Much like I - as an adult - need to be mindful of spaces & entities catering to children as needed male identifying people need to be mindful of their presence in spaces made for female identifying people.
especially for younger children/girls because nobody wants another MLP disaster.
I mean, yeah. Boys being fancy set decoration is their entire point in franchises like these?
Doll lines are something that can be enjoyed by all but are aimed at girls and uplifting them or focusing on their needs & stories. EAH was never about the princes/boys in the first place so simply reaffirming how inessential they are isn’t that big of a deal and if girls can’t be the priority in a girls franchise then where can they?
So yes - EAH is where princess are more powerful than princes because in a world like ours girls need to have a place where they are seen as most important & powerful even if that is only one just imagined.
Well, Ever After High is a franchise especially aimed for girls. But I don’t agree with the “princesses power”.
Firstly : Cedar ? Melody ? Ginger ? Cerise ? Maddie ? Cupid ? They are not princesses ?! I’m so tired of this vision of “princesses everywhere”, as if life of princesses is accessible for every girls. Hell-no ! Not every characters are princesses, and every characters are and can be powerful.
Secondly : Even if EAH is a franchise especially aimed for girls, it’s not a franchise consisting solely of girls, there are also boys, and boys who like EAH, so it’s understandable that some people (including me) complain that they seem more like decorative elements than real interesting characters. Obviously it can be great that at EAH girls seem to be powerful, because in our world where it’s mostly men who are powerful, it can be pleasing to see for a girl that in a virtual world girls seem dominant and powerful. But it’s still sexist ! A vision of equality of genders can be better that a domination of A gender I think…
Thirdly : After the “power” it’s not really my principal interest, it’s especially because EAH is also a fashion franchise that I feel sad for the boys. They can be fashion too, appear in some collections with super designed clothes like the ones of the girls, but they aren’t…why ? It’s too bad for them.. :’/
To finish : Excuse me to give my opinion. I can be consider like wrong or good or nothing, you don’t have to be agree with me, it’s just what I personally think…
Honestly - HONESTLY - the boys will always be secondary to the girls in girls’ media because in a world where women are always placed behind men girls franchises are a place where they are most important. That isn’t to say that the boys aren’t likeable or shouldn’t be well developed but the reinforcement that this line is about girls & women is not a bad thing.
I also want to point out how positive this is for boys as well, since it teaches them to respect the agency & safe spaces for girls and women. A majority of things in the world are centered around men & catering either to them or to include them and Mattel is very softly saying that EAH is not about doing that.
I mean, heaven forbid something center itself around girls & their needs in an effort to empower them and help them grow into self assured, confident women right?
yes…I understand that… but it’s a bit bad that Mattel continues this “sexist vision” like many other franchises. I would have liked to have a more equal vision, it would be innovative and idealistic I think.. obviously more focus on the girls (because it’s a franchise aimed especially for girls and so more dolls of girls than boys, it’s obvious.) but also a bit more interest for the boys can be better too…
*For exemple, I was super excited by the arrival of Alistair Wonderland, because “Alice” is a very fashion theme, I hoped he would have stunning outfits with lots of patterns, lot of colors, some extravagance, so very original clothes which remind his wonderful tale… but actually : no… what a pity… for him and for the other boys… :(
