I am Belle. Supposedly.

This is such a departure from my typical blogs, but I've decided to blog about whatever stands at to me as it does. And in this exact moment, it's Disney. Disney princesses, nonetheless.

I know Disney has received a lot of flack for portraying women being helpless without a man (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella). I have read studies about their body types and the effect that their physical perfection has on young girls. I get all of that.

My focus in this blog is very different. It is gender-related for sure, but it takes a very different view.

When I was a kid, I went to see Pocahontas in theaters. The soundtrack to Pocahontas was the very first CD I remember owning. I loved it. I had a Jasmine T-shirt that I loved. It was my favorite T-shirt as a kid. It was a sort of tie-dyed pink and purple with sparkles. Jasmine was on it in her green silky outfit holding a bird close to her. My mom reminds me that I loved Beauty and the Beast when I was a kid. I watched it constantly for a while. I remember very clearly watching it with my Uncle (he brother) when I was very, very young. I remember that scary scene when the Beast is on the roof and being glad that my uncle was there to watch it with me at my grandma's house. One of the two Disney songs I connect with the absolute most belongs to Ariel though, in "Part of Your World".

By far, these were my favorite Disney princesses. Pocahontas, Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel. Had I watched Disney cartoons much longer, I am quite certain Mulan would have been up there too. As it is, I haven't seen it all the way through.

Why these four? What is the same about them? What distinguishes them from one another and from the ones I don't like as much? What admirable qualities do each possess? Do any of them possess any qualities that aren't as admirable?

Jasmine. Jasmine might have been my favorite princess for years. She had a subtle compassionate nature. Like all Disney princesses, she loved animals. She cared for her pet Tiger and some random birds. She liked Aladdin's monkey, though the feelings weren't initially returned. 

She had a boldness that she asserted quite intentionally often. She didn't trust easily. She sought freedom. She desired to turn her back on her privilege. She was acutely aware of her sexuality. She was very independent.

Pocahontas. Probably my second favorite princess at the time. Perhaps my ultimate favorite now. Again, she had a strong connection with animals. She took it further though, feeling a kinmanship with all nature, which rang true for her culture. Though she was wise and independent, she was humble and was subtle and perhaps even more thoughtful in how she undermined false perceptions. She was the boldest when she stood up against the wrongs of her own culture. She also didn't sit as a victim when her own culture was under threat.

She was both gentle and stern. She was sacrificial and she challenged people in love. She chose loyalty and commitment to her people over the immediate gratification of love at the end of the movie when she would have accompanied John Smith. She has the most qualities I would like to emulate.

Belle. I connected with Belle a lot because of her fearlessness. Or, not so much fearlessness, but for her courage. I don't think she intended to challenge societal structures as much as she did. She did so by being herself, but "herself" didn't fit in well with those norms at all. I admired her for reading and seeking intellectual pursuits. I admired her for standing up for her father when everyone in her town demeaned him. I admired her for not letting herself be reduced to a man's simple pleasure. I admired her for being disgusted with Gaston's antics when all the other women swooned.

Of all the princesses, Belle was the *most* sacrificial. Unlike the early Disney movies where the men were sacrificial, Belle was a woman who sacrificed herself for not one, but two men - her father and the beast, her love. She looked beneath the surface of what could immediately be seen. She chose a life, which she assumed would be doomed for the sake of her father. And she allowed her perspective to change. She easily could have hated the beast forever and actually accepted a doomed life. But her openness allowed her to see things in a new way and transform her surroundings by being an agent of change.

I didn't watch this movie a lot as I got older. Some of the scenes and emotions were too intense. These days, Belle might give Pocahontas a run for her money in terms of qualities. They are both very high up there.

Ariel. Oh Ariel. What shall we do with you? Ariel is a strange one. I like her and I am annoyed by her. Her disrespect to her father is not so noble as Pocahontas's gentle but stern approach to her father. Ariel isn't challenging a way of life that is wrong. Nothing's *wrong* with her life or her culture. I appreciate her though for trying to extend the vision of those around her. She sees a world that no one else sees and maybe in a way belonged to that world from the beginning. I, too, have felt that the world I'm a part of isn't the world I was born into. Which makes me an easy candidate for buying into the Kingdom that Jesus spoke of. A world that could be here and is kinda in reach, but only in an obscured way.

Ariel annoyed me because she foolishly made a deal with Ursula. She gave up that which she was gifted with. I have fought all my life to be heard. Nothing makes me feel more belittled in life than to feel that people don't hear me, or don't care to hear me. I know I have things of value to say. I don't say that arrogantly. I just know I have ideas and feelings that need to be heard. Not being heard is the biggest insult to the essence of my character. I resent Ariel for trading her voice for legs when she had so many things of value to say. Like Ariel, I have a little "room" in my mind with all these ideals stored away. It is a room of longings unfulfilled for a world that can only be seen in part in my world. I so relate to her song in that little room. It is the very song that inspired this blog, as I began to cry when I watched it on youtube.

I disagree with her approach. She's more cynical and disagreeable. She's unwise in her hastiness. She clings to independence until she feels threatened, then she clings to the nearest thing to provide security. I don't like the way she dealt with what she felt, but I understand her feelings deeply.


These are fictional characters. Except for Jasmine, each of these women are the stars of the movies they are in. I am so, so pleased that cartoon women, despite their physical perfections, have been represented as pillars of strength. Their compassion has been celebrated as strengths rather than being used as signals of the "weaker sex". They are characters that I easily relate to.

I write all of this as a defense of them. Revisiting these songs and these characters has helped me to revisit my own character and the development thereof, since these characters informed my development as a child. It's no wonder that I turned out to be a sort of feminist when even cartoons presented me with this view of women. I know that if I wasn't such an introspective person, especially as a child, these movies could have been harmful to my self-image, as several psych studies confirm. But being who I am, the characters in these movies give me a model of qualities to aspire to, and maladaptive ways of coping that I actively wish to avoid.

I have taken multiple "Which Disney Princess are you?" quizzes. Other than one that put me as Cinderella (*gag*), the one that has popped up the most consistently is Belle, and I am elated. I think I prefer the movie Pocahontas, but these days, I admire Belle's character the most.


I can't decide if this blog is supremely silly and pointless or if it's interesting and fun. But it's been fun to write. I'm not a very "princessy" person. I've not been one to idealize Disney princesses (before this blog anyway). I actively disliked the color pink until I was in college. I often wear a Rosie the Riveter necklace. But this struck me and I wanted to write about it. So here it is, for your reading pleasure.

What do you think about the way women have been portrayed in these Disney movies? Which character are you the most drawn to? Which do you most want to be like? What are your thoughts on anything I have touched on here? Comment and share your thoughts!