Raising a Princess in an Anti-Princess World

When we found out that we were having a girl, pictures of Disney princesses filled my head. I have to say, I love princesses. There is just something about them that makes me smile and turn into a five year old little girl again (but to be honest, most things can make me turn into a five year old again. What can I say I'm a child at heart.) I melt at the chance to meet Cinderella at Disney, and I will wait in line for hours to meet Ariel (my favorite princess of all time). One thing I remember about my great grandfather is that he always called me princess, and I always knew that my husband would be the man that called me his princess (and yes, the hubs did). So when we found out we were having a girl, I was so excited that we were going to have a little princess of our own!

Fast forward nesting being in full swing and to browsing through Pinterest at all the girly stuff you can imagine. Amidst all the typical girly stuff, I found many articles and blog posts about raising girls. Most of them shocked me. There are so many "anti-princess" campaigns out there. There are blogs out there specifically made to address this and promote this campaign. Some articles even go to lengths of saying that the allowing your little girl to be a princess will ruin her.

Why are so many people afraid of princesses? What is it about the concept of princess that makes people go running? Is it because they are afraid of girls being girls and being treated as such? In that case, what does being a girl mean, and why does the princess phenomenon make that such a bad thing? 

I can't help but look to the book Captivating by John and Staci Eldridge. One line in particular stands out: 

"every woman in her heart of hearts longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty."

Think about the princess tales. What does each princess long for? They long to be loved (Cinderella), they want great adventure (Ariel and Belle), and to unveil beauty (Snow White).

All Cinderella wants is to be loved. She is living in a house with her evil stepmother and evil stepsisters who do not love her and make sure she knows it. Without her father or mother there, she is searching for the one thing she does not have: love. She finds that in her prince charming. When they find each other, Cinderella glows. His love brings out the light in her.

Ariel feels trapped in her world under the sea. She wants something more. She knows there is something more out there for her. Out of fear of her father, she is forced to keep her desires hidden in a secret cave. When her father destroys her dreams of adventure, she turns to the evil sea witch. She is given the one thing she desires: to have legs. With those legs she's able to take part in a great adventure that no one she knows have ever gone on. Belle is the same way. She is trapped in a world surrounded by people that aren't like her. She "want[s] adventure in the great wide somewhere, [she] want[s] it more than [she] can tell" as she states in her song. Both Belle and Ariel long for adventure.

The whole reason Snow White is forced into hiding is the Queen wants her killed. Why does she want her killed? Because Snow White is "the fairest of them all." Snow White unveils beauty. Even Grumpy smiles when she is near. The Queen tries to squelch that, but in the end Beauty wins.

Young girls experience this at a young age. It is not because of the princess movement. It is much more deep seated than that. This desire is in our very being. We long to be romanced, we long to play a role in a great adventure, and we long to unveil beauty - our beauty. 

There's just something about being a princess that makes every girl feel loved, special, a part of something bigger, and beautiful. Putting on that simple dress and tiara can change a young girl's perspective in a heartbeat. It can easily give them something that they desire in their heart of hearts. 

Why is that a bad thing?

Being a princess does not mean that she is weak and must have a prince to come to her rescue. Being a princess allows her to feel loved, beautiful, adventurous, and ultimately valued! Isn't that a wonderful thing for little girls to feel? Isn't that how we want them to feel? 

And most importantly, my little girl deserves to be a princess because she is the daughter of the King. She is the cherry on top of His masterpiece. Made in His image. She is a princess and should be treated as such.

So I say, bring on all of the princess paraphernalia. Bring on all the tutus, tiaras, and the long, twirly skirts. I welcome it all with open arms. My girl deserves to be a princess. She deserves to be loved. She deserves to have adventures. She deserves to be beautiful. 

She deserves to be a princess.

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