What do you first think of when someone says the word “princess” to you? Do you think of a respectable and classy woman in a big dress, or a woman carrying a bow and arrow who wears raggy dresses and shoes?

If you thought that they should be elegant and graceful, then you’re in agreement with most people. But with these statistics, this means that we should not consider the new Disney characters “Princesses.”

In Brave, for example, the main character Merida (Kelly MacDonald) shows signs of burliness and manliness. Between her defying her parents and while fighting her inner self, she does not possess the qualities that a princess should.

Instead of being considered Disney princesses, they should be considered disney warriors because they would rather fight in a battle than ride a horse to her mothers house to have tea.

Even though in the movie Brave, Merida is a literal princess, she does not posses the true qualities of a Disney princess, such as grace.

The original princesses, like Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty all contain poise and classiness. They are beautiful and wait for their “knight in shining armor” to come and save them, Rather than showing some form of aggression and fighting the battles themselves.

When I was growing up, Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Belle were the original princesses and with that mentality that my knight in shining armor needs to come save me. I grew up with those princesses and how they act. They are classy, elegant and that’s always what I think of when I think of being a princess.

The modern Disney is trying too hard to cater to the feminist values that are prevalent in today’s society. Instead of the women having their battles fought for them by their esteemed princes in shining armor, they are having to fight their own battles.
The biggest issue I have with the new princesses is that they are not the original ones and that these new so called “princesses” are taking the younger generations by storm.

The original princesses were made and created by Walt Disney’s era and he saw over them. This was his idea of how the original princess should be and act.

Another prime example is Kate Middleton. She is elegant and classy, poised and beautiful. She doesn’t eat like a man and looks like a typical princess. She performs her duty as a princess by appealing to her country and having people like her as a role model for its women and girls. She is the classic princess role model.

Even with the roles of women changing, there is still that expectation that the princesses should be classy and perform those classic princess roles.