Metal Meredith

I found this on a great site for working moms. Although I am not a ‘working mom’ as this site might define it, I can appreciate the list of books they have created. This page says the following:

Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast all have their place in children’s hearts we suppose. But if you want your kids to grow up believing that girls should dream of more than just kissing the prince, check out these books.

Each of them features strong, smart, spunky girl protagonists that want to eat bugs, get first place in the science fair and grow up to be a teacher, a doctor, a firefighter or even a diva.

Phil and I often discuss how much we hate the rash of princess themed items that have exploded out of the bosom of Disney in the past few year. Although I am not opposed to the stories themselves, I believe that girls that are 4 and under don’t really get it. The dress up side is fine. But Cinderella and Snow White have very negative characters that would scare me if I was 4. The Little Mermaid seems more young kid friendly, as does Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. But for the most part, the crap that comes along with the movies is what really bothers me.

Every item imaginable has been covered in princess themes now. I read an article yesterday pointing out how there is a new Princess Kitchen Set and the author questioned what being a princess means to a 4 year old is obviously not what it means to us. What princess wants to cook and clean? Isn’t that the point?

My last bitch about the princess thing are the t-shirts and other items with it printed on the front and (god forbid) butt. To some, “princess” is an endearing comment, a sweet compliment. But for both Phil and I, “princess” seems snotty, diva-esque, entitled and bratty. You won’t find any clothing on my child declaring her any sort of Princess or Diva. We do, however, have a sweet collection of floofy dress up clothes for just this purpose.

I am not throwing away my tiara anytime soon, you can bet that.