Breaking Out of Princess Prison: Resistance and the Dominant Culture

• In Event: Subverting the Princess Paradigm: Resistance and Transgression

Abstract

This paper discusses the resistance of dominant-culture women/girls to corporate and media-generated Princess images. Survey respondents reported that they took action to transgress the boundaries not only of Princess culture as it was represented in the media but also as it intersected with the community or family in which they were located. Reporting that Princess cultures “entrapped” and “imprisoned” them, these young women rebelled through personal protest in school and home; blogging about alternative story-telling; and breaking the artificial boundaries in language, dress-style, and role performance

Presenters

• Elizabeth Swart, University of Southern California

• Katie McGinn, University of Southern California