Photographer Urges Parents To Drop Gender Stereotype Norms And Let Kids Dress Up However They Want
Interview With Artist
‘Boys can be princesses, too.’ That’s the main idea of photographer Kitty Wolf’s new campaign of the same name. The Chicago-based photographer believes that anyone, regardless of gender, can “enjoy the magic, beauty, and empowerment of a fairy tale princess.”
“I have seen boys being told that princesses are ‘just for girls’ or that liking princesses and especially dressing as one somehow makes them weak, inferior or not boys. They’re told it’s not manly, or macho, or normal. This leads boys to feel ashamed of their interests, confused, sad, and lonely,” Kitty writes on her website.
“Putting on a princess dress doesn’t make a boy a girl anymore than putting on a shell makes them a real ninja turtle. When I say ‘can be a princess,’ I mean they can be a princess when they play the same way they can be a superhero when they play, even though neither is literally possible by definition. I simply feel that a child’s imagination should not be limited by their gender.”
In an in-depth interview with Bored Panda, photographer Kitty revealed what inspired her to create the campaign and talked about the reception that her project got.
“The inspiration came mostly from a little boy in one of my preschool classes. During free play, he liked to play pretend as a princess. One day I overheard two of his female classmates tell him he couldn’t play as a princess because princesses were for girls. Now, we wouldn’t stand for it if a boy told those girls they couldn’t play as ninja turtles or something because they’re ‘just for boys,’ so why do we do it for boys? That idea sat around in my head for a while.”
More info: BoysCanBePrincessesToo.com | Facebook | Instagram
Teddy and Ariel
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Kitty continued: “At the time, I owned a princess party company so I thought to myself, as a company I have a wider audience to send a message, what kind of message do I want to send out there? I remembered my little preschooler and it hit me, boys as princesses! They’re so under-represented, I wonder if I can change that. I had a team of professional princesses, some basic photography skills and sizable Facebook following so I just went for it. My original plan was just to put some cute pictures of boys as princesses on the internet. I had no idea it would blow up to be what it is now. I’ve since closed my princess party company though, so I can focus on other things, such as projects like this!”
Calvin and Cinderella
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Kitty told Bored Panda what the most positive parts of her work are: “The most pleasant parts have definitely been the actual photo shoots with the kids! The princesses in the pictures are professional princess performers (not affiliated with Disney though!) and were in character the entire time. I wanted the boys to get a chance to meet their real heroes. So not only did they get to participate in a meaningful project, they got to hang out with one of their favorite characters!”
Michael and Elsa
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
“I wanted to capture their pure joy as well, so many of the shots you see in the gallery are all candid as the kids hung out and played with their new friend. There was just so much happiness at those photo shoots, I hope it comes through in the photos! The second most pleasant thing is all the positive feedback it’s gotten. People saying they wish this had been a thing when they were kids and how it would have made them feel less lonely. Just shows how much it was really needed and how many people it could help.”
James and Anna
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
According to Kitty, she’s been a hobbyist photographer “for a long time” and focused on nature photography. “I ended up having to do a lot of photography for my princess party business and from there I delved into cosplay photography. I still consider photography more of a hobby or side hustle, since I mostly just do cosplay photography and projects like this. My advice for anyone is to just do it. The first photos you take might not be great but they can only get better if you keep at it.”
Tobias and Tiana
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Kitty also noted that her project has “definitely sparked a lot of conversation.”
“Not all of it has been positive though. Unfortunately, it offends a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. I’ve gotten a lot of hate messages, comments, emails. Been called awful names, accused of awful things, had threats made against me, all because people can’t handle seeing a boy in a dress! But those hateful remarks don’t get to me. All they do is inspire me to keep going. As long as there is hate, I know this project is needed, so I won’t stop until the hate stops! I do have to thank the “haters” though. They are doing a very good job spreading the word about the project! If you saw this project on Twitter, it’s because one person brought it there in anger and then it spread like wildfire. My main goal was to have the pictures spread all over the world and people against the project have helped with that immensely!”
Kai and Moana
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
“Overall, the reception has been positive though. So many comments praising it and loving it. So many parents posting their own pictures of their own little boys as princesses. So many comments from people saying this would have helped them as a kid. Just shows that this was needed and wanted and will help people. If it helps just one little boy to not feel alone, then it was all worth it.”
The photographer added: “One thing I’d like to add is a shout out to the parents that participated in this. They are truly brave to put themselves and their family out there like this. They all knew what the reception could be like but they also knew how important this project is. They want to help little boys like their own sons. The way they support their kids to be who they are and play how they play is commendable and we should all aspire to be as good a parent as they are!”
Liam and Mulan
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
The internet was split into several camps when it heard about photographer Kitty’s new campaign. Some people adored the core idea that everyone is free to be whomever they want to be. Others wondered if the kids were being pressured to do something they might not otherwise want to do. While still others pointed out the grammatical fact that boys are called ‘princes’ while girls are called ‘princesses.’
Elias and Rapunzel
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
According to photographer Kitty on her website, she wanted a series of photos showing boys dressed as their favorite Disney princesses together with those princesses. “I know there are little boys out there that love these fairy tale characters just as much as the little girls we meet doing princess parties. Our interactions with them have been, for whatever reasons, few and far between, but we see these boys, we know them, and we love them!”
Everett and Beauty
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Image credits: The Boys Can Be Princesses Too Project
Speaking of princesses, Disney recently released a sequel to the incredibly popular movie ‘Frozen’ about princess Elsa of Arendelle. While in 2020, Disney will be releasing the live-action version of ‘Mulan.’
Dear Pandas, what did you think of Kitty Wolf’s photo campaign? What’s your favorite Disney princess? What did you think of ‘Frozen II’ and do you plan on watching ‘Mulan?’ Share your thoughts in the comments.
Someone criticized the campaign and people rushed to defend the project
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Image credits: Andraapop
Some internet users were ecstatic about the photographer’s campaign
Hey, everyone just looks so happy! Good on them! Ignore the haters, they belong in their own idiot sadness.
True story! I know the comments would be a s**t show but I clicked anyway lol... This kids are all adorable and they did such a good job on outfits!
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I don't have a problem with them dressing up like their favorite characters. That's the fun of cosplay, even for children. It's the calling them Princesses and saying that being a princess doesn't have a social/gender attachment, because historically it does. Even today, the title is given by the gender in which the person identifies,Males are Prince, Females are Princess. Identify as male, you get the male title and vice versus. Princess is not a gender-neutral term.
Niffler_13, When I was in Grade Three, boys and girls were separated in drama class. They each put on a play: the girls put on Cinderella (Patricia made a dignified Prince Charming) and the boys put on Ferdinand the Bull (one of the boys was cute as Ferdinand's mother). While the terms "Prince" and "mother" are not quite gender-neutral, the casting can be.
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Y'all need to shut the f**k up about this s**t let boys and girls do whatever they want. Why is it ok for girls to dress as boys but boys cant dress as girls? Oh that's right. Cuz being a girl is shameful apparently.
My 1st thought: WTF, no! 2nd: And why not?.. 3rd: Hmm, kids look so happy... that's a great idea, actually! :)
It's great that you had that conversation with yourself--and sounds like it was a quick talk! :)
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My boys favorite color is lilac and I am sick of hearing that thats a girl color! He wore a pink jacket to kindergarden today too. So what? I hear those nasty things from young kids. It makes me sad and mad, that the brainwashing starts that early. If parents would just stop telling their kids "thats for girls" "thats for boys", then we wouldn't have a problem, because children are naturally unbiased.
I have identical twins, that are now 19. One is and has always been, every stereotype of a boy. Rough and tumble. The other is now my daughter. She is transgender and came out about 2 years ago. I recognized this side of her when she was only 18 months old. We would shop for clothes and she headed right for the pink and purple and sparkle dresses. For Halloween when she was 5 I made the most rockin' Cinderella dress for her. The happiness on her face was the best thing I've ever seen. I just let her be who she wanted, without me telling her one way or the other the way she "should" be. We simply accepted her the way she was. When she was little she would say she was "a boy that likes girl things" And that was okay. I never told her she had to make a choice. I'm not surprised that she's transgender, but she could have remained a boy and simply liked dressing like a princess. There are many men that don't consider themselves gay or transgender, but merely enjoy "feminine" clothing.
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I bet the same people that are "uncomfortable" here don't mind when girls are cosplaying as men protagonists on events. Hypocrisy or what?
The thing is in Disney films the princesses have the best story lines. Why should a dress get in the way of the better adventures.
Sometimes my son says I can’t pretend to be a certain character because it’s a boy character and I’m like, “yeah and your brother can’t fly either but we let him wear a Superman cape all the same.”
I think everyone (kids and adults) should be able to feel comfortable in who they are without being judged. Everyone being themselves should be the norm. Everyone is beautiful!!
I have no problem with bots dressing in dresses like these characters, but somehow the logo stamped on them makes me feel uncomfortable- why do they have to be labelled as if it is something different and just for boys? Why not just 'kids can be....'. Seems like trying kinda hard (but cornering a different market commercially)
Exactly, like, the label makes it seem like they are selling something. Why can't it be a gender friendly cosplay place, period? Why share the pics online? I hate it when people share kids pics for clicks and upvotes... it seems so exploitative to me to use children this way when they can't really consent to their image being used to sell a service. EDIT: Also, by labelling it as such 'they can be Princesses TOO' it kinda implies, well, ordinarily society thinks you can't, but you CAN. Which seems like a good message, but it actually highlights the 'otherness' of the act in society's eyes, and ironically normalizes it LESS. To truly normalize it, they shouldn't label it at all... just let the boys dress up and have fun like they want.
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The kid doing Moana has the sass down!!! Watch out for him in Hollywood in a few years!!! These kids look like they are having the time of their lives, how is that a bad thing?
If kids want to dress up, however they want to dress up, that's fine. I don't have a problem with that. Let kids express themselves however they want. But if a photographer decided to do a campaign to forward an agenda, and is using children who otherwise wouldn't have given this a second thought, that doesn't sit well with me.
I agree with this, and the way it's staged doesn't sit right with me either, as it seems fake somehow, like the kids are actors. I hope that's not the case, but it just seems like a huge ad to me for their service. That said I agree kids should dress however they want.
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Sex is anatomy gender is who you are. They're kids let them do and be who they want. The photographer using it as an agenda not ok. But giving them the chance to dress as they want and be with their hero a+
My nephew loved playing dress up with his sister and playing with her toys. No one saw it as a negative thing. It was definitely two loving siblings wanting to play and have fun regardless of toys. As he got older he did enjoy doing school plays and so his parents encouraged him to do it more. He even got to be in a play with NPH. Now that he's a teenager, his interests have changed into playing sports. I think it's just part of child development. Let them figure out what they want, have fun, and grow into their own person. Don't sweat the small stuff and teach them to be good human beings.
Would everyone at the bottom stop getting all butt hurt because people are finally being true to themselves and not following some stupid stereotype?
My mother never flinched at the fact that I like to trudge through the woods, catching frogs and snakes, and getting muddy up to my knees most weekends. Would she have flipped out at my brothers wearing "girls clothes?" Probably. I'm glad I got the women's lib side from her..but she can take her phobias and prejudices and stuff 'em. Don't stifle kids and their open-mindedness. Let them change the world for the better.
I am in love with this!! My youngest nephew has always loved playing dress up, and his favorite costumes and roles have always been princesses. He's 7 and he's been almost every Disney Princess you can imagine in the last 4 years. There's nothing wrong and everything beautiful about inspiring and encouraging someone to be who they feel they are and enjoy the things that make them happy!
I thinks it's amazing that boys can look up to women as role models and their super heroes. That's all I see.
How about we drop the whole "Princess" thing whatsoever and encourage boys and girls to dream about more important things than dress up and look pretty. I always found princess to be useless members of society. Break gender stereotypes by giving the kids options to be whoever they want to be - president, scientist, engineer, garbage truck driver - without gender stereotypes. If after that they still want to be princess - ok.
Princesses are not useless. Some of the best ones have changed the world. Princess Diana changed the way the royalty was viewed by the common people by exposing her boys to everyday things and having them take responsibility for their actions. She was an excellent mom. Princess Astrid of Belgium devotes her time fighting epidemics and domestic violence. Princess Ameera Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia is fighting for women's rights in the Middle East. So how about we make the whole "Princess" thing less about dressing up and more about strong leaders that have positions to change the world.
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Boys kept from having wholesome, harmless fun and admiring their female heroes will be screwed up boys.
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Okay then what am I? Can I be prince charming in a princess dress because I sure as heck am not going to be just one. Also, people of all ages and genders should be free to express themselves regardless of transphobes like you. Another thing, there are far more genders besides a boy and a girl. I myself am non-binary and if you think that there's only two genders then friend YOU should brace YOURSELF because you're going to have a hard time on 2020. Lets review this: boy= anything he wants to be. Girl:anything she wants to be. All other genders: anything they want to be.
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You're right, there is a gender stereotype. Not like most of us care. The point is that they are genuinely happy and like breaking the stereotype. Do you think every woman is feminine and likes makeup and wears dress's and acts nice and flowery? Do you think that every man is masculine and exercises all the time and has a super deep voice? No, so pushing it a little further and allowing kids to be free to express themselves freely is fine. This is teaching kids from a younge age that they can be whoever they want to be.
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Why is it nonsense to you? It's okay if girls get dressed as male characters, everyone goes like aaaawwwww. If a boy dresses like a female character everyone thinks he's weak. My cousin dressed as a princess for carnival when he was in kindergarten. Now he's a grown up 37 year old man with a wife and three kids. No harm done. So everybody get over your ancient views and let kids be kids. Phantasy doesn't hurt.
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Girls wear boy stuff all the time. They literally are in the military & wear military uniforms. So it's only fair for boys to have a choice too. And dressing as a princess for girls or boys is not "natural." You don't see it happening in nature. Girls wearing pants didn't used to be "natural" too, but lookie here! I hope you're young, because your logic is atrocious.
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Hey, everyone just looks so happy! Good on them! Ignore the haters, they belong in their own idiot sadness.
True story! I know the comments would be a s**t show but I clicked anyway lol... This kids are all adorable and they did such a good job on outfits!
Load More Replies... I don't have a problem with them dressing up like their favorite characters. That's the fun of cosplay, even for children. It's the calling them Princesses and saying that being a princess doesn't have a social/gender attachment, because historically it does. Even today, the title is given by the gender in which the person identifies,Males are Prince, Females are Princess. Identify as male, you get the male title and vice versus. Princess is not a gender-neutral term.
Niffler_13, When I was in Grade Three, boys and girls were separated in drama class. They each put on a play: the girls put on Cinderella (Patricia made a dignified Prince Charming) and the boys put on Ferdinand the Bull (one of the boys was cute as Ferdinand's mother). While the terms "Prince" and "mother" are not quite gender-neutral, the casting can be.
Load More Replies... Y'all need to shut the f**k up about this s**t let boys and girls do whatever they want. Why is it ok for girls to dress as boys but boys cant dress as girls? Oh that's right. Cuz being a girl is shameful apparently.
My 1st thought: WTF, no! 2nd: And why not?.. 3rd: Hmm, kids look so happy... that's a great idea, actually! :)
It's great that you had that conversation with yourself--and sounds like it was a quick talk! :)
Load More Replies... My boys favorite color is lilac and I am sick of hearing that thats a girl color! He wore a pink jacket to kindergarden today too. So what? I hear those nasty things from young kids. It makes me sad and mad, that the brainwashing starts that early. If parents would just stop telling their kids "thats for girls" "thats for boys", then we wouldn't have a problem, because children are naturally unbiased.
I have identical twins, that are now 19. One is and has always been, every stereotype of a boy. Rough and tumble. The other is now my daughter. She is transgender and came out about 2 years ago. I recognized this side of her when she was only 18 months old. We would shop for clothes and she headed right for the pink and purple and sparkle dresses. For Halloween when she was 5 I made the most rockin' Cinderella dress for her. The happiness on her face was the best thing I've ever seen. I just let her be who she wanted, without me telling her one way or the other the way she "should" be. We simply accepted her the way she was. When she was little she would say she was "a boy that likes girl things" And that was okay. I never told her she had to make a choice. I'm not surprised that she's transgender, but she could have remained a boy and simply liked dressing like a princess. There are many men that don't consider themselves gay or transgender, but merely enjoy "feminine" clothing.
Load More Replies... I bet the same people that are "uncomfortable" here don't mind when girls are cosplaying as men protagonists on events. Hypocrisy or what?
The thing is in Disney films the princesses have the best story lines. Why should a dress get in the way of the better adventures.
Sometimes my son says I can’t pretend to be a certain character because it’s a boy character and I’m like, “yeah and your brother can’t fly either but we let him wear a Superman cape all the same.”
I think everyone (kids and adults) should be able to feel comfortable in who they are without being judged. Everyone being themselves should be the norm. Everyone is beautiful!!
I have no problem with bots dressing in dresses like these characters, but somehow the logo stamped on them makes me feel uncomfortable- why do they have to be labelled as if it is something different and just for boys? Why not just 'kids can be....'. Seems like trying kinda hard (but cornering a different market commercially)
Exactly, like, the label makes it seem like they are selling something. Why can't it be a gender friendly cosplay place, period? Why share the pics online? I hate it when people share kids pics for clicks and upvotes... it seems so exploitative to me to use children this way when they can't really consent to their image being used to sell a service. EDIT: Also, by labelling it as such 'they can be Princesses TOO' it kinda implies, well, ordinarily society thinks you can't, but you CAN. Which seems like a good message, but it actually highlights the 'otherness' of the act in society's eyes, and ironically normalizes it LESS. To truly normalize it, they shouldn't label it at all... just let the boys dress up and have fun like they want.
Load More Replies... The kid doing Moana has the sass down!!! Watch out for him in Hollywood in a few years!!! These kids look like they are having the time of their lives, how is that a bad thing?
If kids want to dress up, however they want to dress up, that's fine. I don't have a problem with that. Let kids express themselves however they want. But if a photographer decided to do a campaign to forward an agenda, and is using children who otherwise wouldn't have given this a second thought, that doesn't sit well with me.
I agree with this, and the way it's staged doesn't sit right with me either, as it seems fake somehow, like the kids are actors. I hope that's not the case, but it just seems like a huge ad to me for their service. That said I agree kids should dress however they want.
Load More Replies... Sex is anatomy gender is who you are. They're kids let them do and be who they want. The photographer using it as an agenda not ok. But giving them the chance to dress as they want and be with their hero a+
My nephew loved playing dress up with his sister and playing with her toys. No one saw it as a negative thing. It was definitely two loving siblings wanting to play and have fun regardless of toys. As he got older he did enjoy doing school plays and so his parents encouraged him to do it more. He even got to be in a play with NPH. Now that he's a teenager, his interests have changed into playing sports. I think it's just part of child development. Let them figure out what they want, have fun, and grow into their own person. Don't sweat the small stuff and teach them to be good human beings.
Would everyone at the bottom stop getting all butt hurt because people are finally being true to themselves and not following some stupid stereotype?
My mother never flinched at the fact that I like to trudge through the woods, catching frogs and snakes, and getting muddy up to my knees most weekends. Would she have flipped out at my brothers wearing "girls clothes?" Probably. I'm glad I got the women's lib side from her..but she can take her phobias and prejudices and stuff 'em. Don't stifle kids and their open-mindedness. Let them change the world for the better.
I am in love with this!! My youngest nephew has always loved playing dress up, and his favorite costumes and roles have always been princesses. He's 7 and he's been almost every Disney Princess you can imagine in the last 4 years. There's nothing wrong and everything beautiful about inspiring and encouraging someone to be who they feel they are and enjoy the things that make them happy!
I thinks it's amazing that boys can look up to women as role models and their super heroes. That's all I see.
How about we drop the whole "Princess" thing whatsoever and encourage boys and girls to dream about more important things than dress up and look pretty. I always found princess to be useless members of society. Break gender stereotypes by giving the kids options to be whoever they want to be - president, scientist, engineer, garbage truck driver - without gender stereotypes. If after that they still want to be princess - ok.
Princesses are not useless. Some of the best ones have changed the world. Princess Diana changed the way the royalty was viewed by the common people by exposing her boys to everyday things and having them take responsibility for their actions. She was an excellent mom. Princess Astrid of Belgium devotes her time fighting epidemics and domestic violence. Princess Ameera Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia is fighting for women's rights in the Middle East. So how about we make the whole "Princess" thing less about dressing up and more about strong leaders that have positions to change the world.
Load More Replies... Boys kept from having wholesome, harmless fun and admiring their female heroes will be screwed up boys.
Load More Replies... Okay then what am I? Can I be prince charming in a princess dress because I sure as heck am not going to be just one. Also, people of all ages and genders should be free to express themselves regardless of transphobes like you. Another thing, there are far more genders besides a boy and a girl. I myself am non-binary and if you think that there's only two genders then friend YOU should brace YOURSELF because you're going to have a hard time on 2020. Lets review this: boy= anything he wants to be. Girl:anything she wants to be. All other genders: anything they want to be.
Load More Replies... You're right, there is a gender stereotype. Not like most of us care. The point is that they are genuinely happy and like breaking the stereotype. Do you think every woman is feminine and likes makeup and wears dress's and acts nice and flowery? Do you think that every man is masculine and exercises all the time and has a super deep voice? No, so pushing it a little further and allowing kids to be free to express themselves freely is fine. This is teaching kids from a younge age that they can be whoever they want to be.
Load More Replies... Why is it nonsense to you? It's okay if girls get dressed as male characters, everyone goes like aaaawwwww. If a boy dresses like a female character everyone thinks he's weak. My cousin dressed as a princess for carnival when he was in kindergarten. Now he's a grown up 37 year old man with a wife and three kids. No harm done. So everybody get over your ancient views and let kids be kids. Phantasy doesn't hurt.
Load More Replies... Girls wear boy stuff all the time. They literally are in the military & wear military uniforms. So it's only fair for boys to have a choice too. And dressing as a princess for girls or boys is not "natural." You don't see it happening in nature. Girls wearing pants didn't used to be "natural" too, but lookie here! I hope you're young, because your logic is atrocious.
Load More Replies...
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