I cannot begin to explain how much I love the fact that these photos are going viral. They're a girls softball team in Oklahoma and the name of the team is Freeze. (According to Buzzfeed, they wanted to be the Sparkling Elsas, but then thought "Freeze" sounded tougher. It's not clear who decided that it sounded tougher...perhaps they had some help...but still.)
One of the things that bugs me most about Disney Princess discussions is the idea that girls who watch Disney Princess movies and buy Disney Princess products will somehow be inundated with outdated values and will grow up thinking that the role of a domesticated 1950s housewife is the only route open to them.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be a housewife and mother -- I take issue with the logic that watching Disney Princess movies will teach girls that that is the only option available to them. That "princesses" and "being active/assertive/independent" are somehow incompatible -- that a princess only means being dainty and fragile and passive. Even the First Wave Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora) aren't entirely fragile and passive. (Although the case for Aurora is admittedly tough to make.)
So I love that these photos demonstrate that a girl can wear a sparkly princess dress and still be tough. Because the two are not, believe it or not, mutually exclusive.
No comments:
Post a Comment