Guilty By Association

On Tuesday, the glorious "red envelope" arrived in the mail. I keep the Netflix que a secret, so it's arrival is greeted much like Santa Claus.

This week...Mulan.

You know what that means? I've been living and breathing Mulan for 3 entire days now. Don't dare call her Alice, it's Mulan. I've been playing the part of the grandmother. It's really a minor role compared to my normal parts, Mother Gothel, The Evil Stepmother, and Captain Hook. I'm not reading into my daughter's casting at this time. Besides, I rather like playing The Evil Stepmother. Her bossiness is right up my alley.

Let it be known, I'm not a fan of the Disney Princesses. They do far too much cleaning and talk to far too many woodland creatures for my liking. That being said, this Mulan chick rocks! She is a total bad ass. She doesn't spend her days twirling around in full length sequined gowns. She's not waiting for a fairy godmother, or worse yet, a man, to save her. Instead, she's shooting arrows and scaling buildings, all the while convincing the other warriors she's a man. Her animal creature, it seems they all have to have one, isn't a mouse or a bird. It's a dragon. A fire breathing dragon. And quite possibly the best feature of all, she doesn't fall head over heels in love with some guy, only to live happily ever after. It was refreshing.

I'm glad Alice has taken a liking to Mulan. I only have one teeny tiny problem...Disney insists on calling her a princess. She is not of royal lineage. She doesn't marry a prince. So why the eff does Disney feel the need to lump her in with all the others? I think it brings her street cred down a bit. Guilty by association, if you will. But if they must do it, they need to treat her like all the rest. I want to see Mulan's warrior suit for sale in the dress-up section of the Disney Store, right next to Rapunzel's purple dress. I want her sword next to Cinderella's glass slippers.

The power of the Disney Princess to a little girl is strong. Sronger than myself. No matter how hard I tried, how many wooden cars and blocks I provided Alice with, the Disney Princess line sought my daughter out, targeted her, and invaded my house. The least they could do is give her all the options. Let her choose what kind of princess she wants to be today, a tulle wearing, girly girl or a total bad ass.