Young girls are often called a princess. Although it’s mostly done with good intentions, some say it sets these girls up for failure because they have high expectations to live up to.
Others simply see it as a cute term given to the innocent who dress up in Elsa (of Frozen) outfits and dance around their bedrooms.
But calling a woman a princess is generally associated with negative personality characteristics of being high maintenance, precious, entitled and spoiled. It’s almost never seen as a compliment.
Young girls are often called princesses – and while many think it’s a cute, endearing term, not everyone has the same feelings and think it is a sexist, outdated term (stock image)
While lots of people take no offence to calling a child a princess (stock image), many feel the term in adulthood implies high maintenance, entitlement and indicates someone is spoilt
And in the modern world, many ask the question – if we don’t like the connotations of being called a princess in adulthood, why do we so often ascribe the title on our daughters?
In 2018, many believe calling anyone a princess who isn’t royalty is outdated, sexist and unnecessary.
One father, Christopher Scanlon, even wrote for Daily Life in 2014 that he refuses to call his daughter a princess:
‘I don’t call my daughter princess because once you get beyond the tiara, big hair and the sparkly dresses, there’s not much left,’ he wrote.
‘Princesses rarely act, but are acted upon. Their lives are scripted out before them and their identity is permanently linked to a man or, at the very least, patriarchal institutions.
‘Princesses in popular culture are either boringly passive or have an overbearing sense of entitlement.’
One father even wrote in 2014 that he refuses to call his daughter a princess (stock image)
Disney Australia launched a campaign to encourage a progressive use of the term ‘princess’ by focusing on positive attributes of princesses (pictured: Erin Phillips and Chelsea Randall)
They have recruited leading sportswomen, including Ellie Blackburn (pictured), to help with the campaign
But all this might change.
This week, Disney Australia launched an 18-month campaign to encourage a more progressive use of the term ‘princess’ by focusing on the positive attributes displayed by their own Disney princesses.
Disney Australia commissioned the survey to uncover the thoughts, feelings and behaviours towards the term.
The survey found that somewhere along the journey from young girl to adulthood the term princess evolves from having a positive and inspirational meaning to a less flattering one.
Many reported that princesses were popular among the majority of 4 to 6-year-old girls, but by the age of 10-12 their daughters had switched their focus to pop stars and singers (60 per cent), with those few who were still interested in princesses (30 per cent) now engaging with them passively through watching TV and movies.
Other parents admitted to using the word ‘princess’ in a negative sense, to warn girls of when they have behaved ‘entitled’.
Furthermore, nearly one in five mothers of four to 12-year-old girls and 12 per cent of fathers reported that they have been called a ‘princess’ as an adult – a term almost uniformly used as a critique to indicate that the recipient is being ‘precious’ or ‘soft’.
The survey found somewhere along the journey from young girl to adulthood the term princess evolves from a positive and inspirational meaning to a less flattering one (stock image)
Carlton Football Club’s trailblazers, Brianna Davey and Darcy Vesci (both pictured), have also joined forces with Disney Australia
Disney Australia have recruited several high-profile ambassadors in their bid to reform the conversation around princesses.
These include Adelaide Crows captain, Erin Phillips, her co-captain, Chelsea Randall and Carlton players, Brianna Davey and Darcy Vescio.
Western Bulldogs captain, Katie Brennan and Ellie Blackburn, are also involved with the new campaign.
‘I’m passionate about inspiring the next generation of young girls to achieve their goals and abide by strong values, AFL star, Erin Phillips, said.
‘The Proud to be a Princess campaign supports this vision and strives to give strong role models for girls to look up to, no matter their age.
‘Liking princesses doesn’t mean I’m weak or fragile, rather that I am strong, determined and ready to tread my own path.
‘It’s a challenge to re-set the conversation and push the boundaries, a struggle that we all went through launching the AFLW.’