The Princess Story

I watched the live action Cinderella the other day and I absolutely LOVED it! And it did relatively well in the box office from what I heard, which is a pretty fantastic achievement, especially in this day and age where girls are meant to be shown as tough and empowered and not just waiting around for a man. But you know what? Maybe sometimes I do want to watch a (for lack of a better term) Cinderella story! Where the girl who has nothing, gets everything! And really, the tag line of that story is pretty important for any person of any age of any race of any gender:

I mean, who can argue with that? It's a pretty great 'moral of the story' compared to some others that I've seen in movies these days! But I also know so many people who have poo-poo'd this movie just because it's another Princess movie.

Now I've never been one to want to be a princess and I was never described as being a girly-girl (except by my dad about 2 hours ago when he noted my voice sounded girlier than usual??) and I even called my dog, Mulan, after the Disney princess who freakin' saved China! But that doesn't mean that I look down my nose at movies like Cinderella. I loved my Disney Channel Original movies that were all pretty much the same, and I grew up watching classic Disney movies like Cinderella and The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. And yes, a lot of those princesses were the epitome of what a woman should be back in the day that it was released. But beneath it all, they were pretty strong women.

Take Snow White, yes she literally slept while her prince saved her, but she was also targeted because she was nice and kind and fair. In fact she was the fairest of them all. Aren't they great traits to have? And Belle. She was laughed at because she had her nose in a book all the time and her father was a little on the crazy side. But did that stop her from being herself? No! She freakin' saved her dad from a freakin' beast! And then saw the goodness behind the scary mask. Again, I would love to see the world like Belle does. And of course, I can't forget Cinderella, who became an orphan as a young girl and got stuck with terrible step sisters and a step mother who treated her like a servant. But still, amongst all this hardship, she remained positive and nothing could break her spirit.

So I ask again, what's wrong with the princess story? What's wrong with wanting to find your prince and your happily ever after? Today with all the feminism stories going around saying you don't need a man to be happy and you're strong as a female! I remember that always made me feel bad because growing up, I wanted to have a strong husband who was going to be a good father to my children and be able to support me well throughout our life together. That was what was going to make me happy. I wanted my own princess story where the guy would sweep me off my feet. I loved my Rom Coms and was always waiting for the day where my own Rom Com would happen.

 And you know what? I did end up getting my own fairytale and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! I don't feel like I'm diminished as a female anymore now than when I did when I was single. I was confident with who I was and who I wanted to be, and having my beautiful strong man around who complemented me and helped me grow was, to me, an added bonus, not a setback.

More than the colour of her skin!

So one of the biggest news I've heard recently is the fact that Misty Copeland has been promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre!

And if you don't know who Misty is...

She is such an inspirational woman who has overcome all the adversities in her life and even though the odds were NOT in her favour, she still rose above it all to become principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre!!

But do you know what my FB page was littered with when news broke that she was promoted?
"Misty Copeland on becoming American Ballet Theatre's first black principal"
"Misty Copeland makes history as first black female principal dancer at ABT"
"...the courageous black ballerina..."

And maybe it's because I'm not American, and I don't quite get the whole African American history and everything, but I just thought that the way to defy racism is not to openly promote that she is the first "black" principal dancer, but to promote that she has been promoted to principal dancer, someone who is an inspiration DESPITE her skin colour!

I was first introduced to Misty with the above video, where she narrates her rejection letter saying that she was the 'wrong body type' and she was 'too old' but all I could see was the strength in her body, the absolute fluidity in the way she moved and the freedom she expresses when she danced. Not the colour of her skin. To be honest, the thought that she was African American didn't even cross my mind! But what annoys me is that nobody else seems to be able to get over this fact!

Again, it could be because I'm not American, but I don't know, shouldn't the fact that she has overcome all this adversity in her life to be who she wants to be enough? Should the fact that her skin is dark come into play at all? It's like they're making the fact that she's black another adversity that she had to overcome, when really, it shouldn't be like that. Black people are not the ONLY poor people in America. There are plenty of other people who are just as inspiring as Misty, who have also overcome terrible childhoods to become something incredible, and they have all come from different races. The fact that they were able to keep going despite being abused, or homeless, or were broke is inspiration enough to me.

Just look at J.K. Rowling. She came from a family who's mum was dealing with MS and dad wasn't around. She went into poverty whilst writing the Harry Potter books and look at her now. Doesn't matter if she's white, black, yellow, or red, she rose from nothing and became something. Same with Richard Branson (who was dyslexic), Walt Disney (who went through a period of unemployment), and, of course, Oprah Winfrey - though again, because she's African American everyone focuses on the colour of her skin.

To me, I just think that if you keep labeling Misty Copeland (and anybody else with similar stories), as the first black person to become principal dancer at ABT, then how is racism and discrimination going to be eradicated? Because isn't it all about labeling others based on their appearance? I would prefer people to recognise Misty Copeland as a beautiful dancer who has overcome a terrible upbringing and has made something of herself. Because she really is!