Most every young girl
who sees Disney’s new Cinderella will dream about being a princess. She’ll wish for balls, beautiful dresses, and
a handsome prince. But what will the
mothers dream about? They know the fairy
tale isn’t true – not the way it appears in movies. They know that marriage to the prince still
requires them to do a lot of the same drudge chores they were doing before. Balls and opportunities to wear beautiful
gowns and the desire – or ability – to wear high heels don’t come around often,
if at all.
And yet…
We are still captivated
by the story, wish for the fantasy, hope for more. I believe Cinderella has the potential to be
a strong heroine, which is why I put her in charge in my novel The Glass Stiletto. There’s no way a smart woman would agree to
another situation where others were in charge of her, so instead of the
traditional male dominant story, in this story, Cinderella (now named Mariella)
gets to have a say in her future and in how her life will play out, in and out
of the bedroom.
Cinderella is no child
– it’s time she enjoyed an adult tale.
With a kinky twist.
There is nothing wrong
with the princess myth – it simply needs a chance to grow up, just as all
princesses do. In this third wave of
feminist interpretation, we have a wonderful opportunity to embrace all the
aspects of that make us feel empowered. To me, this most especially includes our
sexual empowerment. If the popularity of
50 Shades of Grey showed us anything
is that woman are hungry for something that has eluded them for too long. Detractors may want to label it “mommy porn”
and by doing so make less of it, but the truth is, it’s a magnificent part of a
woman’s lifelong journey for joy and fulfillment.
For too long women have
not fully embraced their desires – in and out of the bedroom. We wait for later. We look for other things to do. We decide
it’s not important. We’re wrong. I
believe we deserve our desires. They can define us and guide us in exciting and
empowering ways. They can inform our
decisions and bring us a thrill that overflows to all areas of our life. Chances
are we won’t have all of them all the time, but that’s what living a full life
is for. When I create a heroine in my novel, my goal is to put her on a journey
that shows her all she is capable of – joy, passion, success, and more. And
then I give her a hero who loves her all the more for being complete.
After all, if little
girls want to be princesses, shouldn’t we show them the type of women those
princesses can grow up to be?
