This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Notre Dame chapter.
Last week, a very wise two-year-old recited the qualities that define a princess as taught
to her by her mother, who happens to be the director of the Gender Relations Center at Notre
Dame. Amidst countless media messages that focus on superficial beauty, it can be hard even for
adults to remember that aesthetics aren’t everything – and they’re definitely not most
representative of goodness. While Disney has its pros and cons in terms of portraying
reality, there are many good messages to take away from their movies. In an effort to instill in
young girls a sense of confidence and inherent self-worth, a good place to start is teaching them
that princesses are more than pretty.
Take Pocahontas, for example. Pocahontas is definitely more than pretty. While glowing
beauty is an accepted characteristic of all Disney Princesses, Pocahontas isn’t boastful about
hers. Instead, she is much more representative of these important qualities:
1) Pocahontas was real
Okay, so Disney did cause a bit of controversy in the 90’s by taking a number of
liberties, such as embellishing John Smith as a love interest, making Pocahontas older and more
independent, and having nature perform magic. But apart from that, she was a real woman who performed incredible acts of strength.
2) Pocahontas is brave
In the real story, Pocahontas was around 12 years old when John Smith came to
America. Which makes her bravery resonate with us even more because she really did, as a twelve-year-old, place her head on top of John Smith’s when her father raised his weapon. Just like she did in the movie.
3) Pocahontas is kind
Native American culture dicatetd kindess and communal enterprises. Thus it was no gimmick that when the English anchored off the coast of Virginia, the Native Americans progressed peacefully and offered the English food for the winter. One of my favorite
scenes in the movie is when Pocahontas comes to say good bye to John Smith at the end,
and her people are revealed behind her carrying baskets of crops for the colonists to take
back to England.
4) Pocahontas is independent
One of my favorite things about Pocahontas is that she doesn’t end up with the
guy at the end. In the movie, instead of going to England with John Smith, she decides to stay where
she is needed, with her people. Also, a significant part of her character development is
her struggle between the expectations from society and her father to marry the hero
Kocoum and her own desire to marry someone she loves and to seek adventure.
5) Pocahontas is modest
I think Pocahontas tends to get overlooked as a favorite or as a role model for
little girls. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t have a grand, colorful ball gown like Belle and
Cinderella. Have you noticed that when Belle and Cinderella are portrayed in pictures,
posters, stickers, etc. they are always wearing their “dress-up” outfit, not their simple
everyday dresses? I actually had a Pocahontas doll when I was little, and in order to make
her little canvas dress more interesting, it featured heat-sensitive ink that showed
butterflies when placed in sunlight. But her (Disney-embellished) story is much more
valuable and meaningful than a pretty dress.
6) Pocahontas is formidable
Enough said.