I’m really annoyed with people who keep saying that since Elsa from Frozen and Raya from the new Disney movie don’t have a love interest in the film it must mean they are gay. I hope it goes beyond saying that I have nothing whatsoever against gay people but I’m bothered by this assumption that such young girls necessarily need a love interest. It’s perfectly fine not to have a love interest at 16, or whatever their age. These are movies for an age demographic from 3 to 12. We don’t need to teach such young girls that something is wrong with them if they don’t have a serious boyfriend. These most recent two movies have a very age-appropriate message that, at this stage, what matters is family, friends, and figuring out who you are and what you value in life.
I hate Cinderella, for instance, because I have no idea how to explain it to my kid. She’s five! She needs stories she can understand. I’m very glad about this new positive direction in Disney movies.
The culture we live in has largely forgotten or lost the concept of “platonic love” and I think that does our children harm. The hyperfocus on love=sexual attraction has basically erased the ability to have deep friendships (in real life) that can meet basic human needs – to be deeply known and understood, to hear words of admiration and expressions of affection, to give and receive meaningful physical touch – without people outside the relationship automatically assuming there must be a sexual/romantic component to it.
I would love to see more shows and movies directed at children that explore and celebrate the rich intimacy of platonic love between friends (whether they are boy-girl, girl-girl, or boy-boy). Some of the best movies and tv shows in the past did this incredibly well.
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If you think the Disney cartoon “Cinderella” is bad, try reading the original German version, where the first evil step-sister chops off her toes so that her foot will fit in the fur (not glass) slipper, and then the next-in-line step-sister cuts off her heel, because she knows that the prince is smart enough to count her toes before she tries on the slipper.
The slipper is clearly a metaphor for Cinderella’s virginity, anyway. Disney left that part out.
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OT: Clarissa have you ever ordered from this site Valledearas? I don’t know meats so I have no idea who they are aiming to sell to.
[It’s a little funny someone spammed and phished me with a jamón site. ]
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Just a thing to show to a fasting Orthodox person. 🙂
I miss Spain.
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How does Orthodox lent work?
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I object on different grounds. The defining feature of homosexuality is not a lack of attraction to the opposite sex, it is an active attraction TO THE SAME SEX… which Elsa obviously doesn’t demonstrate at any point…
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This is a great point. She’s clearly not interested in developing a romantic life at this point. It doesn’t have to mean anything.
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