{"id":10325,"date":"2012-03-28T10:59:57","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T09:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=10325"},"modified":"2012-03-28T10:59:57","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T09:59:57","slug":"kickass-princesses-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2012\/03\/28\/kickass-princesses-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Kickass Princesses, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fairy tales! We all like fairy tales, right? They have both an air of comfort and adventure about them, and \u2013 as they\u2019re something we first came into contact with as young children \u2013 there\u2019s also an almost familial fondness for some of them. As they come from the oral tradition, folk\/fairy tales have adapted slightly with each retelling to suit the world around them \u2013 but as Treasury Islands<\/a> recently pointed out, the writing\u2013down stage of most tales we know (i.e. when they became a little more set in stone) happened in deeply misogynistic times \u2013 and this carries through in even our most beloved fairy tales.<\/p>\n

In the world of children\u2019s books there’s a double-whammy of bad female role models and massive under-representation. There’s only one female character to every 1.6 male characters<\/a>. One of the few regular traditional roles for girls in children\u2019s literature is that of the princess, but it doesn\u2019t take a genius to see that the traditional princess trope doesn\u2019t give girls many positive or useful goals to aim for: look pretty, be born into or marry into hereditary privilege and\u2026 uh\u2026 that\u2019s it. Happily ever after. Forever. Are you bored yet? I am.<\/p>\n

\"Picture<\/a>Yet plenty of little girls are still obsessed with princesses and being a princess. It might not appeal much to the grown-ups, but the trope remains strong – as does the lure of pretty things. (Personally, I still have to suppress a twinge of jealousy when I see a kid going by in a really good princess dress \u2013 with the layers of skirt and the faux-stays bodice and WHERE WERE THEY WHEN I WAS SMALL, HUH? \u2013 but it\u2019s fine. I\u2019m not jealous. I\u2019m writing this wearing a \u00a33 Claire\u2019s Accessories tiara so it\u2019s all OK.)<\/p>\n

So, as it doesn\u2019t look like we\u2019ll escape the princess trope any time soon, it\u2019s time to play with it instead. There\u2019s no need to throw out the castles, dragons and bling along with the bathwater – there are plenty of good children\u2019s books out there featuring kickass princesses who do more than just wear dresses. In this post, the first of a three parter, I\u2019m going to give you the lowdown on some good princess role models for your sprogs\/selves (delete as age-appropriate).<\/p>\n

Disclaimer before we begin:<\/strong>
\nThese books are primarily working from the Western European fairy tale trope, so whilst they may kick ass, some elements remain disappointingly similar throughout \u2013 namely that the princesses are often ‘conventionally beautiful’, often blonde, always Caucasian, and in this selection the tales all revolve around the marriage trope. I hope to uncover a wider variety of ass-kicking later, but in the meantime here are some nonetheless very good children\u2019s books.<\/p>\n

The Paper Bag Princess<\/h3>\n

\"Cover<\/a><\/p>\n