#bravolebrity

Being born blonde and having later dyed my hair, I can say from experience that people’s attitudes towards me differ most when they meet me as a blonde vs as a redhead. I can only imagine how skewed their perceptions would be were I a brunette. As a blonde, I was the butt of “dumb blonde” jokes; I was compared to a doll; I was told that people were unsurprised whenever I did something silly, clumsy, or stupid. After dying my hair red, people described me as “fiery,” and other terms of the like. Nobody doubted my strength or intelligence, at least to my face. And through all of this, I couldn’t help but notice that these stereotypes to which I was being compared were largely encouraged by media. We won’t even get started on the difference it made when I got rid of my glasses...that’s a post for another time.

In my writing & media class we have spent the last week or so discussing in-depth the ways that Disney has adopted and adapted fairy tales. We focused, in part, on the 1991 film, Beauty and the Beast.  After class  I approached my professor and announced: “I’m pretty sure Belle is the only disney princess who likes to read. Of course she’S also the first brunette…”

Of course I don’t want to make such a critical statement without providing some evidence, so here is a list of who the people commonly agree to be the “disney princesses,”and the number of times each princess is seen reading a book. I will concede that if we’re being historically accurate, very few of our princesses would have been educated or literate during their time period.

Snow White (1937) -  I’ll allow that in the 1930s, women were still facing the dilemma of rampant misogyny. Women weren’t thought of as intellectuals, no matter their hair color. We never see Snow White crack open a book, as she’s far too busy cleaning up after men and sleeping in the woods.

Cinderella (1950) - Cinderella is blonde, impoverished, and basically enslaved. While she can clean, cook, and sew, we never see her perusing the pages of a novel either.

Aurora (aka “Sleeping Beauty”) (1959) - My professor makes the point that Aurora doesn’t have much of a personality at all, but I’ll let you decide that yourself. No matter the depth of her character, Aurora (another blonde) also spends most of her time sleeping rather than reading.

Ariel (aka “The Little Mermaid”) (1989) - a redheaded mermaid! Ariel is found to be just as fiery and stubborn as my friends said I was after my hair was dyed. While curious and adventuresome, Ariel’s underwater home doesn’t make it easy for book storage.

Belle (aka “Beauty” from “Beauty and the Beast”) (1991) She’s brunette, she’s edgy, she hates gaston! Belle is a special snowflake and hated by the town not because of her looks (she’s quite beautiful) but because of the singular, unforgivable crime she has committed - she can read. I can't count how many books are seen in the film, but in Belle’s opening scene she is shown to have finished one novel and started another.

Princess Jasmine (from “Aladdin”) (1992) Though Jasmine is out first princess of color and has a refreshing temperament, she fails to show any sign of literacy during the course of Aladdin.

Pocahontas (1995) Again, I know, we have to remember that most of the princesses would not have been taught how to read or write. I suppose I can’t really complain about Pocahontas not being shown with any kind of text in hand.

Mulan (1998) She can read! Mulan is seen writing notes on her arm before her meeting with the matchmaker. While she would far rather use her quick wit to save China, Mulan does carry with her a summons for her father: a scroll which she clearly has the ability to read.

Tiana (aka “Princess” from “The Princess and The Frog”) (2009) Tiana is our first black princess, our only princess with multiple jobs, and overall a fantastic character. To add to this, she is seen reading books and magazines in the beginning of the film.

Rapunzel (from “Tangled”) (2010) In Rapunzel’s songologue about her life in the tower, she mentions reading a book or two, and rereading them if she has time to spare. This is the only time we see her reading, and it seems to be one of her many hobbies.

Merida (from “Brave”) (2012) Merida is yet another FIERY redhead who won’t be told what to do. She is well-educated due to her noble status, but she’s too busy firing arrows to read.

Elsa & Anna (“Frozen” 2013) We can assume that Elsa and Anna are literate, being royalty, but reading certainly doesn’t take place in the case of either princess.

Moana (2016): Books don’t seem to exist on Moana’s island, so we can’t fault her for a lack of literacy. 

Is the new