Comparative Critique The topic of gender equality, culture and environmental effects on girls and young women has brought up the discussion of princess culture - dressing up, waiting for prince charming, the importance of beauty. Both “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture” examine how companies such as Disney are responsible for girls falling into princess culture and influencing them. However, there are distinct parallels between Orenstein and Poniewozik on how they perceive the effects of cinematic influence. Orenstein insinuates that Disney’s princess culture bears a negative impact on the mental health of young girls whereas, Poniewozik disputes that princess culture is a gateway to female empowerment.
In the chapter “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, Orenstein, a mother and writer for The New York Times, expresses her concerns about companies marketing princess culture to girls. Orenstein starts by giving personal anecdotes, in order to describe her frustration with people calling or labeling her daughter as a princess. Orenstein does this to build ethos with her readers as she demonstrates that she is a mother herself and cares for the future generation of young girls. She then goes on to write about how much corporations are making in sales on princess merchandise. She provides the readers this information to demonstrate the expanding influence of Disney Princesses in which there is an inflation in the consumption of Disney Princess merchandise.