Princess Merida | Brave (2012)
“She’s a feisty one. All she wants to do is ride her horse and get lost in the forest… Not your typical Disney princess.”
#that said: HUSH. she’s not the first ~feisty disney princess by a long shot let’s not start with that #i get a little sensitive about pitting disney ladies against each other i admit
^!!!!! Oh, my God, I am so, so goddamn tired of the writers and artists and execs and the fans constantly pitting Disney ladies against each other, like, OH SHE’S NOT LIKE THOSE OTHER DISNEY PRINCESSES—like, what the fuck’s wrong with Tiana? What the fuck’s wrong with Mulan, or Aurora, or Jasmine, or Belle? Why the hell do we have to tear every single lady down to lift another lady up? Why can’t we celebrate ALL the ladies? And if you’ve got a problem, as I have many problems, with their respective narratives—like, seriously, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is fucked up, and as much as I love The Little Mermaid, HA HA OH BOY, WHERE DO I EVEN START—don’t take it out on the ladies! Break down why the NARRATIVE does wrong by her. (And remember, too, that the Disney Princesses narrative is distinct from each princess’ individual narrative. Like, remember when Enchanted came out and everyone was all HA HA WHAT A CLEVER PARODY OF THE DISNEY PRINCESS! except that was a parody of the brand which largely strips away individual personality to celebrate a particular confining form of femininity, which, while that form of femininity in and of itself is not a bad thing, by virtue of excluding other expressions of femininity or masculinity by women contributes to an overarching cultural narrative which is very, very problematic … and still is not representative of the actual princesses in question.)
And just ftr, let’s all take a moment to respect how different ladies have different interests, and if a lady prefers reading to fighting or fighting to embroidery or embroidery to reading, that’s her business and it ain’t any of yours. So back the fuck off.
AIN’T NO WRONG WAY TO BE A GIRL.
That said, I am super excited for Brave and Merida needs to get into my life already.
Thank you, mem.
(via formerlyroxy)
