Thursday, June 10, 2010

Ye Who Have Sons

A few of you have mentioned something to the effect of "Whew! Glad I have sons instead of daughters."

If your little boy grows up to like girls, right now at this moment, your future-daughter-in-law is likely prancing around in a some garment of clothing imprinted with Disney Princesses.  (It's a statistical certainty.)

And if your little boy grows up to like boys, there's not even a Disney film for that one yet. 

But if they do make it, it will probably be titled: The Prince Who Loved A Prince.
And still, neither Prince will get a name.  

the image
Sent by Jackie from here to this great site.

4 comments:

  1. Ha! I love this. It's also interesting; Other than Alladin (and is he really a prince?), are there any minority princes?

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  2. Kristi, technically Prince Naveen from the newest movie The Princess and the Frog is supposed to be black/Mediterranean/something. He comes from an imaginary country, so it's hard to say, but he's definitely darker than the other princes.

    My niece, God bless her, is two years old and hates the princesses. Haha. Our big problem? Pippi Longstocking! A lot of little Swedish girls have a problem if they get too into Pippi, because she rebels against adults with no consequence. If the parents don't nip it in the bud early, you have a problem. BUT, the thing I loved about Pippi as a child, and still do, is that she's tomboyish, loved by all, and loves to go on adventures. You don't have to be a princess to lead an exciting life (though Pippi's father is sometimes called the King of the Pirates.... hehe).

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  3. I know one of them is named Eric.

    I'm sure you've read "From Mouse to Mermaid", right? Great stuff in there about the messages Disney films (not just the animated ones) send to all kids - and adults too, for that matter.

    Here's one point (from an essay I wrote on the book): "Disney’s women are also portrayed as a civilizing force, the essayists argue. Just as Belle must clean up Beast’s mess by nurturing him into a loving and selfless human, Snow White must tidy the dwarves’ cottage; Mary Poppins must teach and inspire Mr. Banks to reunite his family; the village girl must domesticate Mowgli by bringing him out of the jungle and into the society of Man. Disney teaches boys that “women and nature remain ready to serve them.”" (This theme is also prevalent in Bambi.)

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  4. Prince Phillip is Aurora's prince, Prince Adam (not the one from He-man) is Belle's prince, Prince Eric is Ariel's prince, and we already know that Aladin is Jasmine's prince. What really bugs me is how both Cinderella and Snow White have a prince named Prince Charming. In some Disney parodies, they are the same man who is cheating on one with the other.

    Why does Disney assume that every woman needs a man to be worth something? These princesses are young women. Can't they take care of themselves? Luckily the more modern princesses such as Mulan and Tiana aren't quite so fashion-focused and more independent.

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