Go the Distance

In the past few years I have spent a lot of time in two places: work and alongside the minions.  What this means is that I have read an alarming number of children's stories and seen an obscene amount of G rated movies.  Since toddlers like to watch things over and over again I have had plenty of exposure to a handful of their favourite films.  I have a ton of commentary on the Disneyfication of our youth, however repeat exposure to Walt and his successor's works has sparked a great deal of debate between Chris and I surrounding Disney and Business.  Walt was a great creative mind, but his empire was also a business.

Below are 8 lessons about business that are brought to you by Walt Disney, the letter B and the number 3.

From The Little Mermaid.

1. Always Read the Fine Print
   The devil is in the details was one of the major lessons that Ariel learned when Ursula the Sea Witch came to collect on her contract to make her temporarily human to pursue her love.  The same can be said of vendor contracts, employment contracts and pretty much anything you sign in business.  When in doubt have your lawyer look it over.
2. Treat Everyone with Respect and Dignity
   My sister got her first job as an assistant to the president of a major corporation in part because she was the only candidate that was kind to the receptionist.  In Beauty and the Beast the prince was turned into a horrible Beast after turning away a beggar woman because of her looks.  
3. It doesn't matter what your intentions, you will fail if you can't work together as a team
   In Sleeping Beauty, Princess Arora is sent away under the charge of the three good fairies (Flora, Fauna and Merry Weather) who are completely incompetent at every day tasks, they undo each others work, attempt tasks that other players are masters at (like cake making and sewing) only to fail, flounder and argue.
4. Know Your Team's Talents and Utlize them well
   Alternately once they are able to use their magic, the three good fairies are able to give Prince Phillip the Shield of Virtue and the Sword of Truth for the final fight with Maleficent, the sword enabling Phillip to destroy Maleficent and her evil with one well-aimed blow.
5. Sometimes your Allies and opponents are obvious...other times they aren't
   In Frozen the gentleman from Wesleton is obviously looking out for number one whereas other people are better at hiding their ambitions.
6. Everyone needs a Champion...or Fairy Godmother
   Look for allies in the work place and beyond to vent to, bounce ideas off of and talk you up as your personal sponsor to help challenge you and provide great opportunities.  The fairy godmother only needed to give Cinderella until midnight to change her life forever.
7. Hakuna matata or Let it Go!
   It means no worries, You can't control what other people say or do, only how you react to it.  Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and move on.
8. Have Faith in yourself and you can accomplish so much!
   Because all it takes is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust!  Hard-work and sticktoitiveness also helps!

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Queen Jane Approximately

We often joke that our Miss Molly isn't a princess, that she is in fact "The Queen" of all things.  Women in my family aren't exactly known to be weak, wilting flowers who swoon over every Prince Eric who passes by.  They're more Queen Grrl...than Princess Girl.*

A few years ago, when Chris and I started to entertain the idea of having children, we had a big talk about the commercialisation (Disneyfication, Dorafication, Princessification) of childhood today.  Chris proclaimed royally that he wasn't going to encourage the gender boxing, tweening of our kids, particularly if he were to have a daughter.  I often find myself reminding him that although I was quite girlie as a child, I come from a long line of Queen Grrls and that one Princess lunch box isn't going to transform Molly into a different person.

So far we've managed to navigate play time away from branded princesses and pop culture letting both children play with whatever the heck they want to.  As a result Jack's favourite toys are The Magic Cooking Pot, Duplo Blocks, The Talking Pink Purse and his rock and roll pickup truck.  Molly's are anyone else's shoes, balls of any kind**, Bob the Builder and her baby doll who she routinely bites in the face. 

Enter the pink aisle...the not so new way that advertisers at toy stores are targeting the girl demographic.  I first noticed a resurgence of it with the girl themed Kinder Eggs, or maybe I'm just paying closer attention now that I have a daughter.  I don't know.

Then yesterday I saw this great article on Bunch about  Girls Revolt Against the Pink Aisle, an attempt at breaking some of the gender barriers put forward.  Check out the ad in the link above...what do you think?

I think it's a great ad, however I know that I played with Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Ponies and Strawberry Shortcake, but so did my brother and some of my other male friends and I would probably still make similar choices if I was a child today.

We need to face the facts that the media and other kids on the playground are going to influence her eventually, or that she might choose to be a princess...however, that is her choice and we can't be making her decisions for her.

My name is SaraBeth and:

I'm a Veronica, not a Betty...
I'm a Maleficent, not a Sleeping Beauty....
I'm a Misfit, not a Hologram....
I'm The Red Queen, not an Alice...

And I chose it...


Okay, now to think of it, I'm a villain in most of these situations...maybe some revolt against the pink aisle won't hurt.

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*Unfortunately I don't know how to dot the i on my "girl" and "princess" with little hearts, but I would if I could.
**The joke about the balls start and stop here.