I find it very sad that in today’s society the term “Princess” has essentially become a 4-letter-word.
After reading many articles online, one of my favorite blogs, Once Upon A Blog, recent entry sparked me to discuss this subject here in Wonderland.
My dear prince and I both frequently lament how the majority of society these days seem to have turned their backs on the idea of fairy tales, true love and princesses. It’s like watching a part of imagination and wonder fade away from the heart of humanity.
First let’s examine the word princess. Recently this is a term that has popularly come to mean one of two things – either a rich, spoiled brat obsessed with fashion or a helpless Disney damsel with no ability to think for oneself. With the first term, we have a completely warped word that has taken on a meaning twisted by reality tv and a overindulged mindset. I cannot tell you how much I despise seeing spoiled celebrities running around with a tight tank top reading “Princess” in diamonds across their bosoms while their knickers are hanging out. It’s disgraceful. These are the types whom prance around with a selfish attitude as a result of this “me” mentality of modern day society. They are the very farthest thing from a princess that I can possibly imagine. As for the second meaning, we see a backlash at Disney aestheticism. Now we get self righteous feminists screaming about what horrible role models the princess are since their sole objective is to find true love. They are the ones who scorn anything pink or frilly.
How did we get to this point? How did such a beloved icon of youth, beauty and innocence became twisted to be either a symbol of decadence or slavery? My prince and I happen to believe it is a backlash of modern thought. The feminine “revolution” caused an uproar, among women. Ladies bucked against tradition, wanting to prove themselves to be just as strong and independent as any man. And this is wonderful. I support being able to be a whole person free of thinking for ones self and making my own choices. However, the popular modern response to this is by asserting ones power to use ones sexuality as power or to completely slough off any ounce of femininity in oneself. Between this turn in “feminism” and the media bombarding us with reality tv and celebrity gossip, we have become a “me” generation. We have become an overindulged and vain society set on putting our own needs and desires ahead of all others whether this means by having the most friends on Facebook or by pushing ones family aside to climb the corporate ladder. Looking at such selfish and degrading attitude, I think I rather stick with my pretty Disney princesses. In my opinion, they are a far better role models than Paris Hilton or most corporate CEOs.
Sure, most Disney Princesses are beautiful and wish for true love. But it is not these attributes that define them. Everyone seems to forget their virtues. Let’s remember that most of the Disney princesses are honest, caring young ladies who possess patience and a sense of responsibility. What is wrong with that? When has dreaming become a crime? Why do people believe you can’t be both independent AND feminine at the same time?
Society has truly forgotten what a princess is. A princess is an ideal. It is an ideal of acting compassionate. Of responsibility to your fellow many and to your environment. Of courage and conviction. THAT is what being a princess truly means and it is an ideal I strive to live by. I dress in frills, lace and sparkling tiaras; I married a prince; I decorate my home with images of mermaids, unicorns and faeries. But I still go to school, I still have a career, I still help those in need and I still am very active in the lives of my family. Happily ever after’s can happen. Dreams can come true. But it starts with being a good person first.
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Some of my favorite princess movies:
A Little Princess
Ever After
Penelope
The Princess Bride
Legend
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“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses. All of us.”
- A Little Princess (1995)
October 29th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I think you have the right view of things in some senses. Though what you are defining as princess really goes down to the idea of what it means to be ‘noble’ which is what a princess is. A member of, and thus a symbol of, the nobility.
The sad thing is, while you have this view, the other sides also have valid arguments. The concept of nobility is one the world has tried to get away from ever since World War 2 and the dissolution of the various empires in the world. Things that both Communism and Capitalism were supposed to get rid of, namely the class system where the rich get what they want (and thus the view of spoiled brats) and the rest just get the shaft. Instead we have a new class system where it’s not nobility per se, but it may as well be for all the stratification that is happening along the income lines in peoples homes.
The rich celebrities have the castles, the money, and the power and thus get the title like princess for themselves. Are they the best representation of the word? No, not at all. Then again, most of those story books aren’t either. While some are independent and know their mind (I think the ‘disney princess’ that best shows that isn’t even an actual princess) but at the same time, those stories are also full of the woman needing the man to save them. This is a byproduct of centuries if not millenia of stories told to cement the gender role of the male as the protector.
The backlash of this is where the feminists has gone too far, in their quest for ‘equal treatment’ they are shunning some of the things that culturally define their side, because they have it associated in their head with a view of weakness. So they shun it, want no part of it, do what they can to appear to be the same as the other side and attack anything that implies they are different from what they are pretending to be, while simultaneously attacking anything that says they ARE what they are pretending to be.
In general though, I like your view of things. I may not agree with it, but I think the world would be a better place if you were right. Nobility should be noble, and thus the noble should be nobility. From that view point, I think you have found the path to be the type of princess that you want to be and I find it refreshing to see that childhood dreams CAN live on in what is otherwise considered a successful but worked for life.