Annabel started to notice bandages after her last round of vaccines. She would poke them over and over again, then look up at me with a look on her face that seemed to say, “This is ugly. Get it off of me.” Over this past weekend, she and I both scraped our knees (what can I say, we’re clumsy) so I went to the store for some Band-Aids. I figured I’d blow her mind and get her something with cartoons or sparkles or whatever. I looked at the selection and came across these:
Once I got over the fact that these freaking things cost $4.49, I couldn’t help but notice the Band-Aid princesses were segregated. And uh…what the what is up with THAT?
They’re all Disney Princesses, right? Did the Princess and The Frog come out so incredibly recently that it wasn’t possible to add her bandages to the box of white girls? But no, a little googling showed me that these Princess and The Frog Band-Aids came out in 2009.
A little googling also showed me that actual retail price for these freaking Band-Aids is $3.49. Thanks for the obscene mark-up, Ralphs! They’re not cigarettes, they’re Band-Aids, jeez.
I do not like these two separate but equal boxes. I don’t get it. Didn’t Disney teach us to paint with all the colors of the wind?
Since Ralphs was already robbing me blind, I bought both boxes. When I got home I mixed up all the Band-Aids and placed them in my first aid kit. I then grabbed two, one for me and one for Annabel.
In case you are confused, my leg is on the left
Annie loves her Princess Tiana Band-Aid so much she can’t stop poking it and saying “Oweee” and “ooo boo!” She also likes to jam her finger into my Band-Aid, prompting me to say %^$%! and *^$#%!
Someone in my house thinks I’m being ridiculous because “they’re just Band-Aids,” (Rigby is so dismissive of my feelings). I’m not so sure. Seriously, shouldn’t they all be in the same ridiculously overpriced box?
Jenn says:
I agree with you but, who are we??? JUST THE FLIPPING CONSUMERS!!! I actually must say, your band-aids are Cheap!!! Ours cost over $5.00 and THEN, we have to pay a 15% sales tax? AWESOME…isn’t it?
Too bad the little buggers are so darn cute AND make the Owies go away!!! DAMN BAND-AIDS!!!!
Thurieyyah says:
If it wasnt for those yummy toes I wouldnt have been able to tell the difference!
Lisa says:
I always wonder the same thing when I encounter the segregated princess band-aids. We often end up with both boxes because Maya loves Tiana just as much as the other princesses. I’m beginning to think that is their goal. They know we parents will get stuck spending twice as much on band-aids if they separate them. Gah!
Mads says:
I don’t really see anything wrong with them purely because a.) The six on the box of ‘white’ princesses are those classic ones made when Walt Disney was alive, and are a lot more easily recognizable. A lot of people never saw the Princess & the Frog, and they’re like “uh…what was her name again? Tiana, that’s it.” Whereas with the others you’re immediately like “That’s Belle, that’s Ariel, that’s Snow White, that’s Sleeping Beauty, that’s Jasmine…etc.”
And also b.) Jasmine isn’t white, and although she wasn’t on the cover, she’s in the ‘white’ box, so it isn’t really a white box then. I know from my daughter’s numerous princess things that they tend to lump Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Belle together, and Jasmine, Snow White and Ariel together.
So I think it’s fine =D
Danielle says:
The Little Mermaid and Beauty & The Beast both came out well after Disney’s death
Megan@TrueDaughter says:
Honestly, I think it’s just marketing, as Mads is inferring. Tiana is the newer, cooler princess. She’ll eventually get lumped in with everyone else, but for now she’s just the newbie princess. In our house, at least, the Princess and the Frog is the only traditional animated movie anyone watches anymore. No one here is watching too much Ariel or Snow White. I think they are just squeezing whatever sales out of it they can get…
Lynn from For Love or Funny says:
Heather, you are on the cutting edge of revealing this social dilemma. I had no idea that BandAids were segregated!
AmazingGreis says:
Cutest baby toes evah!!
Also, your scraped knee brought back weekend memories and made me LOL!
Holly says:
I guess I always looked at it from another angle. Tiana, Ariel, and Rupunzel all get their own boxes of band-aids, but those three have to share. And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Snow White on a band-aid. This didn’t go over too well when my daughter was going thru her Snow White phase.
Heather says:
Wait, so the redheads are being singled out too?
As a ginger I’m not sure I can stand for this tyranny.
Jamie Valentine says:
The pull-ups have Tiana, Bell and Cinderella hangin’ together on them.
Elizabeth says:
You will be happy to know that once Annie reaches potty training age, you can have Tiana, Belle, and Cinderella all on the same pull up. Huggies is ahead of the Band-Aid people.
And $4 for band-aids is crazy; they’re like $2.50 here.
Veronika says:
My guess would be because the “older” Disney princesses are marketed together, while the newer ones are marketed separately. Most of the other Disney princesses also feature in more or less the same period of time, while Tiana falls in a different time in history. Just an uneducated guess.
Lisa says:
Ya know they sell band aids that look like strips of bacon. (really they do)
Kristin says:
Damn straight they should all be in the same ridiculously overpriced box! Love your solution.
kelly says:
its easier having boys – wall>e and lightning maqueen and thomas the train are all different colors and live in harmony in the toybox.
good luck to the moms of girls
buy the bacon ones
Kate says:
My beef: Where’s Mulan? She’s a flippin’ Disney princess. She’s arguably the most badass of the Disney princesses because while the rest of them were falling asleep and being saved by princes, or locked up by cranky Beasts, or kept down by wicked stepmothers, Mulan was fighting in a war. A WAR. With SWORDS. She got recognized by the Emperor for her awesomenss and THE REST OF THE GIRLS DID NOTHING.
/grump
Kathy says:
Mulan isn’t actually a princess. They lump her in with them, but she never marries a prince or is the daughter of a king or anything of the sort.
OldGreyMare says:
I would think Mulan would be the one most apt to need Band-Aids. But that aside, I don’t think it is Disney selling the “band-aids”, it is Johnson & Johnson (or whatever), paying Disney a fee to use their characters and even though they will pay Disney for their exact version of Cinderella, Snow White, & Beauty because that is the most recognizable anymore, I bet they don’t have to pay as much because the characters aren’t original to Disney, so a mixed box of them probably doesn’t cost any more in fees than what they have to pay for one original Disney character.
Antonia says:
I agree with the whole Mulan thing, but where’s Pochantas? She was pretty badass as well.
Alissa says:
I’m personally waiting for the boxes of Patrick Dempsey Band-Aids. Enchanted has been out for long enough now!
Antonia Aruffo says:
LMAO love this!!
Elle says:
That is hilarious!
Julie says:
Wow. It’s strange how pricing can be all over the map. I just paid $1.50 for the equivalent disney fairy band aids yesterday, and noticed that all the boxes were marked the same, and $1.50 was the regular price. I then popped into the drug store later in the day, and noticed that they were all $3.00, and thought THAT was highway robbery.
always home and uncool says:
Whatever happened to giving kids simple “flesh” colored Band-Aids?
Oh, wait – that turned out to racist, too.
Can’t something be simple with these kids?
Shannon O says:
Wow! You’re right. I hadn’t noticed that, but they are segregating their band aids. I think I’ll send them an email. My husband is Hispanic (although he speaks no Spanish) and I am pasty white. My children are beautiful mixed tones. I have always tried to make sure that we don’t identify anyone by their color (black, brown, white).
jp says:
What I never understand is why all regular non-princess-spiderman-spongebob-thomas bandaids are the color of sand. Why don’t they make darker brown ones too? If I had brown skin, I think it would really annoy me every time I had to stick on some peachy colored bit of first-aid.
Suzanne says:
Ok, this is a huge subject for me, because I have issues with the Disney princesses, and of course my daughter is a MAJOR Disney princess fan. Some of the strongest and best female characters also happen to be non-white and the most downplayed in all the product marketing — Pocahantas, Mulan, Jasmine, and Tiana. There are puzzles and coloring books where Tiana and Jasmine are pictured with the other princesses, but they never get as much play as Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. UGH. Because Snow White, Cinderalla and Sleeping Beauty suck. They are vapid and boring. I know these movies were made during a different time, and they are visually beautiful, but these are the princesses I least want my daughter to obsess over.
Ariel and Belle are slightly better, but Ariel can’t even talk for most of the movie and Belle falls in love with a beast who holds her prisoner for most of the movie. Stockholm syndrome anyone? I’m not saying these aren’t great, fun movies to watch — obviously the music is fantastic — but again, not the princess characters I want my daughter to emulate.
When we watched Princes and the Frog, Tiana was like a revelation to my daughter. She works hard to achieve her dreams and she has no interest in the prince for most of the movie. Really, this is my favorite movie of all of them — good music, great animation, awesome female role model character. To be honest, I kinda like that Tiana has her own band-aid (we have some, of course, though I try to limit the amount of branded stuff I buy her). Tiana is my daughter’s current favorite princess and that’s fine with me.
Tammy says:
As a person who works with diversity and equity in a university setting, I have just one thing to say about this post! I LOVE ANNIE”S TOES!
Neeroc says:
Thanks for cracking me up at work *g*
Cory says:
Kellogg’s does the EXACT same thing with their fruit snacks!! That’s why I’m just going to keep buying Scooby Doo fruit snacks instead. It’s acceptable to be a single 30 year old buying Scooby Doo fruit snacks, right?!
Frema says:
You might be comforted to know that Aurora, Cinderella and Tiana are together on Huggies pull-ups and that Belle is the odd woman out!
Kristin (MamaKK922) says:
Oh I completely agree. Band-Aids are highway robbery. Especially if they have characters on them and good luck getting your kids to wear non character ones after they’ve seen the gold as my husband and I call them. It’s insane.
Neeroc says:
Yet another log on my ‘Disney is evil’ fire *g*
Jennifer says:
You are absolutely not being ridiculous. Disney is using its tremendous market power to teach children racism. Thanks for this post.
jennie
http://www.jennieiswriting.blogspot.com
Snarky Mommy says:
I snorted out loud at the Rigby comment. Hilarious.
I can never, EVER tell my 3-year-old that there are Princess band-aids. She would die and start trying to injure herself so she could get them all the time.
Rebecca says:
Was it just me or are your legs both about the same size in terms of roundness? So, either Annie has a super chubalicious leg or you have skinny legs? What gives?
Kelly says:
We go through so many bandaids at our house I’ve quit buying the cute ones. It turns out someone was getting “owies” just so that she could have a bandaid…
Kim O'Connell says:
Just wait until she asks for them when there really isn’t a boo-boo. Catie told me “go to work mommy. catie needs band-aids”. It’s just beginning! xoxo
Trisha Vargas says:
Okay, seriously? $4.00+ for a box of band-aids. We have a Dollar Tree near us that occasionally gets character band-aids in. The next time I luck into them being stock, I am sending you a few boxes, for real. I think even with shipping, it’s still works out cheaper than you paid for 2. California is expensive. Holy crap!!
Dale says:
YES YES YES! I’m with you. Wrong Wrong Wrong. What the hey? Now I”m all PO’d.
Marin D says:
My guess is that the box with multiple princesses is the old style. Not that the bandaids themselves are old but that is the original packaging scheme. As soon as Princess and the Frog came out, another box of bandaids on the shelf for her. Then they don’t have to clearance out the other style and there is one more for your kid to want you to buy. They phased out the Dora the Explorer when Tiana came along. You could read something into that. Besides, Tiana gets her own box. Sucks for you sad other princesses…
Nanette says:
I’ve never paid attention to those boxes because we’re Team Hello Kitty here. But now I’m wondering why Choco Kat isn’t included in Hello Kitty’s box.
Tracy says:
Its the artwork. Disney already has the images of the older three together – has for years. Cheaper to see images they already have together than create new ones to include all the princesses. Its not just Tiana, several of the others have their own things while the three others are together on lots of other stuff. Go figure.
Buffy says:
This is actually a big issue. As silly as it seems, a small thing like the color of bandaids (and who’s on them) has been brought up several times within the issues of racism and white privilege. If you read Peggy MacIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” number 26 points out that if you are a Person of Color, it can be difficult to find a bandaid that matches your skin tone.
http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf
This is also true for seeing images that look like you. Researchers believe that it is important for children to see adults that they can identity with, who are also successful. Children of Color often have a difficult time seeing people in the media who looks like them that they can look up to. I think having a box of bandaids with an solely an African- American on it is fabulous. How many other boxes of bandaids, TV shows, movies, etc only feature White people? Most.
In regards to Disney teaching us to “paint with all the colors of the wind”- it’s true. They do teach us that we are all the same. We are however, not the same. People of Color are still treated differently than White people in this country. People of Color still have less access to resources, work, education, healthcare and the list goes on and on. As White people, we need to take notice that we are treated differently and better. We have more opportunities. The fact that we can buy $4 bandaids and argue about it- is a privilege.
Skye says:
Yeah, that’s pretty crazy! Even if it is due to older pictures already existing and Band-Aid not wanting to change the box… it’s still upsetting they didn’t change the picture to include her with the others. It’s not like they don’t have the money! Way to go for giving Annie desegregated princess Band-Aids!
Rach says:
What gets me is that adult band-aids only come in one shade…for lighter-skinned people.
Rumour Miller says:
I never thought about it (before now). My thoughts are that Tiana is still pretty new and gets her own box, but clearly I have no idea.
Glenda says:
It’s a shame that even the band aids are segregated. It shows you that not much has changed. Whether it’s a marketing thing or not… it’s just wrong…and ridiculously priced!
heather says:
i don’t think you are being ridiculous at all – you are spot on!
Debbeeanne says:
OK, I’m gonna look at this another way. What if you were an African-American mother, and your daughter wanted to have a special band-aid that was her ethnicity? Are you gonna want to spend $5 on a box of band-aids that only has maybe 3 or 4 African-American princesses, and then either use the white ones anyway, or throw them away? So maybe in that case, it is nice to have a whole box of Tiana band-aids.
Jen says:
I have but one question…WHERE IS THE RED HEADED PRINCESS.
Sigh.
Sarah says:
Ariel?
Hollie says:
I totally thought I was going to read about you mixing up all the band aids in the boxes at the store!
toodle says:
I think a bigger point is when did you ever see a bandaid the color of the Frog Princess’s skin? Most bandaids are made for caucasian people’s skin tone. (Kids’ rainbow multi-colored ones are an exception apparently!)
Danielle says:
Hi Heather –
I work in licensing and just wanted to let you know that Disney had kept Princess Tiana on her own in order to highlight her and build excitement around the movie. They normally do that when a new princess comes along. Going forward, she will now be grouped with her other princess sisters and will no longer have product where she is out on her own. So those band-aids might one day be a collector’s item, since it was essentially an exclusive! Disney probably gets a lot of responses like yours, since she stands alone on other products, such as Halloween Treat Bags, etc. But it was to build her up, not keep her separate.
Amanda M. says:
As a connoisseur of all things Disney Princess, I must say that that Tiana has received more inclusion in the Princess line than any princess since the Renaissance of Animation. In fact, the real problem with Tiana is that, on many products that would include Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Ariel, they are putting Tiana instead of Ariel.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Disney products that now include Tiana with the other most-popular princess. Though I’m sure this post is at least mostly tongue-in-cheek, the implication that Tiana getting her own product this one time is a race thing… doesn’t really sit right with me.
It’s the slight overshadowing of Ariel you should be worried about. Why is Cinderella the princess most often on the Disney Princess products? It’s always Cinderella, Aurora, then whoever else. Who even likes Cinderella? She didn’t even do anything.
Except in the third Cinderella movie. That one she was kind of cool.
Anyway. Yes, I am that much of a geek. In fact, I’m putting on my shoes and going to Disneyland right now. Hurrah!
Kimmy says:
Those are some expensive band aids!! I just paid $2 for a box of Target brand band aids, which I’m super excited about because one of the designs has penguins on them!
Momma Uncensored says:
ever notice none of the princess squad are ever looking in the same direction? each in their own little fairyland gaze.
you’ll never look at them the same again.
Shannon says:
I love this blog! You are so right. What a great idea to buy both and mix. Brillant! I’m going to do that. My Hayden, she will love it Thanks.
Tara@DoTheseKidsMakeMeLookCrazy? says:
So, I got a little behind on your blog (which is in my reader) and I read the one about Mike eating his dentist’s booger (gag) and then I read this one, and was still thinking Mike was writing it. So, then I was all, “Dude, he doesn’t have any hair on his legs. That is so weird. And his legs are, like, GIRLY. I’m not sure I could marry a man whose legs are prettier than mine.” And I was all judge-y and like, “I hate it when my friends have gay husbands and they don’t know!”
Phew. Glad I looked back at the author name. I was really getting stuck on how to break the news to you that your husband is gay.
Jamie says:
Its just because Princess Tiana is more recent…I wouldn’t read too much more into it than that. Now Rapunzel will probably get her own box too. But be warned, once you go to character bandaids your child will never let you get the boring brown(affordable) ones ever again!
Audra says:
This post reminded me of how bent out of shape I got when I received a children’s toy catalog and noticed that minority children were pictured with the toy tools and pretend cleaning apparatus while white kids were shown playing with the princess and knight-themed toys.
Tanya says:
Right on, Buffy. Thank you for bringing the obvious privilege into the conversation.
Heather, I’ve got nothing but love for you– and your question of whether Tiana couldn’t have just been added to the box of white girls is one to think about.
Some parents of kids of color (and I hope some parents of white kids too) are truly grateful for opportunities to purchase things (like bandages) where the person of color is the FOCUS, not the accompaniment, if that makes sense. We like white folks plenty at my house (I’m one of them), but my kids need opportunities to see black people as important enough to warrant starring on their very own box of bandages.
Rigby has no idea. This is big stuff. And it’s hugely important for white parents of white kids to engage in the conversation.
amourningmom says:
I try to stick to animated band-aids (snoopy, hello kitty, curious george) so I never noticed the princess band-aid segregation. I will check at our drugstore next time I go.
Nanette says:
If it makes you feel better, “Tiana” had one of the biggest jumps on the 2010 baby names list.
Kadee says:
I’m with Rigby on this one – they’re just band-aids.
For some reason, on 90% of the Disney Princess merchandise, they lump Belle, Cinderella and Aurora together. I have no idea why those three, and I’m not going to try to guess. Occasionally they will feature one of the other princesses on random items, and sometimes they slap a whole bunch of them on a product.
I’d say the one box of bandages features the “classic princesses” like we’re used to from the past 8+ years, and the other box is promoting the actual movie, “Princess and the Frog”. Nothing more and nothing less, and certainly not to be taken as racist.
Mulan isn’t strictly a ‘princess’ so I understand why she’s not featured very much on their princess products, but I rarely see Pocahontas on anything these days – it seems she was only popular right around the release of the movie. I bet when they re-release her movie on Blu-Ray she will be featured on her own products once more.
I’m going to guess that Rapunzel from “Tangled” is featured on a bunch of products (by herself) at the moment as well.
They also seem to have something against Ariel, like she’s the least popular princess or something – she’s hardly ever featured on the princess products. Tiana, on the other hand, is on a magnitude of new products, featured with the ‘classic princesses’ like she’s always been there. We have a baby princess stroller where she’s featured with two of the other princesses for example.
My daughter has no idea who the Disney Princesses are at the moment (she’s 2) and that’s okay by me since their products are so gosh darn expensive. As for band-aids in our house? We have cutesy ones with penguins and kitties and such on them and I’ve never worried once what color of skin they were intended for.
Noelle says:
“ooo boo”?! I can’t get past the cuteness of that to comment on the issue at hand!
Tanya says:
Kadee,
Respectfully– you’re white, right?
The point Buffy (Peggy McIntosh, actually) makes is all about how white folks don’t *have* to worry about what color skin bandaids were intended for.
Tanya
ps. Heather, I truly hope this topic is one you’ll revisit soon
Kadee says:
Actually, I’m part Native. I just want to say that I’ve never stood in the First Aid aisle and picked out Band-aids based on my skin color. I have honestly never thought about matching it to my skin tone before reading any of this. Now that I think of it, I would have a bit of trouble as I am so pale as to look ill in the winter time and tan a dark brown in the summer…. I base my bandage purchases on how the Band-aid will WORK for boo boos only.
I like cutesy ones – Hello Kitty is my favorite – and I keep a stock around for my nieces and nephews and now my own children. Our biggest concern is whether a bandage is a ‘girl’ bandage or a ‘boy’ bandage. There is nothing but trouble if you try to stick Hello Kitty on one of the boys!
Bel says:
You should NEVER pay that much for band aids! Grab some coupons and check out the deal blogs.
dealseekingmom.com
moneysavingmom.com
commonsensewithmoney.com
forthemommas.com
Courtney says:
My mom is a school nurse for 4th and 5th graders. They were doing a lesson on racism and all thought it was racist that band-aids come in “flesh” tone- meaning for light-skinned people. So they went to the my mom’s office to ask why band-aids weren’t made for dark-skinned people.
She responded by producing the box of band-aids she has for dark-skin! She doles our her band-aids according to how well they match her students’ skin tones.
The students were very impressed with my mom and were happy to know there were bandaids for all skin-tones!
Katie says:
Check out the princess Pull-ups. Belle, Cinderella, and Tiana, all together in perfect, moisture-absorbent, racial harmony!
TracyKM says:
Just buy the cheap ones at the dollar store. You throw them out anyway, LOL. The fewer Disney things we have, the better. My kids are just as happy with the neon ones, or the cartoon bugs, and there’s no fighting over the last princess, or “I don’t want the ugly princess”, LOL.
But yeah…strange, although I guess if you’re black, you might want your daugther to have only the black princess?
Expat Mom says:
Regardless of the reasons behind segregating the bandaids, I have to say the marketing worked, you bought both boxes . . . at a higher price! The marketing guys must have planned it.
Also, I think you need to eat more peanut butter . . . Annie’s legs are the same size as yours! In a few more months that little munchkin is going to be knocking you off your feet!
Ray says:
You’re not being ridiculous at all. This makes me upset and sad. It’s not about the band-aids it’s about “prejudice” being found in every corner that you look. If you pay close enough attention that is. Thanks for this entry. I’m glad you got both band-aid boxes.
On the other hand: Companies love to make as much money as possible, so they probably did that on purpose. Get you to buy both boxes…make more money. Hmmm…I think so.
P.S. On your band-aid: Seeing as they added Princess Jasmine, there’s no reason why they couldn’t have added Princess and The Frog in there.
Nil Zed says:
I’m sure theyll add her to the box when sales of her alone make it not worth it to keep the second box. Or maybe they are still on the shelf because they haven’t sold well and these are still hanging about from the movie.
Elizabeth says:
Wow…that’s messed up Disney!!! I’m actually in shock!