Blogger Hayley McLean-Glass’ son Noah loves Frozen, especially Elsa. He rocks the dress, he knows all the words to “Let It Go,” and loves Disney princesses in general. So, McLean-Glass thought it would be perfect to book Noah the “Princess for a Day” experience for their upcoming November trip to Disneyland Paris. She was told by the park that it is “not possible to book princess for a day for a boy.”
For those who can’t see the above Instagram post, McLean-Glass writes:
“This is Noah. My middle of 3 sons. My other two sons are about as sterotypically boyish as you can be but Noah? He loves Princesses, especially Elsa. He knows every single word to Let It Go and most other Frozen songs. We’re going to Disneyland Paris in November and I tried to book him in for the Princess For A Day experience as I knew he’d absolutely love it. But Disney replied to tell me he can’t have it….because he’s a boy.
I am FURIOUS. Not just for Noah, but for ALL little boys who Disney won’t allow to indulge their love of Princesses…Walt Disney himself said “If you can dream it you can do it” … apparently this doesn’t apply to little boys who dare to want to be Princesses at Disneyland Paris.
I’ve written a blog post and Facebook status to send Disney the message that this is outdated and WRONG…these are children enjoying dress up….that’s all. What on earth can be wrong with that?!”
McLean-Glass got lots of support from friends and readers after posting this and a blog post on the issue. Later, in an interview with ITV, she brought up the point that when girls want to dress up as stereotypically “boy” characters like pirates or male superheroes, they are encouraged, but boys are not in the reverse situation.
If we truly are going to eradicate sexism, the reverse has to be okay, too. It has to be okay for little boys to admire, want to be like, and yes, dress up like their favorite female characters. Otherwise what the heck are we all doing here?
As reported by Revelist, Disneyland Paris released a statement to ITV after apologizing to McLean-Glass, calling this an isolated incident not indicative of Disney’s broader policy. A spokesperson said, “[T]he cast member’s response is not reflective of any policy or belief held here at Disneyland Paris. Diversity is near and dear to our hearts and we want to make sure that all our guests enjoy their experience at our resort. We are going to ensure this does not happen again.”
We certainly hope so! And for those who have an interest in this, the “Princess for the Day” package is available to all children ages 3-to-12.
(image: Disney)
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