Princess Culture Similar to Soldier Culture but for Boys?

It seems that the Princess Culture as discussed in class brings me almost to another point. Now we all know that the male figures in Disney are considered "Macho" and very masculine. They have very strong features and even with that i think the focus on the men is limited and even remembering my childhood remember little about the men in the films.

However there is a trend that you see in boys to that helps define them, the Soldier culture or aka "The Macho Man". Not only that but if you look at what boys focus on and how they like to dress you can see a similar occurrence to that of the princess vibe. It's ridiculous to think of how you can formulate almost a Masculine trio, which consists of Cars, Muscles, and Soldiers (which relates to being strong tough and several other aspects).

Reflecting back I can't even imagine the role action figures play in reinforcing these ideas whether they be super heroes or G.I. Joe related. All I do know is that this plays a large role in shaping men in the future. I would be surprised to see or hear from a guy who grew up with no interaction with action figures or cars growing up. It all seems to be that the reinforcement from childhood plays a massive role in shaping us later on and supporting it in our future children and so on.

The idea of these cultures doesn't just disappear as we grow older either, but matures like we do as individuals. The products and such are adapted to stay current with mainstream media's ideal images and we continue to support the roles and ideas given to us at a young age.

I suppose what I', trying to say is, is that the princess culture goes along with the male "macho" culture and that it not only remains prevalent through staying current, but remains current through being a part of our beliefs that we develop as a child. The Princess model does stay current just as war toys and action figures have created new platforms like video games, but its not just staying current that makes them so dominant. It's that it's still a part of our belief system and that the idea has matured in us and we continue to share those feelings and ideas of our past with our children to kind of guide them without realizing. It's almost mind boggling to think of this and sometimes confuses me as well. To think that these childish ideas and beliefs are still with us and have matured as we have but remains subtle and hard to notice.

Maybe just maybe the Princess/Macho culture is with you to the bitter end... who knows?

:)