The Princess Bible

[Erica Chan]

The Princess Bible

The amazing Lanley recently brought my attention to a new release book called 'The Princess Bible'. The Amazon page describes it thusly:

"My Princess Bible shares stories of 19 women of the Bible through a rhyming story and a short takeaway summary in prose. Each story ends with two lines that remind the reader of valuable character traits of a princess; the little princesses are even encouraged to recite the learning of the biblical princess using her name in the blank instead: “________ is God’s special princess; ________ is sad when she does something bad” (the takeaway from the story of Eve). This format helps children see biblical women as princesses who teach us about godly principles. It also helps reinforce that the little girl reader is special and seen as a princess because she is created by God. The final story (number 20) is taken from Psalm 139 and features the reader as the godly princess. It reminds the reader that princesses are daughters of the King and are loved by God. Little girls will love to read My Princess Bible over and over to learn about God’s princesses.”

Now it's interesting, because there are two opposing sides to it of course - hey, we get some pretty cool heroines being shown to girls (there are some kickass girls in the Bible!) versus the fact that these heroines have likely been stripped of most of their strength and 'princessified'.

As Maria on The Hathor Legacy blogged:

"Not only is this sexist but it doesn’t even make sense — Ruth wasn’t a princess, Esther wasn’t born into royalty, etc etc. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any royal female in the Bible (besides Bathsheba and that chick who accused Joseph of raping her — Potipher’s wife, maybe?). I can think of several strong leaders, though — Debra, Jael, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha, Sarai/Sarah… none of them were “princess-y” in the way these books are talking about. Hell, Judith seduced a man for her city’s freedom. Then chopped off his head! :-/That’s got to be worse, socially, than picking your nose. Plus, sometimes? There’s stuff up there that needs to be freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!

Back in MY day, when we used Biblical women as icons for femininity, we talked about their brains, loyalty, and humbleness. I remember this clearly because I had an Esther doll, and she specifically did NOT come with a crown."

So yes... what do you all think of this? And princesses?

[Erica Chan]

Ooh, just before I go, also found an interesting article about this on the blog XX factor. Would be fascinated to know your thoughts! Also, some of the links are quite interesting...

Onward Christian Princesses

Posted by Ruth Graham[/center]

Evangelicals, perpetually and endearingly behind the curve when it comes to pop culture, are going gaga for princesses. The latest evidence is My Princess Bible, a new book from Christian publisher Tyndale House that tells the story of 19 Biblical women with Disney-style illustrations. It’s a stretch: The women the book classifies as “princesses” include Rahab, a prostitute who bravely hid spies in her home for a higher cause, and Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman active in the founding of the early church.

My Princess Bible is only the latest entry into the Christian princess pantheon. This summer, the wildly popular (and generally adorable) VeggieTales series of evangelical kids DVDs came out with Sweetpea Beauty, its first DVD targeted especially for young girls. Christian publisher Thomas Nelson offers a full-text Princess Bible, with a pink cover, sparkly binding and a bejeweled clasp. There’s Sheila Walsh’s children’s book series Gigi, God’s Little Princess, whose illustrations seem to imitate Hilary Knight’s classic drawings of that New York princess, Eloise. And adult women can turn to the His Princess series, whose latest entry, published in March, features “love letters” written in the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Meanwhile, some corners of mainstream American culture have been experiencing a refreshing princess backlash lately: In the Nation a few years ago, Barbara Ehrenreich called Disney princesses a “sorry bunch of wusses,” and cheekily encouraged right-thinking parents to “make a holiday bonfire out of all that plastic and tulle.” A study in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology asked whether seeing images of skinny, glamorous princesses hurt young girls’ self-esteem. (The results suggested not, but that didn’t stop many media outlets from repeating the question.) We can anticipate another critical moment when Peggy Orenstein, who has written thoughtfully about the trend for the New York Times magazine, publishes Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture in January.

Many feminist critiques of the princess craze won’t faze conservatives, of course. And to be fair to evangelicals, royal metaphors are a natural fit with religious imagery focused on God as king. Most of the “God’s princess” products—including the new My Princess Bible—ultimately focus on God’s unconditional love for his children. So for now, it’s onward Christian princesses.