“Me? A princess? Shut. UP!” is a quote we all know and love, spoken circa 2001 by Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries. Mia is an icon in so many ways: who else can go from being the loser of all losers in high school to the successful, glamorous princess of a small, stunning country? I couldn’t, that’s for sure. I looked up to her in so many ways.
Her makeover was definitely the highlight of the movie. Watching a girl who looked just like me get the makeover of the century was so inspiring — I had no idea something like that was possible! Now, however, I realize that even though the makeover was admirable, it was also a little bit troublesome and controversial, especially on a personal level.
Technically, there was nothing “wrong” with Mia before being princess-ified; she just didn’t fit the look of what a typical princess would look like. Granted, understandably, a princess should have a certain savoir faire, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that her entire look needs to be changed. The makeover gave the impression that Mia wasn’t pretty enough in her natural state. The worst part, in my eyes, was the fact that everyone treated her much better after her makeover. This made it seem that because post-makeover Mia fit societal beauty standards, other people’s reactions were justified.
The most noticeable and troublesome aspect of Mia’s makeover had to be the transformation of her hair. I could talk about this all day. As a member of the curly hair community myself, I was very affected by this part of the makeover. I didn’t even know it until I got older, but I fell victim to curl dysphoria.
The issue with her hair transformation is the fact that rather than enhancing and bringing life to Mia’s beautiful curls, the stylists straightened her hair in order to deem her as pretty. After the makeover, Mia’s hair remains straight, even in the second movie. Seeing this as a child and seeing everyone’s positive reactions to her new hair made me think curly hair was not as classy and elegant as straight hair. Now, even as a 20-year-old, it still affects me. I straighten my hair quite often and never feel “feminine enough” in my curls.
Due to the heavily positive noticeable responses within the movie, it was evident that this transformation was based on not only the movie’s societal beauty standards but also the real world’s beauty standards. I wouldn’t feel as strongly about this if this weren’t the case. This was one of the first movies where I saw someone so similar to me in looks, and they took one of her physical characteristics away and made it what they deemed to be prettier.
With this movie still airing on Disney, many young kids can still view it. If this still affects me as a 20-year-old, imagine what it could be doing to kids much younger than me. It’s important to overcome societal beauty standards, especially in response to movies from the past. By doing so, we can create a more accepting society and make it known that when growing up you don’t have to completely change anything about your appearance — all you have to do is enhance what already makes you beautiful. With this attitude, we’re supporting girls everywhere and battling curl dysphoria one day at a time!
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