Recently, the feminist movement has been getting quite a bit of attention. This is great news! Women are becoming more empowered and have a desire to be heard. What isn’t so great, however, is when women start telling other women that they are doing feminism wrong. Feminism, in simple terms, is the idea that men and women should be equal. It’s not some crazy bra-burning, man-hating cult. I promise.
One thing that really bothers me is when people starting throwing Disney princesses under the bus for being “anti-feminist”. So I’m here to set the record straight. I’m going to walk you through some of the most famous Disney princesses and give you a brief spiel on why they can totally be feminist and feminine at the same time.
1. Snow White
Snow White is the original Disney princess. She was created in a time that feminism may not have been at the forefront of the news like it is today. However, she can still definitely be considered a feminist. She is oppressed by the evil queen and does whatever she can to get out of this oppression. Feminist! Sounds to me a bit like women asking for equal pay. I know what you’re going to say: “Snow White cooked and cleaned for seven men!”. Yeah. Because she WANTED to. She found their cottage and decided it needed some tidying up. No one expected her to do that. The seven dwarves treated her like a member of the family and never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do.
2. Cinderella
The only thing Cinderella wanted was to be treated as an equal by her stepmother and stepsisters. Feminist! She wanted equality. So what if she wore a ballgown and fell in love? She still did her best to get out of a bad situation. She wanted equality in her home. She may display traditional “feminine” characteristics, but who are we to say every woman who acts “like a woman” can’t be a feminist too?
3. Sleeping Beauty/Aurora
Your girl literally was raised by three women. She didn’t even really know men existed until she met Prince Phillip. The three fairies raised her to become a strong independent woman who don’t need no man. The fact that she finds a man to love doesn’t make her any less of a BA girl. She is beautiful and elegant and graceful and still totally a feminist. She provides for her family and never falls subservient to Prince Phillip. They are equals from the get go.
4. The Little Mermaid/Ariel
Ariel is constantly standing up for what she believes in. She does her own thing and won’t let anyone tell her what to do. Her sisters all listen and go with the flow; Ariel questions the flow and swims against it. She goes on a journey by herself and shows us that women can do whatever they set their mind to. She doesn’t get saved by a prince; she’s the one that saves him.
5. Beauty and the Beast/Belle
Belle is a feminist. No question about it. She refuses to marry Gaston and doesn’t bend to societal demands. She wants “much more than this provincial life”. She is constantly exploring her own mind and the world around her. All she wants is for people to see her for more than just a pretty face – she wants to be appreciated for who she is. When she meets the Beast, he sees her as a strong woman and not just a “funny” girl who is a little odd. That’s the scariest thing about Beauty and the Beast: that the villagers think that a woman with brains is “strange”. Belle just want to show them that women can be just as smart as men.
You see? Disney princesses are awesome in so many ways. Just because you like princesses and pretty dresses and singing doesn’t mean you can’t be a feminist. Just because you want to get married doesn’t mean you can’t be a feminist. You can be “traditional” and still be a feminist. Because, in the end, we truly are all equal, and we should be treated as such.