A Letter To A Little Princess

The author writes “Maybe princesses are in fact a sign of progress, an indication that girls can embrace their predilection for pink without compromising strength or ambition; that, at long last, they can ''have it all.'' Or maybe it is even less complex than that: to mangle Freud, maybe a princess is sometimes just a princess” (Orenstein). Peggy Orenstein is a feminist author with a young daughter obsessed with everything pink and princess, she struggles to find positives from this “princess culture” but realizes that sometimes a princess can just be a princess. Possibly there is no deeper meaning other than being something magical and fun for young girls to enjoy. One common theme in all of the princess movies is good overcomes evil. They show children the pure hearts of the princesses and how to be kind and loving. Andy Mooney, head of the company answered this when asked about “princess culture” and role models “The girl passes through. I see girls expanding their imagination through visualizing themselves as princesses, and then they pass through that phase and end up becoming lawyers, doctors, mothers or princesses, whatever the case may be. ''Mooney has a point: There are no studies proving that playing princess directly damages girls' self-esteem or dampens other aspirations” (Orenstein). Girls are able to preserve their innocence by believing in the magic that comes along

The “princess phase” is first up for debate as Orenstein discusses the concept with fellow mothers at her daughter’s school. Each of the mothers justify the princess epidemic in a different way, one stating that it’s simply about dressing up and that the stories are not permitted in the home while another says that having a princess ideal gives her daughter a strong identity as a woman and as female -- a place were 1960s feminism erred, according to this same mother.

Authors James Poniewozik and Peggy Orenstein are both concerned with the increase of princess culture among young girls. Poniewozik’s article “The Princess Paradox” and Orenstein's article “Cinderella and Princess Culture” discuss similar aspects of princess culture that could be potentially harmful to it’s audience. Both Poniewozik and Orenstein take on a feminist perspective in their articles. Specifically, both authors discuss feminist themes in princess culture but Orenstein focuses on toddler to pre-teen aged girls while Poniewozik is more concerned with specifically teenagers.

When it comes to theories and law’s concerning the movement of stellar bodies and why the universe is moving the way it is and how it came to be, data is continuously being added and revised. It is through this constant revising of theories and establishing of laws that core ideas are proven, with modern day scientists expanding knowledge for the rest of us. One of the earliest pioneers of spatial theories was the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, who used the theories of those who came before and he learned from to paint a better picture of the way the universe was set. True to form, he dealt with accusations of heresy and resistance to his ideas from others during his life, which today are held as being before his time.

Toula’s actions strongly support this and other themes supported by progressive women which suggest, “... princesses are in fact a sign of progress, an indication that girls can embrace their predilection for pink without compromising strength or ambition ...” (Orenstein).

When you think of a princess you may picture a girl with a lavish dress on and a crown full of jewels on top of her head, but not in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. The readers encounter just a regular girl from a family that was never royalty, and who is always thinking of her one true love who was once thought dead.

Every little girl wants to be a Disney princess at some point in their life, I was not different. There’s something about the good heart a princess has and the love she garners, that was special to me. Through the Arteisa Pageant, I have found my chance. I didn't realize that being a princess really did mean you were serving the community, and I wasn’t just a figure. I went out and did many things that have involved serving my community such as painting a house for a resident, handing out candy to kids for Halloween and encouraging literature to be read to children by reading to them at the Artesia library.

Today everywhere you look girls of every age seem to be caught in the glitz and glam of being that fairytale princess from the stories of their childhood. In “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” Peggy Orenstein argues that it has come to a point where the craze for princesses has corrupted the minds of the young girls everywhere, and how it may be teaching them self-worth it has also led groups of girls to believe that they can lead the same lives as these fictional princess characters that sing to creatures and have magical powers. Also, to make matters worse companies like Disney keep feeding into this hidden epidemic of.

In “Cinderella and Princess Culture,” Peggy Orenstein compares girls lives to princesses. Society is stereotyping girls as princesses negatively impacting girls well being. As a result, Orenstein claims society should stop stereotyping girls as princesses and have parents limit the girl's exposure to them. Orenstein proves her claim by stating playing with princesses lowers girls self-esteem and can harm their mental and physical health. Orenstein also states the word princess is such a broad meaning, that it is very misunderstood. For example, when one hears the word princess they can think of a girl wearing a fancy dress, or all the princess products. A lot of girls are being stereotyped as being a princess,

Little girls are seen as the opposite of boys. They want to be involved in things their mothers do. Some enjoy playing with dolls, or makeup. Since they are “feminine”, girls are believed to wear dresses. They are drawn to princesses instead of superheroes, because the qualities of princesses include beauty, grace, and kindness.

“I don’t think I am a real life princess I am just a girl who likes to look good and be always dressed nice, because when I look good I am on a good mood and it puts smile on my face. A lot of people told me that when they see me they start smiling it makes me happy to see that I bring positive to other people

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires will come to you…” In the older Disney movies like Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid, princesses are portrayed according to female stereotypes: they are obsessed with love, waiting for a man, and always beautiful, and these portrayals are harmful to young girls. Disney is now starting to catch up with the reality of what women are like now, with Disney movies like Frozen, Princess and the Frog, and Brave these girls are portrayed as independent women in control of their destiny. Though Disney has historically portrayed princesses in stereotypical ways, the company has been creating more realistic female characters in recent years. At a

What young girl does not dream of becoming a princess and living in a castle happily ever after? Virtually every young girl identifies with princesses and has watched at least one Disney Princess movie. From the first movies of Snow White and Cinderella, to the later movies of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, to the most current movie Moana, Disney Princess movies permeate not only the movie theaters, but also our culture. In fact, “becoming a princess is as easy as purchasing a tiara and hosting a princess-themed birthday party or buying a Halloween costume and playing pretend” (Garabedian, 2014, p. 23). Nonetheless, as declared by Princess Merida in the movie Brave, “there comes a day when I don’t have to be a princess. No rules, no expectations. A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate” (Andrews & Chapman, 2012). In other words, does the life of a princess measure up to the expectations of little girls everywhere? The Disney Princess brand has grown incredibly popular, especially with young girls. In spite of this, the franchise has also become extremely controversial due to potential gender stereotypes in the films. “Gender is one of the most discussed topics in today’s society…[it] represents and also reproduces certain attributes, expectations and roles which are associated with male and female…influencing the views and opinions of future generations” (Maity, 2014, p. 31). Yet, is the Disney Princess brand harmful to young children due to gender stereotypes? Two essays that contemplate the Disney Princess brand and gender stereotypes with opposite viewpoints on this controversial issue are “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by writer Monika Bartyzel and “In Defense of Princess Culture” by writer and mother Crystal Liechty. However, Liechty’s essay “In Defense of Princess Culture,” is the most effective article in convincing the audience of her point of view due to the claim, support, warrant, language, and vocabulary employed.

“The princess” is a stereotype with a social group which would fall in my opinion into the popular girls social group. The stereotype fro them would be that they are these really attractive preppy girls, who think that the world revolves around them. The believe they are like princesses because everyone treats them like one. However, life after high school isn't like high school because they never work hard because everything is given to them, so they aren't

Peggy Orenstein’s argument about the growth of the girl child is about the now prevalent craze of the “princess” that is now being embraced by many girls. According to this author, the personality of girls later in their life would be massively affected by this trend. In Orenstein’s view, princesses and the kind of life they lead are now being commercialized by entertainment companies such as Disney. The results of such commercialization have seen