The Princess Archetype Ain't What It Used To Be

[dr_pretentious]

I thought I knew what princesses were to the current generation of children, because I knew what they meant to my nieces.

With Disney hyping its long lineage of princesses to young girls, there is much fretting in Parentland about princess-ness as a commodity that preschool girls think their parents can buy for them. True, Disney's film princesses are pluckier and more well-rounded as characters now than they used to be, but Disney can't sell pluck and well-roundedness in shrink wrap in the kids' section at Walmart; Disney can, and abundantly does, sell frilly clothes and sparkly plastic jewelry.

Although my son does know enough about girl-culture to identify anyone in a frilly pink dress and a tiara as a princess, he has an entirely different idea of the distinguishing features of princess-ness that matter most.

For him, the foundational princesses are from an episode of The Backyardigans in which the female characters pretend they're princesses escaping from a tower. They're not only brave and resourceful--they have MacGuyveresque skill at inventing equipment they'll need for their escape, and concealing that equipment in their frilly dresses, glass slippers, and Princess-Leia-parody hairdos.

How did I find out that my kid's definition of the word princess was about physical heroism and engineering prowess?

I heard him declaring, "I am a princess!" and when I turned around expecting to see him cross-dressing, I saw him standing on a stepladder, poised to swing, Tarzan-like, from the string of the venetian blinds.

(Yes, I know, no blinds with strings in a house with small children. Childproofing is one of those projects that never ends.)

There may not be much help for my nieces until they're old enough to read Robin McKinley's novels and Jack Zipes's wonderful collections of revisionist fairy tales, but at least the reimagining of princesses that's happened for older audiences has trickled down enough to reach some boys. When Katherine, Zoe, and Eleanor are old enough to wear their frilly dresses for male eyes rather than their own or their female peers', there will be at least a few boys out there, and maybe more than a few, whose buried childhood mental associations for those dresses are with martial arts moves and rocket slippers.

Comments

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

Ha, we were watching that episode yesterday, as requested by my son. Those rocket shoes were really cool and using the frilly dresses as parachutes was brilliant.

There is a book by the title of Tatterhood with fairy tales featuring female protagonists. I will have to check my copy but I think it is for slightly older than preschool age kids. Also if you get a more extensive fairy tale collection rather than just the Disney favorites there are a fair number of ones with girls in an active role.

That being said, my not yet 2 year old daughter is practically obsessed with plastic beads and other dress up jewelery. And I'm not sure what message (mixed?)I'm sending by getting the kids wooden trains to paint and making hers "princess pink." At least it cuts down the chances of her brother stealing it. Maybe I should try and paint one to look like the train in the Backyardigans Catch That Train episode.

[showingup.livejournal.com]

I have 'Tatterhood' - it's fab!

I'm sure there wasn't this amount of pink and glitter around when I was little. There are very few photos I can find of my sister or myself (or any other kids) wearing it in the 70s. Now, when you go to the kids' department of any shop, there's far more emphasis on khaki and blue for boys and what T calls "the explosion of pink" for girls.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I've stockpiled extra copies of Tatterhood for the nieces, for when they're old enough to like a book with so many words and so few pictures. This year, they should be just about old enough for The Paper Bag Princess, which every little girl needs.

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

Definitely putting The Paper Bag Princess on my daughter's holiday gift list.

And in another strike at gender equity in out house I got both my son and daughter glittery pink princess storage bins with wheels (on clearance). They have both been happily wheeling toys around in them for days.

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

I think that the pink in the 60's-70's was more likely to show up as things like bedspreads and curtains for canopy beds... at least when it wasn't showing up as hot-pants paired with go-go boots. I had a few pink dresses, but they were generally of the Easter dress variety (which were just as likely to be yellow or green or lavender).