Boobs

Just to get you caught up on the week's breast news, on Monday Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed in the New York Times revealing that she'd had a preventative double mastectomy because she carries a faulty gene that gives her a 87% chance of getting breast cancer. Angelia has come a long way since the days when she wore a vial of Billy Bob Thorton's blood around her neck and French kissed her brother. Once she became aware of the plight of refugees, she became a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and is very involved in human rights issues. She has used her celebrity to bring attention to important issues, and her op-ed is another example of this. She could have remained silent about her surgery probably no one would be the wiser, but by publicly acknowledging the surgery and her reasons for having it, she highlighted women's health issues, which is never a bad thing, IMO.

On the lighter side of talking about boobs, did you all see that Disney gave some to Merida, the heroine from Brave?

Photo: Disney/Pixar

Disney is making Merida its newest official Disney princess, but first they sexed her up a bit because it didn't want the other princesses to go all mean-girl on her. (That Cinderella in particular is a total biatch.) It's either that or Disney wanted to make sure the Merida doll can share clothes with the other princess dolls, take your pick. Unsurprisingly, people are outraged because their daughters got sucked into the tomboy Merida and now she looks like she works at Tilted Kilt (in case you don't want to click, it's like Hooters, only in tartan bras).

I don't want to sound like a Disney apologist, but I don't think that this is that big a deal. Yes, the drawing seems inconsistent with Merida's character in the movie, but that's Disney's prerogative. They literally own Merida and can do what they want with her.  Maybe if she were talking like the Merida from the movie and not just silently judging us with her hands-on-hips pose, we'd all feel a little better. I asked the Baby to weigh in on which Merida she liked better and she said that she liked the new Merida's dress better because her favorite color is turquoise. But she also said that she liked the old Merida's hair better because it was shinier. Then she pointed to each girl and said, "Brave, Brave."

I'm sure that not all little girls are like the Baby, but I'll bet most of them won't hone in on the specific differences that are most bothersome to adults. It's totally legit to be irritated with Disney for doing a Merida bait and switch, but I seriously doubt that this is going to be a defining moment for girls. Maybe parents can look upon this as an opportunity to teach girls that appearance doesn't change a person's essence. Yes, the new Merida is more *ahem* adult looking, but according to a Disney statement, "she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie... ."

Honestly, I got an icky feeling when I read some of the comments about the new Merida's appearance. She's called, "vapid" and "vacant looking" and "overly sexualized" by well-meaning moms worried about the impact of the new Merida on their daughters' self-esteem. I know that these moms are just trying teach their daughters that appearance isn't important. But by rejecting the new Merida, these moms are doing just that. Cartoons can't be "vapid" or "vacant looking," they're drawings, for goodness sake. What lesson do little girls take away from their moms bashing the new Merida? Oh, it's that appearance does matter and pretty girls with hourglass figures and sparkly dresses can't also be smart and brave. I beg to differ. Look at Angelina Jolie for a great example.