweet?  She is so angelic, so elegant, so innocent.  But we can't have that. Oh no. Not for our girls. Our girls should know that the MOST important thing is to be sexy. 

Source: Parties 4 Kids



You may be rolling your eyes at me because the changes are subtle. You may be thinking that girls shouldn't be looking up to princesses anyway, with or without the arching back and widened eyes.  That's cool, that's cool.  But maybe some of you feel as I do...that our little girls are getting a big message. They need to be sexier.  I mean, heck even Cinderella needs to be sexier so they must need to be sexier too.

My heart aches for what we have decided, collectively as a culture, is appropriate for little girls to emulate.  As a parent, I monitor this message as best I can.  We do not have Bratz dolls in the house and Molly owns 2 Barbie dolls, both of which are not too trampy looking.  I remind her during the princess movies that it would be awesome if the princess had told the prince to hold off for a few years while she goes to college or starts her own business.  We talk about how much better it is to be a good person rather than a pretty person. I'm not trying to say my way is the best way but it's important to me to teach these lessons and so I do.

 And I also know that I can get worked up over things so  I have tried not to get overworked about all the sexualization of girls' characters.  I got over it when the Care Bears went on a diet. I overlooked Strawberry Shortcake's journey to cooldom with long hair and short skirts (although, on a side note, did you notice that they don't use the shortcake part anymore in the newer cartoons?  She's just Strawberry. Like a porn star name or something. You get the idea.).

 I thought Disney was starting to come to our side. I thought they were becoming allies in the fight against over-sexualizing our daughters. I thought Disney had gotten the idea that we want the princesses to be more than pretty faces.  Tiana's dream isn't to find Prince Charming but rather, to open a restaurant using hard work. WHAT?  Crazy talk. And then Rapunzel?  The one with the gumption to escape her situation and then to rescue her "prince?"  And our most recent addition...Brave!  Oh heck yeah! She's a bad ass!  Rock on, Disney!!

But then they went and tramped up Cinderella. And now I'm angry. I am trying to raise girls in what I call the Bratz age and it's hard. So Disney, you suck for making it harder.  You haven't gotten it at all. And I know you're in the market to make money, not raise girls to be strong women but you must know that Cinderella will sell no matter how unsexy she is.  I promise  there won't be a 5 year old girl looking at her going "Eh, she really could use a makeover." 

I fear that soon her glass slippers will end up with platforms and 6 inch stiletto heels.  And our little girls will measure themselves to be worthy not by their self confidence, integrity, ability to love, and intelligence but by their sexuality.

blah.
Jenny