Wanna be a Princess? Lose the Frizz!

I think I speak for just about every girl of my generation when I say that after watching the Princess Diaries, I waited with bated breath for the day that my grandmother would tell me that I was to become the next Princess of Genovia.  I absolutely love this coming-of-age movie; the dorky, awkward nerd-girl turning into the graceful, lovely young woman by the end of the story.  There is only one tiny little detail that gets my goat every time: THEY TAKE AWAY HER CURLS!!!



http://blogs.disney.com/disney-style/fashion/2014/08/03/lets-talk-about-the-fashion-from-the-princess-diaries/

While I am as anti-frizz as any other girl, I take offense that the stylists completely hijacked Mia Thermopolis' curls and gave her a full blow-out.  After her "transformation", Mia has some of the sleekest, straightest hair that I have ever seen.  Why is it that Mia is only seen as desirable and fit to rule a kingdom after her hair has been tamed to within an inch of its life?  And beyond that, to maintain this façade, Mia will have to damage her hair with heat and hairspray everyday.  It's simply not healthy!

Like Mia, I had MAJOR issues with my hair growing up.  If I did not put my hair in a pony tail everyday, it looked like an albatross had built a nest on my head.  Fortunately I got my act together in high school and learned the value of hydrating conditioner and curl crème.  Unlike Mia, I decided to work with my hair instead of fighting it.

Here I am as the albatross carried me off after finding out that I was not, in fact, a tree.

This prejudice against curly hair in Disney Princess movies runs deeper than just this movie, however.  While many of the princesses have wavy hair, there is only one princess that has the wild curly hair that I identify with.  Merida, from Disney-Pixar's Brave, has some of the coolest hair I have ever seen.  She is fearless, smart, funny, and, for much of the movie, seen as unfit to rule.  Her wildly curly hair is seen as un-ladylike, and she is forced to hide it under a hood.



http://www.insidethemagic.net/2013/05/exclusive-disney-bravely-responds-to-merida-makeover-outrage-says-2d-new-look-was-for-limited-use-only/
http://healthfulmd.hubpages.com/hub/princess-merida-brave

Why is it that Merida and Mia are both seen as unfit to rule when they have curly hair?  People should not be judged on their competency to lead by how they look.  I have often wondered how I will have to style my hair after college when I am on the job market.  Will I have to cut my hair short or straighten it in order to look responsible to prospective employers?

Society simply holds women to too many standards when it comes to appearances, even in Disney movies.  Most people recognize that Disney Princess waist lines are unattainable to the real human being, but even their hair has created false expectations.  I know way too many girls who hate their hair and feel the need to straighten, curl, or otherwise change it everyday.  I'm not saying that these are bad things, they can be fun and make you feel pretty! But if girls start to feel ugly when they leave their hair to its natural texture, then something is wrong with how they are viewing themselves. And it is probably due in part to how their role models, aka Disney Princesses, are portrayed.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/307792955755121280/

 

I hope that people start acting more like Mia's friend Michael.  He recognized Mia's real inner beauty long before everyone else because he could see through what everyone saw as her "ugly" outside appearance.  And as the movie shows, it goes both ways.  The pretty, popular kids in the movie turn out to be total jerks, showing that my Grandmother's old saying is true: "Pretty is as Pretty does."  In other words, you are only beautiful if your actions are too, so Mia was beautiful when she was "ugly" after all.

 

Judge people by their actions instead of their looks?

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