Book Review- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I know I watched this movie a few years ago. My dad and I have always been into movies with fantasy kind of characters. However, I had no recollection of how the story unfolded. I knew that Lena was a Caster and whether she would turn good or bad was to be decided in her 16th birthday, but I had no idea how the story would end. As I expect many of you would agree, the books are nearly always far better than the movies. Taking into consideration the fact that I had forgotten what happened, I decided to read the book, as I thought I would really enjoy it, and I did!

Yes, this book is all fantasy and not very realistic, but it still managed to grip my attention. Sometimes I find far fetched stories are the best, especially when it makes you think whether there could be a family of casters living in your own town, that you are completely unaware of.

The good thing about this book is that there are so many points of interest that can draw the reader in. For example, obviously there is the supernatural element. Anyone who enjoys these kind of books should definitely read ‘Beautiful Creatures’ in my opinion. As well as this, there is the teenage romance aspect. Lena is Ethan’s first girlfriend, and Ethan is Lena’s first boyfriend. This book takes you along their journey of love, but through a relationship that is not portrayed as normal, as there are severe barriers and consequences of them being together. You also have the importance of family conveyed in this story. Ethan lost his mother recently in a car accident and his dad has shut himself away In his study. The only family he really has is his housekeeper Amma. However, you can see later on in this book how important it is to him not to lose the family he does have. This is similar to Lena. She has a relatively big family but no parents really. She has been brought up by her grandmother and her uncle. This books shows the importance of family even if your immediate family like your parents are not present. Lena’s Uncle takes on a massive role in protecting her and she is very grateful of it.

Overall, this is a fantastic book. I enjoyed it all the way through. Even though the ending was not what I expected at all, it was incredibly well written. I really recommend that anyone should read this book of they get the chance.

Thank you for reading. Any likes, comments or follows are very much appreciated.

Lauren xx

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Book Review -Can you keep a secret? By Sophie Kinsella

This is not a book I would normally choose to read. I don’t normally enjoy chick flick kind of books because I find them too predictable. However, I recently took part in a book exchange where people I don’t know sent me books. This resulted In me receiving a variety of different books that I would not have read otherwise. I was not going to let this stop me so I was determined to read them.

I must admit that this book did take me a while to get into. The main character is a 25 year old woman called Emma Corrigan. Many women enjoy reading books of this genre because they include details of these female characters’ inner thoughts and feelings. A lot of women feel as thought they can relate to these female characters. Unfortunately I do not open up as much as these characters so I cannot relate as well. Nonetheless I continued to read.

Im very glad I did. The storyline became very gripping and the characters became interesting. Not too long into the book you meet the character Jack Harper. I really liked this character. He is the perfect man. Rich, powerful and professional, yet caring and understanding. An all round nice guy.

Now I know I said I find these kind of storylines too predictable and it ruins the book for me, but deep down I wanted everything to turn out well for both Emma and Jack. Usually, I like something unexpected to happen but this was a lovely story that it wasn’t necessary.

I would definitely recommend this book to those of you who enjoy reading books of this genre. However, if you are like me and you don’t normally choose books like these, I would still recommend reading it because it was a real feel good book.

Thank you for reading. Any likes, comments or follows are very much appreciated.

Lauren xx

The Infamous Tinder

Let me set the scene for you.

18 year old Lauren. Been single for about 6 months after ending it with her first serious boyfriend. She didn’t love him and just wanted some attention, but realised it was not meant to be and so it ended. After this break she was bored. She wanted attention again. One Monday night she had this great idea of signing up for Tinder the dating app. No one would know, she thought, and she would have someone to talk to. That night she matched with a boy who she went on two dates within a week and were soon together. However, this didn’t last. He wasn’t who she thought he was. This hurt, and she didn’t want anything to do with boys.

Fast forward a year to 19 year old Lauren. She was bored again. She wanted someone to talk to and tinder was so easy last time that is was the perfect solution right? Well.. No. It wasn’t quite the same. The boys on there weren’t as charming as she expected. Cringey chat up lines, dick pics and countless offers for sex was not exactly what she was looking for.

I can’t complain. I wanted someone to talk to and and I don’t think there were many days that I was talking to less than four boys at a time. This wasn’t me. It was all an act, which I can see now, but at the time, it was a massive confidence boost. The photos I used were not a true representation of me.

I don’t look like this all the time. I’m lucky if I brush my hair I’m the morning. (I know that sounds skanky but it’s just up on a ponytail all the time so it doesn’t need to be brushed all the time.) Clearly I got my boobs out for attention. No wonder my parents weren’t too impressed when I used this photo for my facebook profile picture. 

It gets worse and I can assure you I’m not proud of it. They wanted photos of me without clothes. At first I refused but unfortunately I gave in pretty easily. The problem was, once I started, I received compliments and I felt so good about myself. I was a completely different person but I thought that it was a good change because I was more confident.

I went on several dates. Well only two proper dates, the others were more like sexual encounters in cars and university rooms. I was seeing more than one boy at a time, but hey, I felt good so it was all okay right? I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I just wanted someone to notice me and I certainly was receiving the attention I desired.

This is when Ryan came along. He asked me out on a proper date! It was not something I was used to if I’m honest. I wasn’t really interested but he seemed too much of a nice guy to turn down, so I agreed and off we went. As the day went on I realised I did like him. I liked him a lot. I was the one who asked to see him again (with my new found confidence.) And over a year on we are a very happy couple. I think we are perfect for each other and it couldn’t have gone any better.

At the end of the day, some of my biggests regrets in my life were due to the way I acted on this infamous dating app. I don’t know who I was trying to be, but it certainly wasn’t me. However, my confidence grew significantly. I came to the conclusion that these boys who were complimenting me didn’t know me, and so they had no reason to tell me I looked good if they didn’t truly mean it. Even though I have no contact with any of these boys today, I sometimes look back on this part of my life and realise that maybe I should be happy with my appearance. It does not give me any confidence that other women approve of my body, but I remember that I received compliments from plenty of boys.

I am not in search of male attention now as I am very happy with Ryan. However, looking back on this makes me feel good about myself. Even though Tinder generally has a bad reputation, and I regret a lot of my actions from it, it did improve my confidence and self-esteem, and for that I will always be thankful.

Thank you for reading. Any likes, comments or follow are very much appreciated.

Lauren xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody wants to look like a whale🐳

Summer is coming.

This can only mean one thing. Time for that bikini body.

I must admit, every year around this time I start to think that I do need to work hard and get my body ready for the summer holiday season. But then I don’t. There are too many barriers stopping me. To start with it’s Easter in two days. Even though I don’t receive anywhere near as many Easter eggs as I did when I was younger (which is probably a good thing) I will still be eating plenty of chocolate over the next few weeks. Especially when the Easter eggs in the shop are reduced after Easter and I just can’t help myself. Also, this is the time of year for McDonald’s monopoly. Too irresistible. I know full well that the chances of me winning any of the prizes is very unlikely, but does that stop me going? Of course it doesn’t. As well as that, can I really be bothered to go to the gym? Who in their right mind would willingly pay to exercise? Obviously I am joking, as many people thoroughly enjoy gym sessions, but in all honesty, it’s not for me.

So when I decide it’s too much effort to diet and try and lose weight I consider how I feel about my body. Even though I have a boyfriend who loves me and says he doesn’t want a stick as a girlfriend because he would worry he could accidentally rip one of her legs off 😂 I still find myself worried about what other people will think of me. Usually, I try not to let this bother me because when I go on holiday, I tell myself that the people there are strangers to me. I will never see them again so why should it be an issue if they don’t approve of my body. The only people I know are my family. As much as they might comment in a jokingly way about me eating too much junk food, they would never say anything to purposely hurt me, and so I choose to enjoy my holiday and not care what anyone else might think.

But this year is different. This year I am not going on holiday with my family. Ryan and I are going on holiday with another couple. These are very good friends of ours and I know they would never say anything, but deep down, I know they may be thinking things that I wouldn’t like. Don’t get me wrong, I do not think I’m fat, but I’m not skinny either. I’m a UK size 12 and I do have curves. I feel like I’m limited to what I can wear to some extent, but on the other hand, I find styles of clothes that suit me and so I’m happy. On a daily basis I don’t have lots of thoughts about being fat, but the truth is I am the biggest out of the four of us. The boys are super skinny (although I feel like a lot of boys are like that now) and the other girl has a very petite figure too. I just don’t want to stand out.

Self confidence is always something I have struggled with. In the past, I have managed to overcome it and continue to enjoy myself, but this year I am really worried.  I can’t help but think about it. It’s embarrassing when you have skinny friends. I don’t want to feel like a whale standing next to them.

As much as I know that it really isn’t that extreme, once you have this image inside your head, you can’t un-see it. I really admire these plus size models who can be so confident with their own bodies. If I got to that weight, I can’t imagine what I would be like. I worry too much about what others think, and I really shouldn’t.

Us girls should be proud of our bodies no matter what size or shape we are. At the end of the day, all women aren’t meant to look the same. I know it’s hard to think like this but it’s the truth. As long as we are healthy, there is nothing wrong with how we look. We just need some confidence.

Thank you for reading. Any likes, comments or follows are very much appreciated.

Lauren xx

Belle is a strong independent woman

When Frozen was released in 2014 everyone was talking about it. Supposedly this was the first Disney Princess movie that showed women having independence and coping perfectly fine without a Prince coming to save them. While this is clearly the case in Frozen, I strongly disagree that it is the first movie to portray strong independent women. Today I watched Beauty and the Beast. I watched it from an adult’s perspective and noted details on Belle showing that she is a strong and brave character, but also the expected derogatory and belittling comments made about women throughout the movie.

To start with I will mention the evidence of women being powerless because that is how a lot of people view this movie.

Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, Gaston makes a very belittling comment about Belle, and women in general. He says;

“It’s not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting *ideas* and, *thinking*….”

This is a ridiculous comment to make. At the time this movie was set in, women were not going out to work so they had to find something to do with their day. And anyway women should have every right to think and have ideas, just as much as men do.

Gaston also expects Belle to marry him without taking her feelings into consideration at all. He had planned the wedding and only decided to ask her on the day, after the whole town was preparing for the event. Gaston treats Belle like an object, like she has no rights and he is far more superior than her.

This is where we can see Belle’s independence and strength as a character. She is not afraid to turn Gaston down, yet she remains polite. She has no intention in marrying Gaston and so she doesn’t. Belle is not afraid to stand up for herself. She is aware that she is different from the rest of the town, but this doesn’t stop her being who she wants to be. She may not be happy in her poor provincial town, and she makes it clear that she wants to do more with her life, but not once does she mention the need for a prince, or even a man to rescue her from her provincial life.

Belle acts very brave in this movie. When Phillipe comes back and her father is missing, she doesn’t hesitste in going to find him alone. Her father means an awful lot to her as he is the only family she has. Belle cares about her father so much that when she finds him as a prisoner in the Beast’s castle, she sacrifices her own life in order to set her father free. Very few people seem to pick up on this incredibly courageous act on Belle’s behalf, but it clearly shows that she is more than capable of fending for herself.

Belle is definitely not your typical passive princess. Once she is a prisoner in the castle, there are a series of rebellious acts on Belle’s behalf. Firstly, she refuses to come down for dinner on the first night. Then she enters the west wing, which is the only place she was told never to go in the castle. And finally, she runs away from the castle even though she is told she will never leave. Men do not really dominate Belle successfully. She seems to make her own decisions, whether the men in her life approve of them or not.

Overall, I think it’s very clear that Belle is not this stereotypical Disney Princess that many people view her as. She is independent, brave and mentally strong. She falls in love with the Beast on her own terms and not because she relies on him to rescue her.

Over the next year or so I will be doing a lot of work on the Disney Princesses for university, so there will be quite a few posts about them as they will be a big part of my life. If any of you have anything you want to share with me, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading. Please like, comment and follow.

Lauren xx

 

The adventures of Casper the Cat

I have never been an animal person. I thought some looked cute, but I never wanted one. In fact, I was convinced I was allergic to cats for years (now I think it’s just long haired cats.) Anyway, last year my mum gave in to my dad who has wanted a cat for 21 years, and off we went to the rescue centre to have a look a the cats.

My dad fell in love with this little black cat on our first visit. He had no name, and they didn’t know what his exact age was, but that didn’t matter to us, we were taking him home.

We decided to call him Casper (it was my dads idea. He though he was absolutely hilarious because our cat was black.) I didn’t mind Casper being in the house, I had started to like him, but I still didn’t allow him in my room, as I wanted to have somewhere I could get away from him. Obviously, they didn’t last long at all.

Casper could do whatever he wanted. He was like my dad’s third and favourite child. Honestly, I even forget that he is a pet sometimes, we all act as if he was a little brother to me. Casper could sit on the arm chairs if he wanted, even if it meant my dad had to sit on the floor to watch Tv. Casper was allowed to walk all over mum and dad at night. It didn’t matter if he kept them awake because he was adorable and no one could tell him off. The only rule Casper had was that he wasn’t allowed to be out in the dark. Being a black cat, my dad was concerned that cars would not see him and we weren’t prepared to risk that.

He was a right little character. After a few months of owning him, we had arranged a visit from the staff at the rescue centre, just to check everything was okay. Casper was inside so all was fine. My dad nipped out for 10 minutes, came back and Casper was no where to be seen. He was frantically looking for Casper because this was not going to make a good impression if we had lost the cat. Just as my dad walked past the bathroom, he saw a black figure on the other side of the window. He looked up and the bathroom window was open a little bit. Casper has managed to jump out of the window and was sat on the window sill of a first floor window. Dad tried to grab him but Casper didn’t have enough space to jump back up. Dad ran out into the garden and by this point Casper had made his way on to the conservatory roof. Dad had this great idea that he would hold the picnic table above his head for Casper to jump down onto, but obviously Casper was having none of that. Eventually Casper jumped down himself and dad got him inside literally minutes before the lady turned up.

We all loved Casper so much. We had only had him for 4 months but we had a two week cruise booked. We decided that my friend and her boyfriend would come and live in our house so Casper could carry on as usual. However, Eliza and Myles were not there nearly as much as we were and we strongly believe Casper came looking for us. When we docked on the last day of the cruise and got signal for the first time in a few days, our hearts sank. Casper was missing. Honestly, it was like losing a family member. The worst part was we didn’t know if he was okay or not. We were all distraught. Posters and leaflets were made. All possibly facebook groups were joined. Everything we could possibly do to find Casper we did.

One night, about 2 and a half weeks later, the phone rang. Who could be calling at this time of night? ( about 9:30pm) The man on the phone asked if we had lost our cat. He was the manager of the Subway Restaurant over a mile away. He was just closing up for the night when Casper walked in. Surprised to see a cat in the middle of a shopping centre, he checked his collar and saw how far away from home he was. All of us immediately got in the car and drove to pick up our cat. He was a lot thinner but he was going to be fine. We were so relieved to have our little Caspie back.

Nearly a year on, Casper is still the centre of our family. Every time one of us come home, Casper is the first one we think about. He is so spoilt. I think it’s crazy how much a pet can mean to you. Do you have any pet stories you want to share? Any likes, comments or follow are appreciated.

Thank you for reading

Lauren xx

 

Have courage and be kind

So I have just finished watching the recent Cinderella movie for the… Well I don’t actually know how many times I have watched it now. I’ve cried at the sad parts, and cried when it’s happy. I love it.

Before this remake was released, Cinderella was not my favourite Disney Princess, and wasn’t even close to be honest. I can’t think of anything I disliked about her, but I always preferred other princesses. However, there is something truly beautiful about this movie and the way Ella is portrayed, I just can’t get enough of it. Although I don’t aspire to be like Cinderella in the way that she has to wait to be rescued from her miserable life by her Prince Charming, if I was half the woman Ella is in this movie, I would be extremely proud of myself.

Today I watched this movie in a slightly different way. I really listened to the words and in particular the things Ella said. These are a few of my favourite quotes from the movie.

Lets start with something Ella’s mother says to her before she dies.

“Ella, you have more kindness in your little finger than most people have in their whole body”

This is so true, and really sums up Ella throughout the movie. Even though she encounters some terrible experiences and in treated in a horrible way, she always comes out a the better person. Ella never lowers herself to their level. This is an amazing quality to have and I wish I could be like her all the time. I try my best to show kindness and forgive people, but sometimes it’s just too hard. I really admire people like Ella who can remain like this even when life is tough.

Ella’s kindness is shown in a couple of other quotes I personally liked.

“I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. And I just thought he had a great deal left to do with his life.”

This is taken from the scene when Ella first meets Kit. She says this about the stag she has just saved from Kit and the other hunters. This is an animal that she has never met before, had no relationship with and would make no difference to her in any way if he was killed, yet Ella never sees herself as better as anyone or anything else. This sense of equality she possesses is remarkable.

“Just because it’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done.”

Ella has strong morals and knows right from wrong. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it differs to the common opinion. When she first meets Kit she tells him that they shouldn’t be hunting. This quote from Ella impacts on him massively, as this is when you first see the spark between the two of them.

“Your Majesty, I am no princess. I have no carriage, no parents and no dowry. I do not even know if that beautiful slipper will fit. But, if it does, will you take me as I am? An honest country girl who loves you.”

This is my absolute favourite quote from the whole movie. The emotions this scene in the movie evokes is something I don’t think I am able to explain. Ella knows she is not the princess Kit’s father wants him to marry. But she also knows that Kit loves her for her because he didn’t even know who she truly was until this point. She asks so politely instead of just jumping into his arms like I expect most of us would do if we were in that situation. We would not be able to remain as calm and sophisticated as she does given the circumstances.

Ella is a wonderful character. Like I said before, if I was half the woman she is, I would be proud of myself. When I have children I will be sure to watch this movie with my daughter and share my love for it with her. This movie makes me so happy.

So as Ella’s mother said ” have courage and be kind.” I know I certainly live by this motto now, and hopefully this post can share the positivity this movie creates.

I hope you all have a lovely day. Thank you very much for reading. Any likes, comments and follows are very much appreciated.

Lauren xx

The lowest point in my life

This is a very personal post for me, and I am not overly confident about writing it. The only people that know about the condition I have are my boyfriend, my very close friends and my counsellor. I am not writing this post to receive any kind of sympathy from you. Although I have not reached the end of my struggles yet, I feel a lot more confident within myself and now feel as though I am in a position to share my story with you. This post is purely to promote awareness of the condition as it is not uncommon, and many women suffer from it. However, it is very rarely talked about and until I went to seek help, I thought I was the only one like this and felt very alone. I now know that this is not the case at all.

I suffer from a psychological condition called Vaginismus. It’s a horrible name I know, and so I like to refer to it as The Princess Syndrome. It has acquired this name because it is very common in girls that have strong religious beliefs and are told from a very young age that sex is forbidden before marriage. As a result of being taught this throughout their whole life (and treated like a innocent princess), when it comes to their wedding night, and they are expected to engage in sexual intercourse with their new husband, they can’t. It is not that they don’t want to. It’s their body that will not allow it.

The Princess Syndrome was described to me as basically like a panic attack in the vagina. My counsellor used an example of going to the dentist to help explain this to me. She told me to imagine how I would feel about visiting the dentist if previously I had had a bad experience. I thought about it and said that I would feel tense and nervous. This is when she explained that this is exactly what the vagina can do. If a woman has had a bad sexual experience previously or taught that sex is forbidden, her body is likely to reject the possibility of any form of penetration.

Now I must admit I’m not really sure why I have developed this condition. I am not overly religious. My mum is Christian and does attend church every Sunday. I used to go along to Sunday School with her until I reached the age and decided it wasn’t for me. This wasn’t an issue in my family because my dad isn’t relgious in any way, so they were happy for me to make my own decision. I do not feel like sex needs to be saved for marriage, because I am not married, and I have tried. I have not had a seriously bad sexual experience before either. I did have one boyfriend who didn’t understand ( and to be honest at the time I didn’t either. I thought there was something wrong with me.) He kept pushing and one night it went to far, but I do not think this is what caused it, because there was already some form of rejection from my body.

This inevitably affected my self-confidence drastically. If I didn’t know what was wrong with me, how was I meant to explain to anyone potential sexual partners? My body rejected any kind of penetration including tampons, and I was at a very low point in my life, convinced I would be single and a virgin forever.

At this point I met my boyfriend Ryan. We seemed to get along really well. It wasn’t until we were a couple of months into our relationship that he asked why I didn’t like to have sex. I couldn’t believe it. I had just assumed I had told him but thinking about it I couldn’t remember telling him. Either way, he clearly wasn’t bothered by it and straight away told me that sex is not the most important part of a relationship. I immediately began to feel better and happier because I had someone who I could talk to about it, who wouldn’t judge me.

It was his idea to go and seek help (but only if I wanted to.) I went to the sexual health clinic, with him by my side, and spoke to the nurse about it for the first time. She assured me I wasn’t alone. I was referred to a doctor and then referred to a psychosexual counsellor. Ryan and I have been attending counselling sessions since September last year. Although we haven’t managed to have sex yet, each time we visit her she seems to think we are getting closer, and we agree.

It takes time to overcome something like that but I feel so much better about everything. This condition is not uncommon and there are people who can help you. My confidence has grown significantly since I have had people to talk to about it. In some ways I think it has helped my relationship with Ryan. We both feel as though we have got to know each other in different ways and we are both very happy with each other.

This is not a topic I like to talk about a lot. However, there is not enough awareness about it, and I feel like there are a lot of women out there who could be suffering, and like me, think that there is something wrong with them.

Thank you very much for reading. It means a lot to me! Any likes, comments, or follows are greatly appreciated.

Lauren xx

 

 

Book Review – A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

I thought I would do another book review for you all as I have found another book I really enjoyed. In fact, there’s not just one book, but seven in the series, along with some other spin off series.

Now you may have already heard about the ‘A Shade of Vampire’ series by Bella Forrest because it’s a pretty big thing right now. I know my facebook is always showing reviews like ‘new vampire series better than twilight’ and in my opinion, yes it is. However, I did enjoy the twilight saga and I am quite confident that if you enjoyed it too, you will like this book series as well. Even if you didn’t like the twilight saga, I would still recommend it because even though it is about vampires, it is pretty different.

I have read the first two books in this series so far, ‘A Shade of Vampire’ and ‘A Shade of Blood’ both of which I really enjoyed and couldn’t put down (which is not ideal as a full time student in the middle of coursework season!) I think they are so well written. Each chapter is from a perspective of one of the characters within the story, so it is not one person telling the story the whole way through. I like this approach because it pulls out more emotions as you learn about each of the characters and how they personally feel, rather than just what one character thinks about them.

There is one main character. A seventeen year old girl called Sofia Claremomt. On the night of her seventeenth birthday she is abducted by a vampire and taken to their secret island to become a slave. However, as the story unfolds you discover that Sofia Claremont is of more importance than anyone realises.

Another reason I liked these books so much is because of the vocabulary used. As the vampires are a couple of hundred years old, they often use words than are not common In today’s society as well as vocabulary we use now. I think this makes a nice change from having one type of language or the other, it’s just something different.

At the end of each of the books there has been a cliff hanger forcing you to want to read more. I would definitely recommend these books to anyone. Even though they are classed as young adult fiction, I think they would appeal to a much wider audience.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to like, comment or follow! 😊

Lauren xx

Feminism and Disney Princesses

Supposedly, the rise of second wave feminism is meant to be the reasoning behind the different type of Disney Princess. However, the question is how different are these princesses to the early princesses.

The first three Disney Princesses (Snow White 1937, Cinderella 1950 and Sleeping Beauty 1959) were directed by Walt Disney himself. He is known to have had quite conservative views on women, and so even though first wave feminism had already made progress for women when Walt was directing these movies, these princesses remained as old fashioned heroines who do a lot of housework and sing to pass the time, whilst they are waiting for their prince to come and rescue them.

After Walt Disney died, there wasn’t another Disney Princess movie made until 1989. This was period of the ‘middle movie princesses’ including; Ariel (1989), Belle (1991), Pocahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998). Jasmine was also created during this period but I am not going to include her In this post because she is not the main focus of her movie unlike the others.

By the 1980s, second wave feminism had effected society in a big way, with women having more independence, better jobs and different social expectations. The ‘middle movie princesses’ were aimed to represent the changing American Culture. Ariel disobeyed her father by going on land. Belle wasn’t afraid to be who she was and was quick to get rid of the creepy Gaston. Pocahontas fell in love with the enemy of her tribe but accepts that her destiny is more important than any romance. She also saved John Smith’s life and managed to get her tribe to accept him. Finally, Mulan fought an entire army as she took the place of her father.

However, even though there is evidence to show that these Princesses have been liberated to some extent, they all find romance in their movie, suggesting that they still need a man in their life. Ariel sacrificed her voice for legs so she could meet Prince Eric. Belle fell in love with the Beast who turned into a handsome prince at the end of the movie. Pocahontas did fall in love with John Smith but she did choose her tribe over him in the end. Mulan fell in love with Li Shang, but the main issue with this story is that Mulan had to pose as man in order to fight for her country. Women were not seen as strong enough to have such a responsibility.

Now I’m not criticising Disney Princesses in any way. Anyone who knows me or have read other posts will know that I am a massive fan of them. The reason I have written this post is because there is always debates over Disney Princesses being good or bad role models for young girls. In my opinion, the really young girls who watch the Disney Princess movies are too young to understand if there was a derogatory reference made towards women, or whether women have gained more independence, and so there is nothing wrong with letting them watch the movies. As girls grow up they realise that being a Princess is not a realistic goal in life and so do not feel compelled to be like the Disney Princesses. Therefore, I really don’t think there is a need to worry about how much feminism is presented within these movies. They are fictional stories and they should just be enjoyed.

Thank you for reading! Any likes and comments will be very much appreciated.

Lauren xx