When it comes to gender norms, many parents are taking a neutral stance and letting their children discover their own interests.
Sadly though, there are still some companies that are stuck in the past and trying to enforce rigid gender norms or even restricting certain activities to one gender.
One mom spoke out about this issue after Disneyland Paris denied her son from becoming a Disney princess.
Hayley McLean-Glass is the award-winning blogger behind “Sparkles and Stretchmarks”.
She writes posts about motherhood, living with a chronic illness, body positivity, and her adventures in raising three boys. Her posts give a real and honest glimpse into her life.
Hayley is also a huge Disney fan.
She calls Disneyland Paris her, “happy place,” and has enjoyed many family vacations at the resort with her sons.
It’s safe to say that she’s passed on her love for all things Disney to her sons.
Her youngest son, Noah, is especially in love with the Disney princesses.
“We have spent a small fortune in Disney items for him, he wears his beloved Elsa dress all day every day…twirling about in front of his dressing table mirror, singing his heart out…convinced he is the real Elsa!” Hayley wrote in a blog post.
However, Hayley’s attempt to sign Noah up for a “Princess For A Day” event at the resort left her feeling far from magical.
Thinking Noah would enjoy taking part in the event, Hayley tried to buy tickets online through an email to the resort.
Disneyland Paris’ response shocked Hayley.
The company responded, “Thank you for your interest in Disneyland Paris. At this time it is not possible to book Princess for a Day for a boy,” in an email .
Even though the company offered to give Hayley and Noah a gift pack, Hayley was not satisfied.
“So let me get this straight….my son, who fell in love with the concept of Disney Princesses at Disneyland, is not allowed to have the same experiences as the little girls who visit you simply because “He’s a boy”?” she said on her blog .
Hayley also wondered what would happen if the company restricted certain activities to girls.
“I can’t help but wonder if the same rule would apply should you introduce an activity at your parks that is only for boys….I say introduce because of course there isn’t anything that is just for “Boys” as this would never be allowed,” she said .
Thankfully, with the attention brought to the issue by Hayley’s blog, Disneyland Paris reversed its stance.
“Thankfully, Disneyland have now contacted us to confirm that the response we received is not reflective of their policies and have promised to update all of their staff on this,” Hayley said .
And Noah finally got to meet Elsa, just like he always wanted.
Disneyland Paris arranged a special meeting for Noah with the one and only Elsa as a way to apologize for the whole situation.
I’m glad that Hayley spoke out about this issue and that Disneyland Paris realized their mistake. It looks like everyone can live happily ever after now!
