What a Girl Wants

This story is close to my heart. I've talked before about the duality of princesses and the struggle I've had with Disney and the role models it's presenting to my children.

And I've talked before about how I fret about trying it instill a sense of self-fulfillment vs. being "made complete only by a prince who sweeps me off my feet and saves me from certain misery if left to my own devices".

And I've mentioned many times the concerns I have about the mega-exploitative vermin that I believe Disney to be.

But the truth is this: little girls love frilly dresses and tiaras. They feel emboldened, beautiful and special when they lift their imagination to delve into the world of a princess. They begin to form their own sense of worth by modeling the happiness they see in a fantasy world.

My girls, in particular, LOVE princesses. They love playing with the princess dolls, watching the princess movies, dressing up like the princesses for Halloween or a rainy day...and it doesn't matter to me that they do. I gave in long ago, and we've enjoyed countless hours of princess-filled days ever since. In fact, now I'm sad to see that they're beginning to grow out of it.

So, like, whatever.

The long and the short of it is that it's up to me to ensure that my children understand the fantasy vs. the reality. I've been known to edit the storylines (a lot, actually) to do that. We just have to balance whatever princess messages they're getting with those of strong, independent, self-confident women and give them plenty of those models.

And if they want to pretend they're Cinderella for an afternoon, I'm all for it.

I've been known to daydream about having a princess's life every now and then myself.