Think back to when you were a little girl.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A lot of girls would say they wanted to be a ballerina, or a teacher, but among these answers also lies the word princess. Girls always dream of becoming a princess and finding their true "prince" and living in a big castle. Why do we think this way? The biggest reason I came up with is movies. Especially Disney Movies! I mean we all love them and have our own opinions, but lately I have been thinking more and more about how Disney movies shape our society.

First let's think about how the princesses look. For the most part these princesses have very fair skin, tiny waists, and are wearing makeup. So does this mean that the "perfect" girl should be all of these things? What deems these girls to be princess material anyways? This sends the message to kids that in order for them to be princesses they have to fill this image. If they don't fill this image does it mean they can't become a princess?

Luckily Disney has through the past few years created princesses with different skin tones.

This is so empowering because some children feel that "white" skin is the most beautiful and feel bad about their skin tone. As an educator this breaks my heart that some children feel this way. All children and people for that matter should feel beautiful. But let's go back to the whole tiny waist thing! Why has there never been a Disney Princess with some slight curves? I mean beauty comes in all sizes and I think it's time Disney looks into this. It would be a huge transformation and movement, especially in the United States where obesity is more common. There has never been an overweight princess. I mean what if all the Disney princesses didn't have their tight corseted dresses. What would they look like. We're practically telling little girls from a young age that unless you have a tiny waste then you aren't beautiful. As much as I love Disney movies, especially Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella , I worry about what goes through a child's mind when they are exposed to these things.

Moving on to my next point about these movies! They teach girls that someday by magic they will find their "prince charming". The unfortunate reality is that there is no prince charming. He only exists in these fairytales. These fairytales lead little girls to believe that someday their prince will swoop in and sweep her off her feet, but in most cases that never happens. I mean even in the movie Sleeping Beauty the princess literally lies asleep waiting for loves kiss to awaken her, this makes it seem like for a princess their purpose in life is to wait for their prince to come to them.

However, let's be real - guys get nervous too! Sometimes they never end up approaching the girl they might be in love with and then the princess will never wake up! "Someday your prince will come" is in so many movies, songs, and stories who has the heart to tell a little girl your prince won't come after they have grown up hearing it so many times. Guys also walk around thinking they are the "exception" and that they really are a gentleman or a prince, but actions speak louder than words. So until prince charming comes in with the glass slipper, a magic carpet ride, or shows me the colors of the wind I don't think princes exist in real life.

As for living in a castle maybe that can happen, but only if you find an occupation that allows you to be able to afford it! Everything in this world costs so much many. A castle will cost a lot more than a house, but maybe you can take a different approach to where you live. Maybe a tower like the mother from "Tangled" lives in will suffice. Then again if you're a princess you should live in the castle and live an excellent life. Hopefully, you have been saving up your entire life! Can't live off of mommy and daddy forever. Even when you inherit the throne you'll have to make big choices and learn to live on your own.

I mean the only relatively realistic princess in Mulan. She goes against her family to ensure her father's safety, which shows the importance of family. She fights and learns to be stronger than she thinks she is. Even when times get tough she pushes herself to go above and beyond what is expected of her. She doesn't fall into the role of a regular Disney Princess and because of this I think Mulan is the most empowering princess there is. She also doesn't need a man to defend her honor, she goes out into the world and defends it herself! Mulan is the real princess! However, one could argue that any Disney Princess is the underdog who rises above. I mean Belle falls in love with "a horrible beast" which isn't typical for any princess I've seen. Jasmine falls for the boy who steals from the markets. Every princess has her own story. A different lesson, a different man, a different problem they need to solve. These princesses are all unique and have something special about them.

I understand that most girls aren't thinking about these things while they are watching these movies. I was one of the little girls that wanted to be a princess when I grew up, so I understand all of the things I have stated. I also love Disney movies and watch them all the time, but sometimes I think about what I'm really watching and this was what I came up with.