“Cinderella Ate My Daughter” doesn’t digest well

Peggy Orenstein’s book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture“ has caused controversy following its release earlier this week.

Written to elaborate  her original article in the New York Times “What’s Wrong with Cinderella,” Orenstein’s book discusses her fears that little girls are poorly influenced by the onslaught of the Disney Princess franchise and other popular items that are considered ‘girlie’. Her list includes the  Barbie, American Girl Dolls, and the color pink.

In an interview with MotherJones.com to promote her book, Ornstein said, “I’ll tell you what is insidious about the Disney Princess, besides the fact that if you look into their merchandise, the 26,000 items, you’re always finding books that are about ‘my perfect wedding.’ It’s what it puts girls on the path for. And that it poses as something that protects girls, or staves off premature sexualization, when I think it primes them for it.”

My biggest issue with this book is that Peggy Orenstein has blatantly used the Disney Princess franchise as a scapegoat to blame for her fears about her own daughter’s upbringing. She has taken the term ‘princess’ at face value and has not recognized the positive messages most of the Disney Princess films embrace. If examined, the stories are not just ‘the pretty girl meets a prince and lives happily ever after.’

Most of the films have important lessons ingrained in the fairy-tale frame story.  Cinderella teaches girls that if you work hard, good things will happen to you in the end. Beauty and the Beast teaches the importance of intellect, reading, and seeing inner beauty. Mulan saved China, risking her life for her family, with determination, courage, and wits. Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, was open-minded and curious about the world around her, rejected the prejudices of her father, and was determined not to settle for a life that made her unhappy.

Many girls–and women today–have a Disney princess that they identify with. I believe most girls choose their favorite princess based on who looks like them at first, but ultimately every little girl strives to exhibit the same characteristics that make these characters so admirable.

Disney is smart in their approach to market toward the bonds little girls share with their characters and should not be condemned for doing so. It is my personal belief that the Disney Princess saga helps preserve innocence rather than hinder it.

Orenstein’s argument also ultimately fails when she begins to contradict herself in her book. As aforementioned, she first complains that Disney Princesses and other girlie products lead to the premature sexualization of girls, however later she also blames them for widening the gender gap and motivating girls to reject the opposite sex through the ideals of ‘girl power.’

These two arguments do not match up. In the book, she worries that her daughter will grow up to find it difficult to relate to men after being raised in a hyper-feminine world. It seems to me, if girls truly did grow up to snub men, this would rather eliminate chances of promiscuity rather than promote it.

Overall, I believe the important thing to remember is balance.  For instance, I love Disney Princesses, and all things pink and sparkly, but I also love things like football and the theatre. When I was little, I would finish watching The Little Mermaid and then I would read, or go play soccer. Peggy Orenstein is at the very least correct in her sentiment that too much of one thing can be harmful. However, what she fails to realize is that little girls should not be shielded from the glitzy world of princesses, but rather they should be exposed to all sorts of different things to expand their horizons and show them that there are many different ways they can live happily ever after.

Posted by Candice Mountjoy on Feb 1 2011. Filed under Daily Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.