WTF, CNN?

While on the treadmill yesterday, I watched CNN do a story on the opening weekend of Disney's The Princess and the Frog. This feature-length cartoon marks the first time Disney has featured an African American princess as a lead female character. It's a milestone worth celebrating. And as the CNN story reported, all over the country, young black girls attended the movie's opening dressed as princesses, not unlike these four lovelies.

Unfortunately, the CNN reporter referred to the young black girls at the theater as "fair maidens."

Comments

[Bethany]

Actually, "fair" can actually mean pretty or attractive, and that is likely what they meant.

From Dictionary.com:
"13. pleasing in appearance; attractive: a fair young maiden."

[Paula Zargaj-Reynolds]

Bethany, your point is well taken.

However, speaking as a professional writer, I think my colleagues and I should be held to a high standard. I would argue that since the reporter (or whoever wrote the script) communicates for a living, he/she should have known enough to avoid a phrase that could also be construed as glorification of light skin color.

[PZR]

One other thought...

Though I couldn't find the etymology of 'fair,' it seems to me a word that means both pretty and light-skinned is so frought with racist undertones it probably shouldn't be used to express either meaning.

[K]

Couldn't agree more about the racist subtext. The word "fair" should be abolished entirely as it's code for white supremism.

Of course, "Princess" has come to mean spoiled and prima donna, not to mention an implied acceptance of oppressive retrograde monarchy. So clearly that term can't be used to descibe the young girls either.

How about "little comrades"?

Or you morons can just take the stick out of your arses and grow up.

[Stel]

Fair comes from the Old English and German that means "beautiful." A "fair maiden" was a "beautiful lady" and there was no thought to color at the time it was created. Would you have an issue if they were referred to as "fair" because they'd let someone else play with their toys?

There's more than enough real racism, sexism and homophobia in the world as it is without looking for it where it doesn't seem to exist.

[Maria]

I didn't even get that fair means light skinned until I read the comments. Probably well intentioned to mean beautiful, i mean "fair maiden" is a pretty storybook-canon term.