

As a kid I remember playing a game wherein we had to sing princess of the palace lost her shoe. It never made an impact on my mind, never thought of myself as a princess of any sort. But these days when I see the commodification of princesses or rather the disney princesses, I am concerened about the ramifications, being a mother of a girl.
My four year old girl is swallowed into the princess world, hook, line and sinker. In these times when we talk about women shouldering equal responsibilities as men in every aspect of life, how can I let my daughter grow up believing life is but a fairy tale, all she has to ever do is dress up & wait for some handsome prince charming! All my attempts to infuse some sanity into the pristine mind of hers' is in vain. She is under the impression that once she grows up , some prince will woo her off her feet & they can live happily ever after. We have had to shelve away her jeans and trousers and anything remotely bearing a masculine hint. The predominant colour is pink and bed linnen to glass everything has a princess imprint. Thanks to the hoopla surrounding disney princesses,my tiny tot believes muscles are for men and she is conscious about her look, hair style et al at this tender age.
I wish the Swedish fictional character Pippi Longstocking was a role model to young girls. Pippi is assertive, brave and can lift a horse with one hand! I feel, she is someone young girls should emulate and not the princesses clad in beautiful clothes and rendered useless otherwise. In a way this sows the seed in the mind of a young girl that girls are meant to be pretty, kissed, danced with and married off, which is so contradictory to today's woman.
I sincerely hope this is just a passing phase and my girl will come out of it unscathed, believing there's more to life than mere looks and princes.
Interesting perspective... Being a mother I think u r worrying too much. Let her grow, she'll learn realities. u r daughter is juss 4..
ReplyDeletethanks.I am a silent spectator but I wish there were better idols to look up to.
ReplyDeleteI agree though I am not a mother... but don't worry too much... this is just a phase...
ReplyDeleteThe Barbie and Disney dolls have really made me see red! But their effect and reach over young girls is so pervasive that we can only hope the girls will grow out of it!
ReplyDeletePippi is a character I love, what with her fiesty independent nature and caring attitude towards her monkey and her neighbours.
But sadly, my daughters prefer the Disney princesses more.