Princesses Don't Get Fat

A sweet story... Literally and figuratively speaking.

Princesses Don't Get Fat by Aya Ling

In today's society, young girls are often the target of vast and successful media campaigns. The power of a skinny body gracing the cover of Vogue is enough to make head-cases out of normal women, so what of a less equipped young girl with low self-esteem?

Princesses Don't Get Fat, by Aya Ling, addresses that question. I can't remember the last time I read a story where the book cover housed a less-than-perfect heroine. The cover is a telling supplement that sets the tone for the rest of the book.

The story cements its unique approach by changing the stereotypical, helpless princess-in-waiting. Every princess is allowed to find her own way in the world, including fighting off dragons and seeking indelible adventure. The food obsessed, plump Princess Valeria has become a great consternation to her mother, the Queen of Amaranta; who is distressed at Valeria's lack of self-restraint and burgeoning waist-line. In order to circumvent further weight gain and find the Princess a husband, the Queen decides to send her off to the Royal Riviera Academy of Fighting Arts.

Though Valeria has the option of changing herself to fit worldly aesthetics, she chooses not to. She chooses desserts over finding a handsome prince, and decides to forego the life of an estimable royal marriage. Regardless of where she find herself, Princess Valeria is always true to her own wants and needs. She doesn't mask them into a ball of shame, or find the need to hide her deepest desires. Perhaps that is the reason that love does not elude her completely; as she encounters Prince Ralph, who becomes drawn to Valeria's nightly jaunts to the palace kitchens.

Aya Ling has created a fun, uplifting story that encourages young women to find their own paths in life. It's okay to go against the grain, to decide your own fate regardless of social pressures. We are also reminded that as parents and responsible members of society, we should motivate and support the decisions of our youths.

A Modest Proposal

“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” -Confucius

A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift

It is an indictment of the sheer lack of regard for our most precious gifts, children.

Even in recent times, with continuous reform and new policies and rules, how many actually apply to improving the inadequate living conditions of the indigent and at-risk children?

The ridiculous pun on the mindset of society makes the reader look into their own hearts and minds. How many ways can we cook a child? Why not make them an invaluable source of sustenance? They're not good for much else...

We take for granted that children will survive anything. Perhaps their youth makes them resilient and their young minds will be more likely to forget or forgive the general neglect of society, parents, and/or the politicians. We blind ourselves to such ugliness. This proposal, written in 1729, is frighteningly applicable even after more than two centuries later. How can we as a society say that we learn from our past if we have similar problems today?

A Modest Proposal is a blunt satire on the absolute shame of every citizen. As individuals lose their humanity and sense of decency, if they forget what separates the human race from every other life form; then they may as well be reduced to nothing more than savage beasts who eat their own young. The single most valuable attribute contained within the human psyche is compassion. 

We must not allow ourselves to become so jaded. Evil will always exist. Bad things will happen to good people, but so do the good. It wouldn't hurt to look inside ourselves and find that little bit of something; call it what you will, idealist, propagandist, dreamer, or optimist. Allowing ourselves to become completely desensitized will mount to an epic failure in procuring a better future for all of our children.