The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess
After my daughter became princess-obsessed I wondered how and why it happened, particularly as I was a princess-averse parent. Having grown up with the Sleepy Trio of Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (I mean, two of these “protagonists” literally sleep through parts of their story), I worried if the princess obsession would have a detrimental effect on my daughter. Would princess stories teach her to be passive? Superficial? Would she learn to be dependent on a man for her own happiness?
I started researching the phenomenon of princess-obsessed toddlers. Disney only started marketing the princess brand in 2000 – an astonishing fact reported by Peggy Orenstein in her book Cinderella Ate My Daughter – so the flood of princess products is relatively new.
The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess is the result of my research and my experience of raising a princess-obsessed daughter.
If you’d like to read The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess, you can order it here:
Praise for The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess
“With raw honesty, cynical wit, and even scientific research, Devorah has let us into her life as a Mom who loves her daughter even as she is mystified by who the hell her daughter is. She exposes the real emotions as she competes for role-model dominance with Ariel, Cinderella, Elsa, and the whole gang of pink loving Disney princesses. As a dad with a daughter who is constantly confusing me as well, I highly recommend this book. Even the footnotes made me laugh out loud. Don’t miss them!”
Gary Rudoren, co-author McSweeney’s “Comedy By The Numbers” and dad of twins.
“The struggle is real. As a fellow feminist and mother of a young daughter, I too have battled the Princess Industrial Complex, but have been beaten down by tiaras and tutus. This hilariously funny book is a guide to tackling pink-glitter-bomb-fluffiness and #winning. Best of all, Devorah Blanchor’s common-sense talk teaches us how to counteract harmful messages while allowing our daughters to become their own people.”
Fiona Taylor, co-founder of The Belladonna
“Devorah Blachor deftly weaves personal stories with research and clever humor in The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess. This funny and relatable book Is perfect for any unperfect parents who find things not going according to their parenting plans.”
Julie Vick, Parenting and humor writer for The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Parents Magazine
“I happen to be the mother of a boy, but I have many friends who are both feminists and parents of pink-obsessed girls. I wholeheartedly recommend they read Devorah Blachor’s The Feminist Guide to Raising a Little Princess. It’s hilarious, wise, relatable, and insightful. I snort-laughed more than once while I read it. Before I even finished it, I started telling friends ‘You have to read this book – you’ll love it’.”
Janine Annett, writer for The New York Times Well Family, The Huffington Post and Parent.Co
“I adored Devorah Blachor’s “The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess.” It’s a rare book that combines “serious” science with hilarious “opposite of serious” stories that bring the point of the “serious” science home in a completely relatable way. For feminists with pink-and princess-obsessed preschoolers who wonder where they went wrong, Blachor reassures you that it’s not you — it’s them! There’s hard wiring that makes your child the way she is. I wish this book had been around when my daughter was small. I’ll be sharing it with friends who are mystified by the little princesses in their own lives.”
Page Barnes, Editor and Founder, The Haven
“Blachor’s Feminist Guide to Raising a Little Princess is a fun, informative read peppered with funny anecdotes and informative thoughts on things like the value of embracing the feminine, American optimism, and maternal healthcare. (There’s also a chapter that will feel all too familiar to any parent that’s ever taken their toddler to Disneyland Paris and immediately regretted it). This is a book about what it means to be a feminist and trying to raise a feminist daughter who happens to be obsessed with the color pink, frilly dresses, and also being a princess. It’s also about why you can’t blame Disney. Even if you really, really want to.”
Jennifer McCartney, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place