The Graceful and Gritty Princess - Managing Notions of Girlhood from the New Nation to the New Millennium

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines the cultural icon of the princess as a central form of girls’ play and fantasy, tracing its historical development from the American republic to the New Millennium. It surveys scholarship and literature on princesses across periods and incorporates women’s recollections of princess play. The analysis argues that princess identity absorbs competing girlhood ideals, helping reconcile contradictions about what it means to be a girl today. It also frames adult disputes over princess play as reflecting changing norms, power, and autonomy in girls’ lives.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time42 min

AccessFree to download

Overview of the Princess Icon in Girlhood Play

Historical and Scholarly Foundations

Competing Feminist and Developmental Views

The Princess as a Site of Contradictions

Adult Battles Over Princess Fantasy

Princess Narratives, Toys, and Changing Ideologies

The Graceful and Gritty Princess Managing Notions of Girlhood from the New Nation to the New Millennium Miriam Forman-Brunell and Julie Eaton The authors investigate the nearly ubiquitous cultural icon for girls’ play, the princess. They survey historical instances of princess play from the beginning of the American republic to the New Millennium, look atthe literature concerning princesses in various periods, and discuss the individual recollections about princess play of a number of women. The authors argue that the figure of the princess, by absorbing a range of girlhood ideals, aids in reconciling the contradictory notions about what it means to be a girl in contemporary society. Lili is a typical American girl. At age four, she has princess coloring books and storybooks, princess sneakers and sandals, and a princess bike. She eats princess snacks. Lili was toilet trained on a padded princess potty seat.1 Recently lots of little girls bejeweled and bedecked in things princess have been intensely engaged in a highly commercialized, commodified, and controversial form of fantasy play. Dressed in glistening gowns and sporting glittering tiaras, preschool and elementary-school girls caught in the princess craze don the identities of fairy-tale princesses. Reenacting plots from their favorite fairytales, girls participate in beauty rituals with friends as well as heated battles with foes. Like other parents, Lili’s are at a loss to understand the princess’s astounding cultural reign. What explains the princess’s power is girls’ identification with the mixed messages embodied in the figure whose identity has been broadly constructed beyond a single conventional standard. In this essay, we argue that by absorbing a range of girlhood ideals the princess manages contradictory notions about what it means to be a girl in the New Millennium. The princess also is playing a leading role in a battle being waged among adults—some see her as a blessing and others as a curse to American girlhood. Many traditional moralists remain convinced that fantasizing about being a princess is not only perfectly normal for girls but also a natural method offeminine socialization. Among second-wave feminists such as Peggy Orenstein—a © 2009 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois writer on girls’ issues and a mother of a princess—the iconic female figure is a poor role model for twenty-first century daughters like hers.2 Developmental psychologists Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb, coauthors of Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers’ Schemes,3 also believe that the commercialized princess contributes to the erosion of girls’ self-esteem. Over the last forty years, folklorists and feminist theorists have meticulously documented how the figure of the princess was historically shaped by patriarchal literary and cultural practices.4 Yet observers and activists influenced by a third-wave feminist position that tends to find strength in female stereotypes argue instead that princess power can provide girls with useful skills in a sexist world.5 These diverse perspectives are more than just the customary review of the scholarly literature: they represent the range of a debate over girlhood that has been embodied in the figure of the princess for the last two hundred years. Our study seeks to ground the debate about the current princess craze in the history of girls’ culture: the princess was an occasional rather than an everyday figure in girls’ lives until recently—despite claims that girls’ princess play is natural and timeless. We draw upon current analyses and move beyond their scope in order to consider the relationship between adult ideals and girlhood inspiration to pretend play. Expanding the age range, extending the time frame, and examining princess texts, artifacts, and girls’ play anecdotes reveal that whenever the princess appeared, she functioned within larger discussions about girls’pursuit of perso

FAQs

What does the study investigate about princess play?

It investigates how girls’ princess play functions as a pervasive cultural icon, surveying historical examples, related literature, and women’s recollections from the republic to the New Millennium.

How does the study explain the princess’s cultural power?

It argues that the princess absorbs a range of girlhood ideals, enabling it to reconcile contradictory notions about what it means to be a girl in contemporary society.

What debates among adults does princess play reflect?

The princess is described as at the center of adult battles: some view princess fantasy as supportive of girlhood while others see it as harmful, tied to differing moralist, feminist, and developmental perspectives.

Oct 15, 2026

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