I can’t take it any more. I am so sick of the Disney Princesses, I’m about to put out a contract on all of those broads. At first, I was all in favor of the girl power message and the emphasis on positive female role models for young girls. As time has gone by, however, their ever present faces have become the bane of my existence. Maybe it’s my own fault. Maybe it was going to happen anyway. The fact remains, I’m the queen of this here castle and I already have two princesses.

Let’s review. The DP’s, at this moment in time, consist of Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Princess Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Princess Pocahontas from Pocahontas, Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella from Cinderella, Mulan from Mulan, and *gasp*
Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.

FYI people, Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog is Disney’s first (and only) Black Princess in an animated film. The movie, which will be released December 18th, 2009, is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

I’m gasping at the fact that Princess Tiana is included because:
1. The movie has not yet been released and
2. There is no indication of Princess Tiana belonging to this clique on any merchandise relating to the DP’s whatsoever.

I should even gasp that Pocahontas and Mulan are included in that group, because they are hardly making appearances on the shelves, either. They’re not even on most of the packaging! If you Google “Disney Princess”, you get about 1.27 million results in 0.03 seconds. Google “Black Disney Princess”, you get 787 results in .10 seconds.

But, back to my rant about the princesses. I know that this is just a phase, one that I will have to endure again when Coever is of age, but the pervasive nature is scary. Morgan has only seen Cinderella one time, while we drove to the peanut festival in someone else’s car. From that one exposure, she became Cinderella obsessed. She wanted me to draw Cinderella, she wanted to see the movie again and again, she would see Cinderella at the store and go into a fit of squeals and “please, please, please’s”.

Cut to YMCA childwatch where Morgan has cajoled the nursery workers to read Cinderella and the Little Mermaid stories to her — 6 times in a 45 minute period. Yikes!!

Cut to our coloring time on the floor where Morgan asks for me to draw a dress in a circle — that’s Morganese for “Please draw a princess”. Once I’ve picked up a crayon, my little Morgan requests as fast as she can, “And draw Cinderella, and draw Ariel, and draw Jasmine, and draw Sleeping Beauty. . .” though Jasmine comes out more like Jazz-man and Sleeping Beauty is Sleeping Bee-ooo-tee. Ugh, if Disney needs another animator for those DP’s, call me! I’m prolific now.

Cut to the day we went to another playgroup and lo and behold, 3 foot Ariel plush doll comes out to play. Holy mother of pearl. I had no idea that some cotton, polyester and ribbon could render a toddler girl into a sniveling, quivering, tantrum throwing nutball. Morgan had to have it during the playgroup. She wanted to take it home, she talked about it the whole way home, every time we mentioned that friend, Morgan said, “And Ariel comes too.” So what’s a mother to do? I went out and bought one for her for Christmas. Mind you, this is AUGUST!! But, being the uber-goody-goody that I am, I also got Morgan matching Ariel underpants for potty training, Ariel stickers for good behavior, and a small Ariel doll to take along so the big Ariel wouldn’t be looking at me in the rearview mirror when we went out. I was even going to give her my (yes my own) copy of The Little Mermaid on VHS — and thank goodness I changed my mind on that one.

Christmas morning comes and the first thing Morgan goes for is the Ariel doll, the small one. The big one, she loved, but she threw it in the crib. The little one became like the mouse in her pocket. Wherever Morgan went, Ariel was peeping out of Morgan’s fist. Ariel had her clothes changed more times than Heidi Klum during a Victoria Secret fashion show. It was scary. Morgan walked around like a zombie saying, “Ariel is SO beautiful. Ariel is SO pretty.” Well, Craig and I stepped in, saying, “Yes, but not as pretty as Morgan.” Went right over her head. We continue re-inforcing to her that she is beautiful, prettier than Ariel, the whole nine yards. We tell her, “Mommy is pretty. Coever is pretty. Morgan is pretty. Daddy is handsome.” And Morgan says, and I quote, “Just like Prince Eric”.

Son of a goat!!

What transpired next came out of love for my children as well as for the continued growth and development of their self-esteem and self-worth. The Disney Princesses (Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White) have been effectively removed from our home. Is that totally Mommie Dearest? Cruella DeVille? Have I, in an attempt to re-inforce my own daughters worth and beauty, made her into the oppressed princess and myself into the older women/enemy that is featured in most of the films? I doubt it.

Little girls love their dolls, I know. More to the point, little girls love dolls that look like them. To that end, I’m determined to find Black dolls for my girls, and not just princesses either. I know there is a Bessie Coleman action figure. Barbie has come out with more diverse looking dolls, as well as dolls with more career opportunities. If by some twist of fate Morgan is still in the throes of the princess phase, and Coever is, too, there is even a Barbie Princess of the Nile doll to tide them over until The Princess and the Frog is released.

December 18th,2009 seems so far away, but if I squint my eyes and look real hard, I can see that Princess Tiana making her highly anticipated walk into the Disney Princess inner circle. While I hope she will be as welcomed and revered as her fellow princesses have been and continue to be, I know she will be at our home.