Guest blog by Roz Brown

On one of our first dates, my soon-to-be husband took me to the Boulder Dinner Theater to see South Pacific.  As the character Emile sang Rodgers and Hammerstein’s intoxicating Some Enchanted Evening, love was in the air. Over the next two decades, often with our daughters in tow, we saw everything from Cats and Hello Dolly, to Singin’ in the Rain and Chicago.

Alas, the enchanted spell of that first evening didn’t last, and 20-years later, like Nellie in South Pacific, I ‘washed that man right out of my hair.’  On the upside, my divorce did nothing to alter my fondness for Boulder’s live theater, so when Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella was recently on the bill, my youngest daughter and I had front row seats.

And so the story of Cinderella begins with her huddled near the fireplace embers–in the cinders–awaiting the next summons from her nasty stepmother and stepsisters.  You know the rest.  She is eventually rescued from her miserable life after a brief but starstruck meeting with Prince Charming.

But as the curtain opened, it was almost immediately clear that this Cinderella was atypical.  Yes, she had the classic, angelic face. And yes, her soaring voice was exquisite. But as she made her way toward the center of the stage to sing her first number, she seemed to be limping, and it was soon obvious that she was disabled.  It turns out the highly successful 20-year old actress, Jenna Bainbridge, lives with partial paralysis in her lower body, an unexplained condition that struck her when she was just 16-months old. Read more…

In many fairy tales and animated movies for kids, the princess is shown as lovely, demure, and passive, while the prince is depicted as adventurous, courageous, and active.  Do these characters perpetuate myths that no longer serve us and limit choices for both genders?

Isn’t it time for a new hero – a princess who has active feminine energy – also known as swagger – a princess who is making her own choices about the future?  The Girl’s Guide to Swagger, along with author and media studies professor Rebecca Hains, have started a campaign to convince Disney and Dreamworks to change these gender stereotypes send a princess to college in an upcoming movie.

Want to join us? Sign our petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/disney-and-dreamworks-send-a-princess-to-college and join men and women from all over the world.

In the Swagger community, we’ve been discussing why it can be difficult for women to say “no” in situations where, by societal pressures, we feel obligated to say “yes.”  We also talked about why Disney Princesses are getting stronger, and yet maintain the unattainable symbols of beauty and success our children cannot possibly attain.  Much as I appreciate Disney’s latest attempt to make its princesses appear to be self-sufficient andstronger, I was a bit shocked when viewing the latest of Disney’s princess movies, Rapunzel.

My girls, ages 4 and 6, went to the movie with their Dad, and came home wide-eyed and breathless, as any good child would after seeing aDisney movie.  Immediately, though, I could sense something major happened.  My eldest said, “Mommy – you are not going to believe what happened in the movie!”  My youngest, “Mommy – you would not like what happened in this movie.”  I was amused and thought some dragon had been slayed or some prince spurned.  “Mommy – Flynn Rider cut off Rapunzel’s hair!”

Huh?

I didn’t get to see the movie for a few more months, but gathered from family and friends’ descriptions that Flynn had cut Rapunzel’s hair off for some reason.  When I saw the movie, my feminist alarm started to ding loudly when it came time to view the act.  I don’t want to spoil this for you, so if you haven’t seen the movie, fair warning – the next paragraphs contain spoilers.

Read more…

Did you watch the Royal Wedding?  I didn’t, but confess I did on occasion read features on the internet regarding royal crowns, dresses, traditions and other thing that aren’t really important for me to know.  Quite by accident I watched the British comedy with Hugh Grant Four Weddings and a Funeral this week. More than 1.6 million people watched the wedding on the internet this morning, the biggest real time internet audience ever, surpassing the World Cup and the inauguration of President Obama.

Kate Middleton is now the Duchess of Cambridge, Her Royal Highness and oddly Princess William of Wales.  It has been 350 years since a royal, in line for the throne, married a commoner.

Why do we have an interest in the Royal Wedding?  You might recall that the US won its independence from Britain in 1776 – rejecting royalty in favor of democracy.  I abhor waste, formality, and spending lavish sums of money on such things when children are starving.

Why do we care?  I believe that deep within us all is the desire for romance and magic, coupled with the desire to live happily ever after – never having to worry about money or cleaning the house or anything really.

For women, this desire is particularly encouraged in our culture by fairy tales and Disney stories, in which the girl is rescued from a wicked whatever – fill in the blank – stepmother, overbearing father, witch – by the prince who whisks her away on his white horse. No more problems – all is well forever. Read more…