Princess celestia toy free#

Toy manufacturers are content to market stereotypes to consumers who, unfortunately, they see as little more than stereotypes: “Girls love princesses! Princesses are girly and pretty and pink! Let’s give girls what they want.”Īs critics such as Peggy Orenstein have argued, this is a huge problem in our culture–for girls, for their imaginations, and their visions for their own futures. They apparently couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a princess instead of a queen. Their execs just wanted to cash in on stereotypes about pretty princesses. In short, Hasbro wasn’t interested in fighting stereotypes in this instance. I put up a bit of a fight when her title changed, but you win some, you loose some. And I certainly don’t want marriage to be what would escalate her. I always wanted her to be the highest authority, and so she remains so. I brought the weirdness of that situation to my bosses, but it did not seem to be a continuity concern to them, so I’m letting it alone. She does not have parents that outrank her. I was also told that the perceived youth of a Princess is preferable to consumers. I was told that because of Disney movies, girls assume that Queens are evil (although I only remember 1 evil queen) and Princesses are good. At Hasbro’s insistence, however, she was made a princess. Lauren Faust, MLP:FIM‘s creator, originally planned for Celestia to be a Queen. Princess Celestia’s pre-production history offers some insight on the issue. So, why is this pink Princess Celestia toy obsessed with stereotypical pretty princess interests? (In the video, listen to my son’s surprise: “She’s Princess Celestia?” and “She supposed to be white!” Yup. Although Princess Celestia is portrayed on screen as a white pony, this toy is pink as can be. In relation to this, it’s important to consider this toy’s appearance. For parents who appreciate the show’s generally informed approach to girly-girl stuff, this toy would present an unpleasant surprise.

Princess celestia toy free#

In short, 5 out of 12 of this toy’s sayings are appearance-centric-possibly more, depending on your interpretation of the phrases “Spectacular!” and “I’m a princess! Are you a princess, too?” So if a child plays with this Princess Celestia toy, about half of the time, he or she will be subjected to pretty princess rhetoric-the kind of vanity discourse that the show, happily, is free of. I later transcribed them* and categorized each saying according to topic, in a miniature content analysis. We captured 12 different sayings, which I think is all of them. So, I grabbed my phone and took this video: This toy repositioned Princess Celestia as a conceited, girly-girl princess stereotype-not the wise, powerful leader and mentor portrayed on screen. But as the toy began speaking, my husband and I exchanged annoyed glances.

My son pressed the bright yellow button on Princess Celestia’s cutie mark, and her wings lit up. Then, the largest MLP toy in the aisle caught his attention: the talking My Little Pony Princess Celestia. My son searched for his favorite character, Rainbow Dash, but there were none to be found. My three-year-old son loves it, and he was excited to see these toys.

As I’ve discussed previously, MLP:FIM is an unusually good children’s cartoon. My family and I were shopping for a child’s birthday present this weekend when we came upon the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic section at a local Target store.