This is the age of the Disney Princesses. When I used to teach drama to little kids, not a day would go by without a large proportion of the tiny tots arriving in outfits entirely unsuitable for the rough and tumble of pre-K theater. Sequins, ruffles, yards of itchy, uncomfortable unnatural fibers in baby pinks and baby blues: these children were no longer Jessica, Britney or Caroline — they had been transformed into Jasmine, Belle and Cinderella (next up, African American Tiana). And whilst these toddlers are at pains to tell you which princess they are, to show you their crown or to topple precariously in hideous plastic high-heels, when asked what a princess actually does, they’re stumped.
All hail then, West Coast photographer Dina Goldstein, whose almost-complete series Fallen Princesses casts light on the modern day plight of fairy tale royalty. Just what would a contemporary Cinderella be doing with herself? Take a look at a few of Goldstein’s powerful images after the jump…
