Dismissing Disney Stereotypes

I get quite a lot of stick for still watching Disney films- probably because I'm not still 4 years old- but still, who doesn't love a good Disney Princess film when you're feeling sad, right? Anyway, I've seen so many things online about how much of a 'bad example' these princesses are to young girls and how 'anti-feminist' they are and it really gets to me because this is coming from people who haven't seen the films in the past 10 years.
Therefore, after being inspired by the picture shown below, I'd like to prove these 'accusations' wrong.

www.vulture.com

Aurora- Firstly Aurora was not dead. She was perfectly alive and well, just in a deep deep sleep. Also, Phillip didn't kiss her because she was 'pretty'- he kissed her because he was in love with her and it was the only way to wake her from her slumber and therefore be with her forever. His main priority was to marry the girl, not because she was 'pretty', but because he fell in love with her.

Jasmine- Yes, Jasmine's worth was reduced to her marriageability at the start of the film. But she stood up against the men who were reducing her worth- she wasn't even 16 and stood up against her father in order to earn the respect she'd gained by the end of the film. She didn't wait around for a prince to come and save her, she just happened to find him along the way. Her aim was independence, which she achieved through her own actions. 

Belle- The Beast hated Belle when she refused to dine with him. At that point he'd already seen her face and not been attracted to her- they both started to realize there was 'Something There' after spending time with one another and learning about one another. And to say appearances don't matter if you're male Nonsense, if that was true LeFou would be just as popular as Gaston. Appearances were just as important to both genders, however they weren't everything. 'Don't be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within'

Cinderella- This one, I think, annoys me the most. Not once did Cinderella turn around and say 'I want a Prince to come and save me'. All she wanted was a day off from the torture she lived in and dance for a few hours whilst wearing a pretty dress. Prince Charming didn't purposely help Cinderella to 'escape', he simply wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he didn't even know about her living conditions. It wasn't Cinders' aim to be beautiful, she just wanted a break for one night- the rest was just a bonus. 

Snow White- Well, the Prince didn't exactly do a great job of 'protecting her', did he? When he got there, she was already dead so he didn't do a great job there. Snow White never complained about her situation being 'terrible', she was polite and kind towards everybody- whether they tried to kill her or kiss her- and it was that reason, she had her happy ending. 

Ariel- She didn't decide to drastically change her body and abandon her family after properly thinking about it; she was manipulated by an evil sea witch and had to make a rash decision- stay treated like a child forever or chase her dream? If someone gave you a shortcut to your dream, surely you'd take to? Don't forget, she'd just had a massive argument with her father- Ursula gave her the choice to get rid of her problems and achieve her one dream. She'd be an idiot to not take the chance. It wasn't as though Eric didn't make sacrifices too- he almost killed himself to save the girl he loved; that's a Prince worth marrying. And the whole thing about 'drastically changing her body'... she didn't do it to be aesthetically pleasing to men, she did it because it was the only way for her to be with Eric. It wasn't a materialistic choice, it was an essential for her!


I hope you enjoyed this. Yes, Disney is a lil childish but secretly, it's most peoples guilty pleasure ^.^
Following on from this Disney inspired post, there will be a Disney inspired Playlist of my CURRENT 15 favourite Disney songs- I hope you enjoy!

Cheerio! Xxx