Among girls, princesses and the romanticized ideal they represent — revolving around finding the man of your dreams — have a limited shelf life. With the advent of “tween” TV, the tiara-wearing ideal of femininity has been supplanted by new adolescent role models such as the Disney Channel’s Selena Gomez and Nickelodeon’s Miranda Cosgrove.
“By the time they’re 5 or 6, they’re not interested in being princesses,” said Dafna Lemish, chairwoman of the radio and TV department at Southern Illinois University and an expert in the role of media in children’s lives. “They’re interested in being hot, in being cool. Clearly, they see this is what society values.”
My childhood is now 100%, six-feet-under, undeniably dead.
I just watched Beauty and the Beast and I don’t understand how girls watching that now wouldn’t want to be Belle. I’m 21 years old and I want to be her. That was my favorite movie when I was younger, and dammit, it still is.
Female TV show characters when I was younger were different. What about the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers? The two girls on the team could kick some ass right alongside the boys. And Kim Possible? She was a super spy while still maintaining her schoolwork. My personal favorite, was Charley Davidson from Biker Mice from Mars, the sarcastic mechanic for the boys who knew her way around a bike better than those guys from American Chopper. That’s not even mentioning the Powderpuff Girls, Patti Mayonnaise from Doug, Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Pepper Ann, Eliza Thornberry of The Wild Thornberrys, and Reggie Rocket from Rocket Power.
Bam.
(Source: mickeyandminnie)
