"daughters" not "doctor" (autocorrect!)

I say this as a mother of two Elementary school aged doctor- Get over it and let it go! First, of all princesses, Frozen presents strong and witty female characters who truly care about family bonds. They are not Cinderella. Secondly, expose them to a large variety of things- princesses, science, sports, girly stuff, etc and they will be fine and well rounded.

As the parent of older girls I can tell you princesses are short lived. My Elsa loving 4 year old has turned into a 9 year old who loves science and snap circuits, loves reading fantasy and adventure stories, including Harry Potter, and also likes to dress up and be girly, which I am completely fine with. It's all about balance. Trust me, you will have bigger issues and things to worry about as they get older.

Anonymous wrote:You know what I find hilarious about this?

While these anti-princess mommies won’t let their daughters enjoy pink princess stories and gear, these same women would likely brag about letting their sons play princess.

You know what I find hilarious? When people literally make things up so they can then be mad/smug about the conclusion they've come to in their minds.

What irritates me most about this argument is that to me, it seems the most truly anti-feminist argument of all. Is it only women who are in STEM or dressed in power suits that are powerful, strong, and valuable? Why is being girly, sparkly, etc. seen as such a negative? FFS, it’s sparkles, not an illegal drug or pathogen.

It’s a harmless phase, and even if it’s not, it’s not like your daughter actually thinks she will be a princess. She may prefer “girly” clothes and sparkles. She may *gasp* turn out to prefer the arts over STEM. She may *double gasp* choose an STEM field, on'y to quit permanently to be a SAHP. She may do any of these wearing pants and T shirts, or in dresses. Accepting that all are acceptable choices is feminism, not turning girls into gender less or male role models.

We did for a long time. And then we didn’t because somehow it crept in anyway. We buy a lot of stem toys along with fairy wings. I don’t buy princess things myself but I’ve stopped requiring others not to. We keep it minimal and I’m ok with the movies. They make her happy, we stick to the stronger girl movies than the weaksauce rescue me princesses. We also play outside a ton. It’s a balance.

I don’t have a problem with resisting the Disney corporate machine and commodification of fantasy— you don’t have to buy the licensed merchandise or visit Disney world or whatever.
I’m also not saying parents just need to “let it go” (ha ha) because there are more important things to worry about— I’m certainly not going to knock someone for being principled in their parenting. We all have our hills to die on.
I have a problem with passing on your internalized misogyny to your preschooler under the misappropriated guise of “feminism” or “body image” — that is the wrong interpretation here.

Anonymous wrote:Surprised no one has mentioned the Disney child marketing machine yet.

I just make sure to tell my kid that the movies are made to get her to buy stuff, and Disney is run by men who want her (our) money. Not a lot has sunk in yet but it is working...

I am a NP and this is my main objection to the princess stuff. You watch the movie and of course Elsa has a new dress which means the kids want a new doll, etc. Disney's business practices in general are pretty deplorable (basically lobbying/ paying off congressmen to extend IP laws to their benefit for years; creating tons of harmful plastic products, etc) so I prefer not to spend my money with them.

Surprised no one has mentioned the Disney child marketing machine yet.

I just make sure to tell my kid that the movies are made to get her to buy stuff, and Disney is run by men who want her (our) money. Not a lot has sunk in yet but it is working...

The idea that princesses are “fine” or “no bid deal”is ludicrous. The body image issues and implication that only sexy and beautiful women are powerful is totally harmful. It’s almost worse that they have some agency.

OP we watched it once and that was it bc I didn’t want my kid left out from games and play at school. Heaven help me we do not wear princess costumes or have frozen toys.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell my kids that wishing to be a princess is not logical. To be a princess one's parents have to be royalty. I am not a royalty, ergo they are not princesses. My kids are pretty logical so it works.

Do you quash all imaginative play? How much of it is logical?

PP sounds mentally ill.

Didn't read the whole thread. I think women who are strongly anti-princess are actually teaching a good dose of misogyny to their kids. My then-three-year-old son adored Frozen. We embraced it wholly.

OP, what would you do if it was your son who loved Frozen? If your answer is different, why? What message are you sending?

You need to widen your horizons, OP.

My DD was totally into the Disney princess thing. Had to put on a princess gown, light-up shoes and grab a purse to go with me to the grocery store. She was obsessed at that age (2-4).

Now she's in high school and has blue hair, a black belt in the martial arts, and wants a nose piercing for her birthday.

OP, stop overthinking it and enjoy this phase. You'll have much bigger fish to fry in 10 years.

I resisted but daycare was the culprit. One of the teachers brought all her daughters old princess dresses to school for dress up and my daughter was sold. FWIW the boys dressed up in the princess dresses too. She’s super into Frozen and I agree that Frozen is a better movie than the more traditional princess movies that I grew up on.

No and I think people who worry about silly stuff like this have too much time on their hands.