I worry that when I give my child a Disney princess toy – or ANY licensed character, for that matter – I am giving her a pre-scripted character and story. Will it detract from the development of her creativity and imagination? Cinderella is Cinderella is Cinderella. She'll always have a mean stepmother, a fairy godmother, and a pumpkin. My daughter is not going to pretend, for example, that her Cinderella doll is a katana-wielding samurai warrior defending her family honor, or a mighty wizardess crusading to save her land from evil dragons. Just saying.Now that there seems to be a new princess every year and this year, there are two, our children will never get a break from the princess inundation. There's always another princess right around the corner, so why shift away from playing, thinking, and dreaming "princess?"
I already commented on the incredible range of princess "stuff" that exists, and the fact that my daughter is surrounded by it (it's my fault, I know – I buy it for her. But even if I didn't, my family and friends would). What has resulted is that my daughter now wants to wear only her princess gowns, play only with her princess dolls, watch only TV shows and movies about princesses, and read only books about princesses. And on our recent trip to Disneyland, the only thing she wanted to do was "see the princesses."I know she's little,"Princess Machine": Encouraging Girls in STEM
but when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she invariably says, "A princess!" I think there's something not quite right about that, something that smacks of "obsession."
If you're a super-motivated parent, you can be like Professor Setsu Shigematsu of UC Riverside and re-invent the princess altogether. Professor Shigematsu was also worried about her young daughter's obsession with Disney princesses, so she and a team of determined parents started a whole new collection of princess stories called, "Guardian Princesses." Their mission is to provide refreshing and diverse characters who "transform the cultural meaning of princesses into inspiring leaders who take action to protect the people and the planet." Their princesses have magical powers that they use to safeguard the environment, animals, and each other. I say, good for her…and where and when can I get my copy?