There goes the fairytale

My relationship with Disney has been a loving, familiar and respected relationship.  While I have seen every Disney movie made I don't recall my princess fascination.  Maybe because the products weren't jammed down our throats or maybe Disney didn't realize during the 1970's the billions of dollars that could be made by convincing little girls that they too needed to find thier prince in order to find true happiness.  Maybe it was there, but I don't recall.  I never dressed by like any of the princessess, or had princess pull ups or princess vitamins or princess plates and cups.  What I do recall is that most Disney princess moves scared me in the beginning, made me upset in the middle and euphoric by the end.  For as long as I can remember Disney culture brought my family together.  Whenever a film showed up in the theaters, we were there.  Whenever they were being shown on tv, my sisters and I planned our night around it.  And every Golden Book that came out that dealt with a Disney film was immediately bought. 

   While I do not recall a total obsession with all things Disney during my childhood, I do see it with my daughter who will be 3 at the end of July.  I never wanted her to be a princess little girl.  Those girls who were obsessed with dressing up like a princess and who every year wanted a princess costume for Halloween, but try as I might, she fell in love with the whole idea.  Yes I bought her the Disney movies that were out.  They were cute, funny, there was singing and dancing, but I knew what lurked beneath, and I still went out and purchased the films.   She loves them.  Her new favorite is the Princess Frog and Tangled.  I see these two as not so Disney "typical" because the women are a bit stronger even though they both tend to need  man to help them and end up finding love which is the "ultimate" happiness and getting married.  But what is most shocking is sheer number of products available and my daughter wants them all.  Are girls just destined to want to be a princess no matter how hard we try as parents to avoid that syndrom?  Are girls "princess prewired"?   Ireland has the princess vitamins, princess pull ups, disney character figures that she can dress up, Disney plates and cups, books, toothpaste, ect.. It's everywhere, its impossible to ignore.  I'm to blame, I know this, because I introduced her to Disney, but Disney films were a childhood must growing up in my house, and it elicited so much joy I wanted to share that with her.  I don't want to focus on the negative but highlight the positive.  Finding out all the negative implications about Disney is like finding out there is not Santa, or Easter Bunny.  Some things are better left not said or analyzed.

   Recently  during bath time Ireland has begun to play princess, where the evil King as locked her up in  a castle and its the prince who comes to save her.  After reading the section tonight and discussing the Disney issues in class, I immediately said to her "you are a very smart girl and don't need the prince to rescue you, you can do it all by yourself".  It was met with great resistence.  What have I done?
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