Belle was the original feminist princess

Why I looked up her to as a kid


When I was five years old, my mom’s friend gave us a box of Disney classics on VHS. It was like Christmas morning as I rummaged through Cinderella, Snow White, and Peter Pan. I spent that summer watching every single movie in that box, but I was getting caught up on the female characters.

These princesses didn’t really do much except wait for their prince to save them. It was boring. It made me think that ultimately, there’s a prince out there for me that I have to wait around for, and until I meet him, my life would be meaningless.

Then, I saw Beauty and the Beast. This movie premiered in 1991, and my mom tells me that when she saw it in theaters, she knew that Disney had finally produced a movie that would pave the way for feminism in young girls. Beauty and the Beast was not about a girl just mindlessly waiting around for her prince.

Belle is bored of her little town where everything is always the same. She escapes through her books; she finds adventure through stories. Then she is finally in one herself. She is introduced to magical dinners, talking pots and clocks, and of course, the fearsome Beast. We learn that there is more to love than “fate” or “destiny.” We learn about what is hidden beneath the exterior. We learn that we can be the heroes in our adventure. And as a little kid, that was everything.

Beauty and the Beast then made way for the other feminist princesses we know today: Jasmine, who refused to marry someone she did not love, Mulan, who fought for her father and her country, Pocahontas, who stood up for her culture, and many more. Now our Disney princesses have their own story, and love is sometimes not romantic at all (kudos to you, Anna and Elsa). Storytelling is one of the most important facets to sculpting a child’s perspective and understanding life. The movies we watch build up our reality, and if these movies are focused on living a life that is not for us, but for our princes, we come to accept that that is reality. These new princess movies teach everyone, and especially little kids, that you can always be the hero of your own story.

In 2017, Disney will release a live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, in which Emma Watson will play Belle. Emma Watson is known for her feminism from her UN speech in 2014 to her HeForShe campaign. I absolutely cannot think of a better bookish, intelligent, and driven young woman to play Belle than Emma. She was strong, determined, and witty in the Harry Potter series, and I can’t wait to see her illuminate more of Belle’s character in Beauty and the Beast.