The Third-Wave

For a lack of a better analogy for my hook, we’re going to start with some math. Imagine we start with the first-wave princesses at a value of 100, representing 100% of the films depicting traditional gender roles. Now, take that and divide it in half. You get 50. This represents an improvement in gender depiction in the second-wave princesses, but we’re only half way there. Now, divide by two again. You get 25. This represents where the third-wave princesses stand on gender—still an improvement, but not as drastic as the improvement from first to second-wave. In other words, I believe third-wave princesses—Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, and Anna—improve in some aspects compared to second-wave princesses, but not as much in others.

(Wow, wasn’t that fun? That is how a nerd, aka me, thinks)

A hallmark of the “new wave” princesses is that they are born into very restrictive circumstances, but vehemently fight against it.



They all break free, but what happens after that is what sets second-wave apart from third-wave princesses. Sadly, for the second-wave princesses, they fall back into domestic life in the end, once again imprisoned by the patriarchy. They marry their man and receive approval from their fathers in doing so.


Ariel receives a nod from Triton, the Emperor approves of Aladdin, Mulan’s father blesses her marriage to Shang… However, third-wave princesses achieve their dreams and keep them. Although Tiana gets married, she runs her own restaurant; Rapunzel gets married, but on her own accord; Merida changes tradition to remain free from being betrothed. Mind you, neither Merida nor Anna get married in their respective films. This is the third-wave princesses’ biggest improvement from second-wave princesses. Their female freedom is not compromised by the need of male approval.

Some aspects that did not change much were the characteristics of the princesses themselves, and their relationships with their mothers and other female characters. The second-wave and third-wave princesses are all curious, headstrong, and to some extent, brave. For the most part, they actively make sacrifices to get what they want. Ariel decides on her own to consult Ursula; Mulan takes her father’s place and leads the defense of the Forbidden Palace from the Huns; Belle actively refuses Gaston’s advances and stays free of his misogyny. Second-wave princesses already have these characteristics, so it is not a bad thing that the third-wave princesses do not differ much.

Rapunzel defends herself using her hair and frying pan as a weapon;

Tiana works hard to make her dream of opening a restaurant come true;

Merida acts against her mother’s will to keep from being married off to a suitor.

However, the continued exclusion of good and meaningful female relationships is an area that needs improvement. None of the second-wave princesses have female friends, or interact with “good” female characters. Pocahontas has a female friend, but she is inconsequential to the plot. Even Ariel’s undersea animal friends are male. Even though third-wave princesses have better mother-daughter relationships, there is often something off-putting about them. Tiana is very close to her mother, but her mother doesn’t play a crucial role in the film and neither does Rapunzel’s mother. In fact, in Rapunzel’s case, she even develops a toxic relationship with Mother Gothel, who is an evil stepmother of sorts. Even in Brave and Frozen, where mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships are the focus, they start out rocky and slowly mend.

With these areas of great improvement and others of little improvement, I would place third-wave princesses at a little step above second-wave princesses, but they are on an upward trend. I can’t wait to see what Moana has in store!

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