![](\"http:\/\/www.angelsdesk.com\/photos\/2008\/01\/Bob_Mackie_tulle_dress_1991.jpg\")
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Before I begin with the topic at hand, I would like to say that, when you have two preschool children, writing a blog entry becomes an act of will.<\/p>\n Now, onto “The romance of romance” or, more precisely,\u00c2\u00a0“The strange appeal of the Disney Princesses<\/a>.”\u00c2\u00a0 Lily is very much a girly-girl.\u00c2\u00a0 She grew into this personality all by herself; Matt and I merely gave her the freedom to explore her own tastes.\u00c2\u00a0 And, being such a girly-girl, she was early-on attracted to clothes.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, I quit dressing her before she turned two-years-old because the arguments weren’t worth the trouble.\u00c2\u00a0 She insisted on picking her own clothes.<\/p>\n As she has become more explorative with clothes, she has been attracted to the Disney Princess line of dresses, and, from there, to the Disney Princesses in general.\u00c2\u00a0 And, here’s my dirty little secret: I like the Disney Princess line of merchandising as well.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t like the ubiquitous quality of the line — like all things that do financially well in corporate America, Disney milks that cash cow for every little penny it can possibly get.<\/p>\n Since the Princesses have invaded my house, partially due to Lily and partially due to myself, I have been thinking about their appeal to the feminine.\u00c2\u00a0 And I think it comes down to romance.\u00c2\u00a0 And I don’t mean romance as in “falling in love.”\u00c2\u00a0 Lily could care less about the princes; they are just a minor plot point as far as she is concerned.\u00c2\u00a0 And I am already in love; my prince charming exists in my life on a daily basis.<\/p>\n I mean romance as in beautiful dresses, climbing roses, the smell of lilies, and\u00c2\u00a0idealic pastoral afternoons.\u00c2\u00a0 I think the Disney Princesses are a representation of this; they are always in their flowing dresses and surrounded by flowers.\u00c2\u00a0 (Their Prince Charmings are very rarely pictured with them.)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0For American culture, they have evolved into the archetype\u00c2\u00a0of\u00c2\u00a0the romantic feminine within us — the part of us that longs to live an idealic romantic life full of\u00c2\u00a0flowers and kitchen gardens\u00c2\u00a0in the French countryside.<\/p>\n I looked up the term “archetype” to make sure I was using the word correctly, and dictionary.com said “the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.”\u00c2\u00a0 And I thought, “Well, something can’t really evolve<\/em> into an archetype, can it?”\u00c2\u00a0 But the sentence still settles really well with me.\u00c2\u00a0 Culture evolves; archetypes evolve.\u00c2\u00a0 And our children\u00c2\u00a0are looking to Ariel and Snow White, not Venus, to define the American romantic\u00c2\u00a0feminine.\u00c2\u00a0 Which, truthfully, is a bit scary.\u00c2\u00a0 As far as I know, none of the Disney princesses went to university.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe, just like our mothers did, we need to expose them to Gloria Steinem<\/a> as well as Snow White.<\/p>\n Anyways, these\u00c2\u00a0are\u00c2\u00a0my humble\u00c2\u00a0thoughts on the strange appeal of the Disney Princesses\u00c2\u00a0to both young and old women.\u00c2\u00a0 Since I’ve ferreted out their base note, I’m looking elsewhere for iconic images that conjure dreams of a romantic life.\u00c2\u00a0 The Disney Princesses are a bit… well, packaged.\u00c2\u00a0 They have the shiny coating and one-dimensional lack of depth\u00c2\u00a0that comes from corporate mass marketing.<\/p>\n … I do still like them though. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n ps. For another take on the Disney Princesses, you can read this article<\/a>, titled “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” by Peggy Orenstein and written for the NY Times.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.angelsdesk.com\/photos\/2008\/01\/Bob_Mackie_tulle_dress_1991_2.jpg\")
\nA Bob Mackie creation, circa 1991.
\nI think this is a really beautiful dress,
\nand an adult version of the Disney
\nPrincess dresses made for children.
\nI got the pictures from this website<\/a>.<\/p>\n