tiaras are only for the girls apparently

As I racked my brain trying to figure out what questionable toys I played with as a kid, I quickly realized there wasn't much at all to talk about. I mean I spent a majority of my time doing crafts or playing instruments, but then I remembered. 

I was never much of a feminine kid growing up, which meant when it came to playing house, I would be the man and I would rope one of my guy friends into being my wife. It also meant that I also hated Disney princesses. My parents were (and still are) aware of my distaste towards them so they never insisted on buying those princess dolls, but that doesn't mean I was spared of being gifted them.

My hatred towards them was never really only because of the dolls themselves, but because of the way they are portrayed in the movies. Most of the princesses of that era were really boring to me. They were all shallow, and all they needed to do to bag the prince was flutter their eyelashes at him and boom, husband secured. Does it only take being a damsel in distress to make an even blander man fall head over heels for you? I don't think I could ever live with myself if I ever acted like that. I, like every other person I know, am too complex to be able to be simplified down into an oversexualized version of myself.

It gets weirder when you remember some of their ages in canon. THEY ARE ALL MY AGE. AS IN MY AGE RIGHT NOW. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED AT AGES YOUNGER THAN MINE... Snow White is 13, and her beloved prince is 31. Is that not messed up? Is Disney encouraging girls to not complete their education so they can be docile and serve their husbands? Do you hear how absolutely insane that sounds? And why do they all have that perfect hourglass figure?? Even Fa Mulan, who spent most of the movie getting jacked, continues to stay slim and delicate. It's unrealistic.

Additionally, the lack of good representation angers me. The princess closest to my own culture would have to be Jasmine, but even that is a bit of a stretch. And she's not even a good example either -- the entire movie is based on racist caricatures. Is anyone going to talk about the part in Arabian Nights where they call the Arab people barbaric? And the fashion isn't even accurate either.

And so, as I write this, I stare into the empty, soulless printed eyes on my numerous dolls that I wish I had thrown out years ago, reminded of how much better things could have been if these girls were well written. I like the girls, don't get me wrong, but it makes me sad to think about how much more interesting they could have been if they weren't all so boring. If they were more diverse. If they struggled with more things beyond their lack of affection. And maybe they should make prince dolls too. I wanted to be the prince growing up, and truthfully I still do. Since when was being feminine associated with weakness? Let me be cool and feminine and princely and complex!