Princess Diaries

Enrique Irizarry
Jeanina Perez
February 17, 2010
WST 3015

Princess Diaries:

“Shut-up!” These are the words of Princess Amelia, or Mia for short, as she realizes that she is the heir to the throne of Geneva. She is shell shocked and realizes that the implications are far too great to handle. As she stated, “I am only fifteen.” Mia disregards her grandmother’s wishes about running the country of Geneva not realizing the social benefits that come with power and inner-beauty, hence, the erotic.

After failing to address her fellow classmates about the importance of uniforms and how they bring about “equality” among the students, Mia realizes that she does not have the courage or beauty ideals needed to possess change, let alone run a country. Mia is a spear headed women who is active on issues that deal with equality and diminishing the stereotypes at school. One of Mia’s greatest challenges is based on the double bind, which society and her Geneva kingdom requires of her. As Jean Kilbourne mentioned in reading twenty-six of “Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspective,” titled “The More You Subtract, the More You Add,” “Somehow girls are supposed to be both innocent and seductive, virginal and experienced, all at the same time (236).” Furthermore, Kilbourne also states, “…at the same time there is relentless pressure on women to be small, there is also pressure on us to succeed, to achieve, to ‘have it all (235).’” And, “Most tragically, they are told they have to give up each other (237).” To follow such harsh standards, like Seventeen Magazines 1997 ad, “The more you subtract, the more you add,” is nearly impossible for Mia. She lost ties with her Geneva heritage after her mother moved away from a life of riches in order to keep Mia safe. Safe from the pressures of having to constantly perform and demonstrate how a lady should look and act. Mia grew up with a mother who demonstrates that being powerful and outspoken are important attributes, and following stereotypical norms of “femaleness” do not necessarily contribute to a happy life. As Audre Lorde stated of women and the erotic in her essay, “Uses of the Erotic,” “The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings (161).” Mia was intertwined from multiple sources. As her grandmother attempts to transform her from everything that is not princess like, Mia is struggling to keep a stable relationship with her best friend Lily who indicates that she is a sell-out and she is contradicting everything that they stand for.

As the movie progresses, Mia begins to transition herself from an inward to an outward self, as she eventually stands up against the popular cheerleader and starts to notice her true power. Audre Lord Description of the erotic describes perfectly what Mia has discovered. “…when we begin to live from within outward, in touch with the power of the erotic within ourselves, and allowing that power to inform and illuminate our actions upon the world around us, then we begin to be responsible to ourselves in the deepest sense.” The realizations of becoming what other people want you to become hit Mia hard, but she learns to make the best of her situation by continuing to carry herself through her unique erotic.

Works Cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Pp140, pp231. Print.