As a little girl, the first types of movies I was exposed to were Disney princess movies. Each princess came off as glamorous and beautiful, and at the end of every movie they ended up with a handsome prince. It seemed as if the pursuit of the prince made up the story, and the prince himself defined who each princess was. Who was Cinderella without Prince Charming? Who was Belle without the Beast?
As I grew older, I unknowingly became a copy of these supposed heroines. Like the queen in Snow White, I needed a “mirror on the wall”, or the perspective of a male, to validate my beauty. Like Ariel, I sacrificed my voice for meaningless relationships. The plot of my own life became a search to find prince charming, and without this mystical man, I was unhappy.
While anticipating the coming of my prince, I stumbled upon something truly iniquitous. The women portrayed as evil in each princess movie were the only women who spoke their minds and made decisions based off of their “evil” conscience rather than a male. At this point, I concluded that I’d rather be my own, independent person , rather than a pawn . I know now that I control my happily ever after. My true joy will come from becoming a successful, respected woman.
This essay represents the transformation I am going through as I near the time to leave all that is known to me. I am experiencing a spiritual growth, and in that way I am cutting the ties that American pop culture had on me as a young girl. I now believe that the pop culture may represent America but it does not represent each young woman, and it does not paint a picture of who I am as an individual or who I will be. My struggle for self-discovery and self-acknowledgement will soon be fulfilled because I know the true definition of a woman is not the reflection of a man, but the strength and endurance found in our very own souls.
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