Tiara'd of Princesses

by: Deborah Jacobs, ACLU-NJ Executive Director

Sat Nov 21, 2009 at 09:42:11 AM EST

Within the past week, I received two emails concerning little girls and princesses.

The first was from the City of Newark, alerting me that on November 19 Newark Mayor Cory Booker would offer motivational words to Newark girls aged eight to 12 at the "Girl Power" Event at Prudential Center.

Girl power? I love Girl Power!

And, boy, do the girls of Newark will need some power to avoid the many pitfalls they face as they grow into womanhood on this city: poverty, premature sexual activity, dropping out of school, pregnancy and STDs, domestic violence. Our girls are struggling. We do need some girl power around here.

But then I kept reading: "Disney will introduce Princess Tiana, the first Disney African-American Princess." Then, the Mayor and the skater who plays the role of Princess Tiana in Disney on Ice, would offer inspirational messages and sign autographs prior to a performance of Disney on Ice's "Let's Celebrate" at the Prudential Center.

Gag me with a scepter!

The second email I received was from an organization called TrueChild, which has a mission of creating a world in which boys and girls are free from stereotypes and instead can learn, grow and reach their full potential.

TrueChild's email, titled "The Princess Plague," discusses Disney's billion-dollar, 2,000-item princess line. For the most part Disney's princesses are white, skinny and esteemed for their beauty above all other -- often considerable (at least among the more modern princesses) -- assets. Their images promote not only attributes that most girls lack (thus marginalizing those who don't fit that princess ideal), but also choices no parent should want a daughter to make. Let's face it, being pretty is great, but being smart gets you through life regardless of how you look.

I recognize that Newark is hungry for activities for kids, but promoting an African American Princess from Disney doesn't help our girls one bit. Instead, it gives them something false and superficial to aspire to, with a guarantee of failure.

If Newark really wants to help its girls, it needs to have pro-girl programs independent of corporate sponsorship. The only gender-specific thing I've seen in the Newark press releases in recent years is the rededication of Boys' Park to be named, again, "Boys' Park." This took place earlier this year, despite the cries of the National Organization for Women and other advocates (in fact, the city wouldn't even meet with NOW about it).

The way to motivate girls is not by giving a speech and signing autographs at a Disney event celebrating a title that no one in the U.S. actually even holds. It's by investing in programs that cultivate girls' intellects, creativity and physical strength.

OK, maybe I'm asking too much from this city. But, at the minimum, let's not sell out to Disney and pretend we're helping our most vulnerable and precious community members, when in fact we're perpetuating stereotypes that fail girls every time.