Why Princesses? Why Not?

I just read an article of Naomi Wolf's that I found online at the New York Times a couple of days ago. The title is "Mommy, I Want To Be a Princess," and, I'm not going to lie, I was prepared to hate it. Skimming the article, it seemed like she was defending the girlie-girl princess culture that so many young girls are obsessed with these days (for more on that, check out Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein). Plus, I must be honest, I think part of my preparation to hate this essay was because I was momentarily confusing Naomi Wolf with Katie Roiphe (even I can't keep track of all the feminists I like or dislike all the time!). But still, I have a lot of problems with the princess culture of today, and I was not very interested in reading a defense of that.

However, the article doesn't totally defend princess culture. For one, she is talking more about young girls' fascination with real princesses (such as Kate Middleton and Princess Di) than she is about the obsession with Disney princesses. She talks about how modern-day princesses do do a lot of work, and she praises how these women in particular have brought together the classes of Britain, showing that a princess doesn't have to be snobby and unattainable.

But she does also touch on the Disney princess culture, and that's where she lost me. She says that "they are busy being the heroines of their own lives." Now, there are some Disney princess who just completely rock. Mulan? Yes! She fights in a war, keeps her identity concealed, and saves China. Awesome. And Anastasia kills Rasputin, which we know is really really hard to do. But then she says that Cinderella's glass slipper "fits because she is nice to little creatures." I'm just not buying it. The shoe was made (created, magicked, choose your verb) for her; of course it fits! And what about the princesses that Wolf fails to mention? Let's recap*:

Ariel: her entire plotline centers around her pining for a man she has never spoken to, and she literally gives away her voice in order to win him over (check out this funny video about her)
Snow White: cleans up after everyone and loves it all the time, and is just really, really pretty.
Belle: she's a little more complicated; after all, she reads and stands her own against a scary man (beast), but she could also be seen as being in an abusive relationship in the hopes of making a change (as discussed in this hilarious video).
Sleeping Beauty: Do I even need to say anything? It's in her name.
Jasmine: Also a little complicated. After all, I applaud her desire to get out of the castle walls and experience adventure, but that desire seems to come more out of boredom from a pampered life. After all, she seems pretty content to be back in the castle after she's gone out and found a husband.
**One princess who is a little more interesting is Pocahontas, but she's usually left out of the "Disney Princess" category; whether she doesn't count because she's Native American, or because she's not ever wearing a frilly dress, I'm not sure.

I didn't hate Wolf's article as I expected to. But I still think her defense of princess culture and obsession is a little shallow. After all, little girls aren't often exploring the charitable acts and philanthropy of today's modern princesses. They are looking at women (powerful women, yes) with pretty dresses and fairy-tale weddings, because that is what their TVs and computers are telling them to look at. Even when the princesses are doing good deeds and real work, if our media is blinding young girls with shiny dresses, money and "perfect" weddings, what are they going to see and admire at the end of the day?


*I would like to say that while I understand all the problems with many of the Disney princesses and their stories, I still love most of the movies. What can I say? I grew up with red hair, and when I went swimming I would go underwater to try to make my hair flow around my head like Ariel's did. Those movies are a part of my childhood, and I just can't turn my back on them completely.