They can’t just be managers- they have to be the best ever to prove they belong. Women can’t just be competitors- they have to win to prove themselves. I think that, without intending to, this episode showcases a double standard that often occurs when people try to cross gender lines. But what if she hadn’t won? There was an implication that it would “prove” it wasn’t a sport for princesses. She wins in spite of having the worst horse, and her competitor cheating to try and make her lose. In order to prove that this sport was also “for princesses,” in the context of this episode, she HAD to win the race. The climax of the story is Sofia winning the race. The flip side of this is that I feel like the presentation of the episode could have been more than just flash-in-the-pan progressive. My reaction to this episode arc was more or less “meh.” On a very basic level, I can agree that it reminds any child watching to re-examine how they treat others and how they define certain traits as “for boys” or “for girls” for no reason. More or less predictably, Sofia, even though she is a beginner, believes in herself/is encouraged enough to get first in the race, her stepbrother second, and meany gender role adhering boy gets third, and therefore loses and can’t compete in the next competition. Sofia: “ I believe anything could be a princess thing” Lines the girls sing: “don’t make a fuss” “we do princess things" "nobody crosses in between” “hosting balls, and dancing too, or wearing gowns of pink and blue”īoys sing: “princes… jousting, polo,taking hikes, suits of armor” “Derby calls for princely skills”
There is a really obnoxious song about this that both princesses and princes join in on. She finds out pretty quickly that Derby is “not for princesses” and everyone accepts this.
Sofia wants to do “Derby” which is horses that fly through obstacles and race. Not surprisingly, this episode often generates a lot of hype since it’s pretty obviously about gender. I ended up watching four episodes for reviewing (five overall but I watched half the intro episode when it came out, which was a while ago).įor context if you haven’t watched, Sofia’s mom marries the king, so she moves from the village into the castle and now has a brother, sister, and new dad. It is nice to see a show that features a young princess/girl as the protagonist, and in a positive way. It fits in nicely with a sort of “Disney level” progress the company adheres to, but doesn’t push beyond it. Overall, I don’t think it stands out very much in particular.