[nitrogen]

So the obsession many young girls have with Disney princesses, sometimes carrying it into adulthood (that makes for some very interesting conversations), has no influence on the narrative structure those girls are using to evaluate their lives?

[tptacek]

No. The Disney Princess "narrative" simply fits into preexisting gender norms. There was no "Disney Princess" culture in the 1950s. If you created a chart showing the trendlines of female mobilization into the workforce (and particularly the "professions") and the revenue extracted from Disney Princess offerings, you'd have a concrete reason to question the assumption you're making here.

[swlevy]

FYI Disney's princess culture arguably dates all the way back to 1937, with Snow White.

[tptacek]

Anticipating this very objection, I evoked the graph of Disney's revenue from Princess properties to further carry the point.