Cinderella Ate My Daughter Chapter 10

"Girl Power - No, Really" is Chapter 10 of Peggy Orenstein's book Cinderella Ate My Daughter.
This is the final chapter of the book. This chapter begins by looking at the latest Disney Princess film (as of the writing of this book), The Princess and The Frog. Orenstein discusses how race plays into this film, giving anecdotes from her African-American friend who says black girls need to aspire to be princesses to help remove them from the realm of the "worker bee". Orenstein highlights how Disney consulted experts like Oprah, and the NAACP, among other organizations, to avoid the brunt of the inevitable backlash at this film.

With the character of Lotte, Disney mock the idea of princess - showing how ridiculous it can be to live you life for the sole purpose of marrying a prince. This overly verbose, dramatic, princess-obsessed girl can serve as a warning against pursuing life as a princess. However, as evident in Orenstein's eanecdote, Lotte embodies 'princess' far more than Tiana. Daisy, Orensteins daughter, refers to Lotte when she speaks about the princess in this film, as Lotte embodies all the stereotypes already ingrained in the child's mind. Lotte wears nice dresses, and is at a point of privilege, with her immense wealth allowing her leisure. She throws balls, she wears a tiara, she is pink obsessed, and she dances with a prince. So you can hardly blame the child for thinking her a princess!

In this final chapter, Orenstein tries to bring together her book, explaining that she doesn't have all the answers to raising her child in a perfect way. That, while she strives to protect Daisy from "the marketers' land-grab" (183), she hasn't achieved the peerfect activity balance with walks outside and crafts. Orenstein reiterates alternatives she finds to the commercial princess line, including Papo figurines, and Hayao Miyazaki films (famous films like Laputa: The Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service).

Orenstein discusses the future of Disney, speculating about Brave and Tangled that were yet to be released. Orenstein accurately depicts that Tangled will not too closely resemble the old fairytale Rapunzel, and goes on to explain the story of Rapunzel. However, I disagree with a contrast Orenstein makes between Ariel and Rapunzel. In Rapunzel, a prince hears her singing, and falls immediately in love with her before laying eyes on her. Orenstein conjectures that "that makes Rapunzel the inverse of Ariel - she is loved sight unseen because of her voice" (191).  While you could argue that Eric falls in love with the voiceless Ariel by spending time with her and focusing on her appearance and body-language - though her personality certainly shines through even without a voice (as she brushes her hair with a fork, takes the reins in the carriage, explores the town etc.), and Eric often smiles at her for this. It is undeniable that Eric first fell in love with Ariel's voice, when he heard her sing, but didn't see her face. So I don't think Orenstein added anything to her argument by include this point that Ariel is the "inverse" of Rapunzel in this respect, and, in fact, I think this inclusion only opens her argument up to criticism.

Orenstein uses Grimm's Rapunzel as a final teaching point for parents, that they should not smother or restrain their child too much.

"[O]ur role is not to keep the world at bay but to prepare our daughters so they can thrive within it" (192)

While I diagree with much of what Orenstein has to say, and cringe at her harsh criticisms of Disney, and her over-controlling nature with her daughter, I do like this final chapter of hers. It ties together nicely, speaking of the sort of mother she wishes to be - like the hazel branch - and that she uses as a cautionary tale - Mother Gothel. I agree with Orenstein's conclusions and her vague and poetic final paragraph, that succintly sums up everything you need to do to most successfully raise your daughter, without an inclination of what it means or how to do it...but yes, the sentiment is perfect. I suppose you are supposed to implement many techniques Orenstein describes in her previous chapters, but I disagree with most of these (like trying to fight off the princess culture etc.).