Queen Latifah wants you to be the most important person to you. Or something like that, is what the subway says to me. I’m not picking on Queen Latifah, I like her a whole whole bunch for lots of reasons. And I get that’s she’s supporting her book ‘Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom’. I just gotta get my critique on, even though I know I’m not the first feminist on this kvetch-wagon.
After being at a Disney resort (see previous post), I’m keenly aware of the discourse around princess-ness for little girls. The commodification of the desire to be special, the weird perversion of the parenting style that emphasizes that everyone is special. As long as it’s not taken to extremes, I think that the type of parenting that springs from a really good intention around self-esteem, multicultural celebration and other positive messages about diversity and self-worth is pretty great. But I also see how it combines with children’s simple understandings of the world (and gender) to create the deep desire to be a Princess. Which is okay for sometimes, and with an understanding that what princess means is ‘your parents love you’ rather than anything brattier or more commodified.
I love that ‘diva’ has some connotation that fat women are be beautiful, which is so so true but not at all what the media says, and therefore is fun and counterhegemonic. However, it also equates self-esteem with over-the-top feminine performativity–not necessarily the best thing for adult women. I worry that there’s a lot of magical thinking in the idea that all women are queens or divas, rather than drawing self-esteem from a reality-based source, or at least one that is realistic.
i saw that ad yesterday and the wheels of critique started turning! way to articulate why i can’t stand princess culture.
i miss feminar!!
TPx