UPDATE: This campaign has ended and will receive all funds raised: $12,545 (USD)
8$ is a series which occasionally highlights interesting crowdfunding projects. Every day, the 8Asians team is inundated by many worthy pitches. We are unable to highlight every one that comes our way, or even the ones we might individually support. The projects selected for 8$ are not endorsements by 8Asians. (To be considered for 8$, we highly suggest you not harass the writers or the editors of 8Asians.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2XC54kTlv0
WHO: Setsu Shigematsu and The Guardian Princess Team
WHAT: Indiegogo project: The Guardian Princesses
The Guardian Princess Alliance (GPA) seeks to redefine the meaning of the princess in today’s society. Through this project, they are also launching a new series of children’s books as an intervention into the mediascape and the meaning of the princess.
Their princess stories draw on ethnic and racial heritages and encourage children’s empowerment through their full development, promoting both independence and a deeper understanding of the vital interdependence between people and other living beings. Two of their princesses are of Asian descent.
WHEN: Deadline to contribute is Friday November 01, 2013 (11:59pm PT).
WHY:
The Guardian Princess Alliance is a movement that began with a mother… Setsu Shigematsu, Associate Professor in the Media and Cultural Studies Department of University of California, Riverside, became concerned with today’s overwhelming princess culture because of its primary focus on external beauty and the way this is marketed to children. She witnessed its appeal to her own three-year-old daughter, a fascination that only seemed to grow when Setsu refused to purchase any princess products.
Rather than reject this powerful culture altogether, Setsu decided to write a story to positively transform the cultural meaning of the princess.
The first story of the Guardian Princess series, Princess Terra and King Abaddon was written for her daughter’s fifth birthday.
Since then, the movement has grown into a diverse group of parents, educators, students, artists, and professionals who are committed to creating better alternatives to the “traditional princess story.”
The Guardian Princesses are leaders who protect people and other living beings. They are a group of racially and culturally diverse heroines who model compassion and intelligence as well as the power of knowledge and collective action. Our stories move away from a focus on the external beauty of the princess, and emphasize what princesses can do for others.
The series features seven princesses, including two Asian princesses: an East Asian Princess, Princess Ten Ten, Guardian of the Skies, and a South Asian/Desi Princess, Princess Saya, Guardian of the Rivers and Lakes.
h/t: Carrie Meng
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