Violet Voices

Snow White Has Got To GO!

I just can’t take it anymore! If I have to hear that squeaky, ultra-girly voice sing “I’m Wishing” one more time, I’M GOING TO HURL!

And it’s not just the annoying voice or the insipid little songs that has my panties in a wad. It’s the messages my girls are absorbing from this antiquated bit of animation history.

Okay, I’m cool with the obsession my five year old has with Princesses right now. It’s fairly normal. And to be fair, it’s partly my own fault because I’ve let them basically spend the entire summer watching movies and playing dress-up because I’m trying to get my life organized for this fall–school, writing, editing, etc.

But when my 8 year old comes and tells me, “I just can’t wait until I can go on dates and have a boyfriend,” and when my 5 year old is swooning around the house singing about how “someday her prince will come”–I just want to shout ENOUGH ALREADY!

It’s not that I have a problem with romantic fantasies. I’m really quite the romantic at heart. I love the idea of my girls someday falling in love and getting married to amazing, caring, loving guys.

But lately, it seems like they’re obsessing about it. And the one message I do NOT want them absorbing from all these “princess movies” is that life for a woman is all about finding and getting the “man of your dreams.”

Snow White is especially obnoxious about this. She is probably the most passive female character in any movie I’ve seen in a long time. She’s a victim. The story happens TO her. She has no real say in any of it. And the message I feel like my girls are getting is that their aspiration in life should be to wait for a Prince to show up and rescue them from the evil females in their lives with their poison apples. And in the meantime, a REAL princess will be thrilled to spend her time cooking and cleaning for dirty little old men who are suspicious of all females and their “wicked wiles.” SHEESH!

I guess I need to go on a hunt for some movies with better messages for my girls. Disney animations are pretty much out, because it seems like even the newer ones–with their much stronger, independent heroines–are still portraying the ultimate Goal of Life to be to find a man, preferrably a prince while you’re at it. Or they feature male characters who go on grand adventures where a female isn’t really much of a necessity.

Let’s see…Veggie Tales? I love them, but really, what sort of female role models are put forward in this series? The newest female character, Petunia, is getting more screen time than other female veggies, but she’s still just an accessory to whatever Hero Larry is playing in that particular story. A pretty, somewhat helpless, dependent accessory.

Princess Diaries…my girls love them. They’re a little better. Still focused on romance, despite the sequel’s “I can be a queen without a husband” theme.

Other movies with female leads they like–Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility–Anne is more spunky, but all three have a pretty heavy “and they fell in love and lived happily ever after” theme to them.

They have other movies they enjoy as well, but those don’t have primarily female lead characters. Why is it that movies centering around females are mostly romances to some extent or another? What movies can I show my girls that promote healthy, strong, moral, courageous women or girls who have a purpose and goal in life that is related to their own talents, abilities, or God-given calling?

Again, I’m not opposed to romance. Some of the movies I’ve listed are among my favorites. But it just seems like that message is the only one my girls are getting from what they’re watching. There’s got to be some broader options.

Any suggestions?

The Snow White Has Got To GO! by Violet Voices, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Written By: Meredith Efken
Posted under: On Being a Parent, Women's Voices .  Email This Post