When I was a kid Sleeping Beauty was my favorite Disney classic.
I thought the idea of falling into a deep sleep until a gorgeous prince woke me up with a kiss was quite wonderful. Those were the kinds of references I grew up with: Aurora sleeping and waiting for the prince to start living; Snow White, doing pretty much the same thing; the Little Mermaid, who even changed who she was to be with the man of her dreams and Cinderella, who just asked for a night off and a dress, but ended up in love with a prince who changed her life.
I thought the idea of falling into a deep sleep until a gorgeous prince woke me up with a kiss was quite wonderful. Those were the kinds of references I grew up with: Aurora sleeping and waiting for the prince to start living; Snow White, doing pretty much the same thing; the Little Mermaid, who even changed who she was to be with the man of her dreams and Cinderella, who just asked for a night off and a dress, but ended up in love with a prince who changed her life.
When I got a little older, people started telling me the ugly truth: that prince charming didn’t exist. Even though everybody knew something was wrong with these Disney classics, during my adolescence and adult life I was repeatedly exposed to innumerous romantic movies that looked a lot like those old stories. The plot was always the same, with the main female character having a single purpose in life: finding the right guy.
I realized that the romantic movies I watched almost 20 years after watching Disney classics, still show the same role models of women: sweet, naive, gentle, submissive and patiently waiting to be rescued.
It’s like their whole journeys are directed to that, their entire lives would just start making sense when this “perfect” man appears, giving meaning to their existences and becoming the sole source of their happiness.
Even in Sex and the City, in which the main characters are successful women with the coolest friends and exciting lives, the conversations among Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte are always around finding the perfect man.
Fortunately, today’s girls are growing up with some better references. Take “Frozen,” in which the central theme is the relationship and difficulties of the two sisters, “Brave,” in which princess Merida is determined to make her own path in life and even “Maleficent,” a story about resilience (since Angelina Jolie’s character needs to recover from a heartbreak from a guy who turned up not being prince charming at all).
All of these new models can contribute to change girls’ views about the real world and relationships and to avoid future frustrations. It is important to stop with the stereotype of the passive and vulnerable princess. And to go beyond saying “prince charming does not exist.” A girl should be thought that life is bigger, even though she might end up finding the right man at some point of her life, she must keep in mind that the only person responsible for her happiness should be herself.
It’s like their whole journeys are directed to that, their entire lives would just start making sense when this “perfect” man appears, giving meaning to their existences and becoming the sole source of their happiness.
Even in Sex and the City, in which the main characters are successful women with the coolest friends and exciting lives, the conversations among Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte are always around finding the perfect man.
Fortunately, today’s girls are growing up with some better references. Take “Frozen,” in which the central theme is the relationship and difficulties of the two sisters, “Brave,” in which princess Merida is determined to make her own path in life and even “Maleficent,” a story about resilience (since Angelina Jolie’s character needs to recover from a heartbreak from a guy who turned up not being prince charming at all).
All of these new models can contribute to change girls’ views about the real world and relationships and to avoid future frustrations. It is important to stop with the stereotype of the passive and vulnerable princess. And to go beyond saying “prince charming does not exist.” A girl should be thought that life is bigger, even though she might end up finding the right man at some point of her life, she must keep in mind that the only person responsible for her happiness should be herself.
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