Noah Berlatsky suspects that artist David Trumble’s efforts to satirize Disney princess imagery – by depicting real-life feminists in that style – may have the opposite effect:
The point here is supposed to be that, contrary to what Disney might be suggesting, strong, inspiring women—female role models—don’t need to be princesses, and that turning them into
princesses trivializes them. Heroes don’t need sparkles, and sparkles distract from the heroines. In fact, though, Trumble’s drawings don’t so much satirize princesses as, rather wonderfully, validate them.
In some cases the satire works. Turning Anne Frank into “The Holocaust Princess” (later changed to “Diary Princess”) is, baldly tasteless, as Trumble intends. The princess narrative of wealth, prestige, and gutsy triumph sits very uncomfortably next to the persecution and mass tragedy of the Holocaust. The cute, sparkly, flowery dress and big-eyed cheer comes across as inappropriate, ghoulish irony; her blank cheer almost seems to mock Frank’s real life. …
But, as it turns out, making Gloria Steinem a princess is not silly and artificial. Instead, it is awesome. Which suggests, first of all, that femininity is, or can be, awesome. It can be smart, or fierce, or courageous, just like masculinity can. In his caption for Princess Malala Yousafzai, Trumble writes, “She risked all for what she believed in, for education and equality for young girls everywhere! But never mind that … Look! Sparkles!” In the drawing itself, though, those feminine sparkles don’t make Yousafzai less determined. On the contrary, they seem part of the determination and the commitment. Gloss them as cynically as you will, but if you put stars on Malala Yousafzai’s dress, those stars mean hope.
(Image courtesy of David Trumble)
The Dish 