Sasha's Favorite Article of the 2023-24 School Year

by Sasha Chernoff, SSLI '25

Editor's Note: PPN continues a tradition of winding down our year of reporting by celebrating each editor's favorite post.

There were many amazing articles this year, and my favorite one is "Feature Friday: The Problem with Princess Protestors" by Galit Chesler.

We'll miss you next year. (SSLI Instagram)

This article was for a Feature Friday, and it was an opinion piece that Galit wrote for Mr. Thorgersen's College Writing class. Galit wrote this essay very well, and I particularly enjoyed her voice and style in this essay. 

This essay stands out for many reasons. Galit argues that older Disney movies feature women that are submissive to men and only dream about romance and motherhood, but newer movies are going to move towards empowering women. Galit says that while it is important to make the newer movies focusing on powerful, independent women, criticizing Disney movies and proving they are misogynistic degrades women more than it empowers them.

Galit states that for Cinderella, for example, everyone looks at Cinderella as a weak women who is saved by a man. Instead, they should focus on Cinderella's strength after facing abuse by her family. Galit then talks about Princess Ariel and how people think she spends so much time in awe of Eric, but they don't see that Eric was what made her act on her long-time dream: seeing the land. Lastly, Galit argues that Snow White was seen as the worst princess. People criticize her for falling in love with a man after one kiss (for which she was not even awake!) and for offering to cook and clean for strangers. Snow White is a fourteen year old, though, and still has much to learn. Her best quality is her optimism, and people should focus on that instead. 

Galit recognizes that there are problems with the old Disney movies and how women are depicted, but points out that everyone ignores the princess's best qualities. 

In this essay, Galit does a great job sharing her opinion, while still crafting a compelling article with evidence that readers will enjoy. Thank you, Galit!

Sasha Chernoff is an editor for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since October 2021. Sasha is currently a junior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: schernoff25@ssdsnassau.org