An Alternative to an alternative?: What isn't radical enough?

I was inspired by our class session on Folklore and Folk Tales to purchase a book of alternative princess stories. While searching through Amazon.com if found, Don’t Kiss the Frog: Princess Stories with Attitude. For a nominal fee, it came to my door about a week later. Spoiler alert: I am glad I didn’t pay too much.

What first drew me to the book was its title. “Don’t Kiss the Frog”? Love it. The title alone made the feminist inside of me giggle with delight. Hell no, let’s not kiss that frog, we don’t need men! Chyeah! The first part of the title is so clever and humorous; I can see why I was drawn to this book.

However, the second part of the title is quite far from the overall theme of the book in its entirety. “Princess Stories with Attitude”. Attitude? What is that even? This book certainly does not define it very well. Maybe if attitude is not acting 100% like a stereotypical princess, well-mannered, graceful and poised, then these princess might possess some attitude, but over all, there was nothing extremely alternative about these princesses.

Another hang up I have about the book is this: there are no princesses of color. None. Not one. Just about every girl under the age of nine (and several still today) that I have encountered, no matter what their race, has expressed some desire of wanting to be a princess, if they are not already adamantly convinced that they are actual princesses themselves. So why not feature more than one race? Don’t “princesses with attitude” come in all different shapes, sizes and colors?

Presenting “attitude” or, “fighting what is considered normal” in this way, is a large injustice for those of us who want more realistic representations of women, and all people, in literature. The princesses of this story do nothing “attitude” worthy at all, really. All though their stories are unconventional, they are not really working to change the representation of girls in literature.

It’s easy to play to convention, to stereotypes, to norms. But is that really, truly the kind of outlook we want to present to the future? This “alternative” left me wanting for an alternative, any suggestions? Also, where do you draw the line between too "radical" and not radical enough?