Feminist moms beware: You can run, you can hide, but if you have a daughter, the Princess Principal will catch up with you. They're everywhere and they're not going away so don't try to fight it. You will lose.
I have taken a different route. I have embraced all things princess and explain to my daughter that princesses are no better than the rest of us. In fact, I have some real live princess and countess girlfriends and when I point them out to Aria (7) she says "but they don't look like princesses?" That's because they are just real girls like you and me. I then explain that the stories about them are just that, stories and fantasy and play. "Ohhhh!!"
That being said, at 7, Aria is slowly phasing out of princesses and into Barbie, however, she is deep into playing "dress up" with her dolls and stickers. Daily, I find her on my laptop on the My Studio Girl website (based on the Taggles stickers). I can see how dressing characters helps her make sense of various identities, makes her feel in control, and empowers her own sense of self. In no way does tickle my feminist funny bone in the wrong way.
Imagine how excited she was to try out the new Disney Princess Royal Salon iOS app ($4.99 in the iTunes Store) where with the swish of a finger she gets to decide what Belle, Cinderella, Ariel & Rapunzel will wear before heading off to a very royal event.
It's up to Aria to decide all details of the girls’ hair color, style, outfits. It allows her to get super creative mixing, matching and making choices as she pieces together the perfect enchanting combination. There is a wholesomeness about these Disney dames that I really appreciate. After all, there wearing ball gowns and gloves and not skimpy, slutty clothes. The possibilities are endless and her creations can be saved and shared to the app’s scrapbook.
Right now I was only able to download the app on my iPhone as my iPad is first generation and it's not compatible. The only drawback is that I literally cannot get Aria off my cell. Other than that, it's provided hours of creative play and that makes this mama super happy. After all, school doesn't start until Sept 9th!!!