Disney Princess Article: In Defence of the Princesses: Snow White

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In Defence of the Princesses: Snow White

posted by AprilGhost

I was in school the other day and me and my friends were talking about Disney Princesses at lunch. This one person who I don't particularly like decided to become part of the conversation. She said, and I quote, "I'm not going to let my daughters, if I have any, watch those movies. They're such bad role models. The only ones they'll be allowed to watch are Brave and Mulan because they need to be strong young women." And after that I just left the conversation.

Now I'm going to prove to you that the Disney Princesses are great role models, particularly the ones that don't get that much love. I just need to vent this somewhere. Sorry if this annoys you or anything, but I needed to post it. Let's start with Snow White, the 'fairest of them all'.

Snow White is often criticized for a) running away instead of fighting back, b) being just beautiful, not any asset to anything, c) not making adult decisions and d) being a mother figure to the dwarves, amongst others. These four are the most common ones though.

Let's all bear in mind that Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was released not even after World War II begun. This was the perfect woman in the thirties. And it isn't like they wanted to make a sexist movie, they were basing it on fairytales that have been around for centuries. How do you expect her to fight back - with a sponge? Same thing with the beauty - how do you keep from being beautiful?

The third thing is easy to prove wrong because of the fact that Snow White is. Freaking. Fourteen! And there's also the fact that she has never left the castle grounds - ever. People say that she relied on a prince to save her, but if you listen to the song 'I'm Wishing' you'll realize she just wants someone to love her. That person just happened to be a prince. Go and criticize Kate Middleton for marrying Prince William - it's almost the same thing! A commoner marries a prince. Snow White isn't even a commoner.

The last thing - I doubt Snow was taught to do anything other than servant things. She probably just wanted to offer the dwarves something that would make them happy, because Snow is a lovely person! Sure, she has her flaws, like letting the Queen in when she was told not to let her in, but that just makes her more interesting.

Snow White is a great role model. Not all people are tough, strong tomboys like Merida and Mulan - some people are sweet and feminine like Snow White and Aurora. Snow White is optimistic, kind, generous, hard-working, gentle, hopeful, pure-hearted and cheerful, which are all great traits to have. We don't all have to be Meridas. Some of us are Snow Whites.

People need to stop hating on Snow and all the other princesses.

Someday my prince will come...

vintagelace, pretty_angel92 and 8 others like this

tomsinnadal mother of Animalshttp://images.fanpop.com/images/emoticons/grin.jpg

MaidofOrleans Great article! I agree wholeheartedly. I get really annoyed when people say they aren't going to allow their kids to watch DP movies because they want them to be "strong." Ok, I don't know about you guys, but when I watch a movie with a supposedly "weak" lead, I don't think "Oh, she's a weak female, therefore I need to be weak too." I mean, really?? I don't think most people do that. Then there's the definition of the word weak that people are applying to these princesses. Sure, they may not be physically strong, but they have incredible amounts of psychological strength. Snow White and Cinderella endured years of domestic abuse at the hands of someone who was supposed to love them, and they still managed to keep a positive outlook on life. Doesn't that send a great message to kids -- that if you remain positive you can make just about any situation better for yourself? Saying that you're not going to allow your children to see these movies is the same as saying (for example) that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shouldn't be taught in schools. Yes, there may be some racism/sexism present, but if it's taught/viewed with an understanding that that isn't ok, you can learn a lot from the book/movie.

girlygirlspwn love this ! snow white is a very brave person. she is NOT stupid, selfish or weak at all!!!! what to people expect her to do, grab a sword and kill the queen when she doesnt even know how evil she is? LOL i think merida and mulan are super overrated heroines...i dont think physical bravery is all that. that really sucks she thinks a selfish brat like Merida is a role model, LOL hope she enjoys having her daughter tells her she hates her like merida did. i hope you can tell your friend what you told us =]

zikkiforever I love Snow White ,but she is not my favourite princess. I admire her caring nature,understanding ,kind,loving and helpful qualities(I could go on). I have to agree with above ^^^ that not that they are bad role models ,but they don't make the princess like the used to. Now they are too realistic, like Tiana working at a diner ,then Merida's story being more modern and Punzie's more current prince totally taking out the idea of a perfect happily ever after and the prince ending. Some girls can dream...

AprilGhost She isn't my favourite either, but I like her.

MalloMar I'm with you, there. Snow White has some great qualities. She's a female from the thirties! Women had limited rights. She'd be considered offensive if she acted like Jasmine or Merida. I'd laugh so hard if Snow threw a sponge... Although I'm sure the queen would make life worse for her if she did fight back. I'd like to be more like her. She's a lovely person. :) "A gentle person can be a strong person" -John Kerry (taken directly from the Readers Digest)

CRaZy_rawR Not my fave, but soo true! She's one of the strongest, imo(:

cinnominbubble I love you for this!!!

rhythmicmagic I've been waiting for this article! I mean, come on, she dealt with separation from the Price beautifully- seriously, even Mulan was more disappointed to leave Shang behind than Snow was to have to leave her prince! And come on, what do people expect her to do in the face of an assassin? I seriously would love all the people who blame her for that to tell me! Not to mention it was the INTELLIGENT thing to do to offer her domestic skills to the dwarfs! It was a skill she was a master at that they lacked- what was she supposed to do, go work in the mines where she would have no idea what to do and the dwarfs already had plenty of staff?

dclairmont <3 Snow <3

AprilGhost Nice to know you guys all agree!

fahmad27 I totally agree! Snow is great-she's just different from the other girls. Besides she is the reason the other girls existed-she is the one "who started it all" after all. (Well besides Mickey Mouse). Don't listen to what that silly woman said about Snow and other girl except Mulan and Merida. She doesn't understand that any woman pre-1960s are just as strong as modern women.