A drawing disgrace! An immoral infamy!
We all adore and cherish the headstrong, independent, confident, and entirely-uninterested-in-romance Princess Merida, of the movie Brave. We love her for her determination and spirit, and, of course, for her red hair (shout out to all my fellow redheads). We especially love her for her refusal to conform to unfair standards and obey misleading stereotypes that she does not believe in.
Disney, however, has seemed to hold a different opinion of our favorite (and only...) redheaded, self-sufficient princess. The Princess Merida, you see, has recently undergone a true princess's finest dream: a makeover. This makeover, however, has become rather more of a nightmare than a dream in the eyes of critics, concerned mothers and female role models, and, oh, just the majority of the public around the modern world. Merida's makeover consisted of the usual: an "improvement" of her naturally lovely looks. But many of us contend that this makeover--which was entirely unnecessary in the first place--went far too far. Merida's comfortable-looking gown has been tailored; additional trimming has revealed a larger portion of Merida's previously covered décolletage. Her wild and unruly hair has now seen a very large bottle of conditioner and been tamed into a smoother sort of frenzy. And the trademark expression of blatant innocence and the knowledge that her way is best has been erased, and replaced with a dewy-eyed, longer-lashed, redder-mouthed young woman with curvy hips enhanced by a form-hugging gown. Disney relatively quietly released the new "and improved" Merida, but her debut into society incurred (in Disney's opinion) shockingly hostile results. I, personally, am simply offended by Merida's transformation. Disney has done it again--and created another young princess who is set apart by her beauty and has an outfit and countenance that appears to be designed not to encourage strong young women, but rather to encourage the eyes of men. The new Merida seems to be less, somehow, even though in Disney's world, her sultry pout, feminine dress, and captivating eyes would certainly grant her a sort of power. I just can't help thinking that the new Merida's "confidence pose" (hands on hips with a high chin) looks more flirtatious than strong.
In response to the widespread uproar over the so-called Loss of Merida, Disney has temporarily removed the new Merida and replaced her again with the old. It is unclear as to whether or not the old Merida is here to stay.
Here's a picture of the new Merida to be compared with the old, so that you can decide for yourself if you think that the new Merida is more or less empowering as a role model and standard/ ideal for young girls around the world.
I hate to say it, but the old Merida would never actually be caught dead with other princesses like these...
