10. Aurora
9. Cinderella
8. Snow White
7. ?

Please try to remove your bias and please try to remember that none of the princesses are really that feminist!

Personally I may change my answer. I agree with what has been said in other rounds, that Jasmine is all talk and no action. But I admire that she does voice her opinions and at least tries. However when it does come down to it, Jasmine does deflect to being a "damsel" a lot, constantly having to be saved by Aladdin. And in a fight (in the first movie only, in the sequels she's pretty bad ass) her first reaction is too use the weapon of seduction.

Try to keep it civil guys.

^ But princesses like Ariel and Rapunzel are no talk and no action. Jasmine at least acknowledges that she's a strong female, who don't need men to decide her fate. Rapunzel and Ariel both rely heavily on men to accomplish their goals. Jasmine says that she needs to be valued despite the fact that she's a woman. Ariel and Rapunzel do not address in any way the issue of gender inequality. One of them depends on her male friends to get her love interest. The other one depends on her male friends to accomplish her dream and see the lanterns.

Oh definitely not Jasmine in my opinion! Jasmine stands up for herself and repeatedly stands up for gender equality by rejecting her suitors and reminding all of the male characters that she is a person. What does Ariel do that's feminist, really? Okay, she's more ambitious than the classic princesses, but she still, she doesn't do very much for women's equality. I agree completely with BelleAnastasia on this one; she doesn't stand up for herself in the same way that Jasmine doe and she seems she''d be far less interested in standing up for women's rights than Jasmine would be. Her or Rapunzel should go next in my opinion, but certainly not Jasmine, she should be in at least the top five!

I can't believe Jasmine is losing.. this "all talk no action" thing is bothering me, because as BelleAnastasia said Rapunzel is even less talk and less action than Jasmine. At least Jasmine TRIES to stand up for equal rights, which many feminists would appreciate, regardless of how she carries it out.
I could've went with Ariel on this poll but then I remembered that she DID rescue Eric which would definitely be considered a huge positive when looking at things from a feminist-perspective. Rapunzel doesn't really do very much at all, when compared with the remaining Princesses, to keep the feminists happy. I don't think Jasmine is the most feminist Princess but I don't think it's a very fair result for Jasmine to be eliminated straight after Snow White and before Rapunzel/Ariel. She's clearly a much stronger character, which feminists like, than Rapunzel and yes it's understandable because Rapunzel has been locked in a tower for the duration of her life, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm sorry, but Rapunzel is much more action than Jasmine. Throughout the entire film, what does Jasmine do? Manage to escape, and then gets captured within 2 hours and returned to the palace, and spends the rest of the film sighing and moping around. However, as Allegriogiocoso said, Jasmine spends more time reminding everyone that she is a person, and not just an object. The huge issue here, is that, Jasmine is extremely hypocritical. She doesn't want to be treated as an accomplishment but that's exactly how Aladdin treats her---regardless of if he means it or not, it's still how he treats her--- and she puts up with it and keeps running back to him, accepting his lies and tales without consequence or expecting an apology. She turns into a doting housewife more than any of the other princesses, and I think that's my issue here. I could hold her above Snow White and Cinderella, because they weren't really proactive in any way, but I can't hold her above Ariel and Rapunzel, who at least show princesses trying (semi-)independently to fight for their goal, although they end up needing help.

One of the main reasons I'd say that Ariel is more feminist-friendly than Rapunzel is that she is directly fighting back against a MALE oppressor, trying to prove her maturity and worth as a growing girl to a woman, which does have something to do with her gender-- Triton /was/ overprotective partially because Ariel is a girl, after all-- and in the end, she PROVES it to him. He respects her wishes, changes his mind, and yes, helps her accomplish her goal-- but Ariel did 99% of the work. And Ariel never asked Sebastian and Flounder for help-- in fact, she spurns them-- but they voluntarily join. For example, when Ariel turns human, she's gonna do it alone---but Flounder and Sebastian help her. Albeit, she needs their help, but there's a difference between asking and what they do. Also, Ariel jumping in after the ship, again, it's small, but she tries to fight for herself with no regard on relying on anyone else, of course she'll need the help, but the mental independence is still there, which is more than I can say for Rapunzel.
On the other hand, Rapunzel forced Flynn into reliance and basically made it so he had no choice-- yes, this is good to have power over him, but she never even considers going it on her own. She basically says 'this guy's gonna be my aid or I'm not leaving the tower'. And Rapunzel is fighting back against a female oppressor, not male, and although the gender balance issues may be interesting between Flynn and Rapunzel, I feel they're more poignant between Triton & Ariel, because there's no romance to throw it off balance. Can't even pass the Bechdel test.
You can say that Rapunzel's dream was at least not about winning a guy, the difference here is that Ariel is choosing this to be her dream, not some guy coming to sweep her off her feet. If this is what Ariel chose for herself, it's no less feminist than Rapunzel's.
Again, none of this is REALLY ideal, and I'll be pushing for Belle, Mulan, and Pocahontas to be in the top 3.

The thing with Rapunzel is that Flynn being a male is NOT a deciding matter at the start of the relationship. She doesn't force him to show him the light because he is male, but because he happens to be the one who stumbles upon her tower at the same time she realizes that Gothel will never ever let her go. If Flynn would be female, it wouldn't have changed much of the plot up to the campfire scene, when they start to dicover each others true character and fall in love with each other. Well, Rapunzel might have been less ready to wield the frying pan. But it's not "Flynn is male" which is her motivator but "I want to see the light". And unlike most of the other princesses, she actually fulfills her dream first, and then pursues her "new dream" in the relationship with Eugene.

Ariel on the other hand has the dream to go to land for a long time, but she doesn't go before a man!!!! crosses her path. He old dream, to go to land becomes secondary to her love to Eric. And she doesn't take the final step to go because SHE makes the decision, but because Ursula manipulates her to do it. While Rapunzel makes the decision to go DESPITE the manipulations from Gothel and later Flynn himself.

Plus, while Rapunzel has been emotionally abused her whole live, Ariel ISN'T opressed. She has a normal daughter/father relationship with her father, Triton doesn't try to CONTROL her, he tries to PROTECT her. And Ariel constantly scornes this protection only to end up in danger, and then her (all male) friends have to go and help her out of the mess she herself created.

Jasmine is even worse, though. All talk, no action.

Oh, and Rapunzel isn't "all talk"...for one, she doesn't talk all that much aside from "I want to see the lights" (which she eventually does) and "I can deal with the worls out there" (which she does too). But for someone who has been trapped in a tower her whole live, she is very capable. She rescues Flynn first from the thugs, then by swinging him (and herself) over the damn, then they work together to escape the cave, then she convinces Maximus to leave Flynn alone, and later on, she is ready to give up her freedom for Eugene. Plus, Repunzel is terryfied of the world outside, but she goes nevertheless, because she knows that she will never fulfill her dream if she doesn't face her fears...which is in my book much more brave (and therefore more feminist) than having no real fears in the first place, like Ariel, Jasmine and Pocahontas, who simply jump head first into danger and expect to survive.

Oh, and Rapunzel might not TALK about feminist ideas, but she is a feminist statement...especially since she seems to be the only princess of whom is implied that she actually takes the throne at one point and reigns over the country, with Eugene as her husband (after she turned him down a couple of times). I think a character who doesn't talk a lot but DOES a lot way more feminist as one who TALKS a lot but acclombishes next to nothing in the end.

and ariel
I can't believe people are choosing Jasmine... oi
@BelleAnastasia agree

She went behind her fathers back and sold her soul to the Devil to get the rich man.......

This countdown is really hard! and it looks like Jasmine's gonna lose. Also, who keeps voting for Mulan!

She's always angry, but can do nothing.

It doesn't matter, the whole point is that Flynn IS male and Rapunzel DOES rely on him, whether or not Flynn happened to be male or not is irrelevant. Couldn't you say the exact same thing about Ariel/Eric? Couldn't have Ariel have fallen for a girl?
In Ariel's eyes, Triton IS an oppressor, and technically as a character he is the catalyst that causes her to rebel against him. Regardless, Ariel's main "opponent" (I use this term loosely) in the film is Triton, not Ursula. While Rapunzel's is Gothel.

^ I have to disagree with you. In Ariel/Triton's case the issue of gender inequality is not addressed at all. Triton doesn't want any contact with the human world, he never said mermen are allowed to go there, while mermaids are not. If Ariel was a boy, Triton would have had the same reaction.

Swanpride, again...you've been really biased here. Rapunzel needs Flynn, Maximus, Pascal and the thugs for encouragement. In fact, much like in Ariel's case, they are moving the plot forward, and she's just following along.

LightningRed, I'm sorry but I don't get what being angry has to do with any of this.

I wouldn't say gender inequality is addressed, but it is a parallel between girl/father and the inequality Ariel feels. Like what she says doesn't matter.
Yeah, Rapunzel needs just as much male help, if not more, than Ariel, and in fact Rapunzel demands it.
And Swanpride, since when does more bravery equal more feminist? What does the fact that Jas/Poca/Ariel 'expect to survive' and Rapunzel realizes the danger, have to do with feminism?

Ariel did go behind her fathers back but it was purely so she could marry her prince. She gave up her voice but didn't really try and bargain so speechless Ariel really shows the stereotype of "women should be seen not heard."

Hmm, this is difficult between Jasmine and Rapunzel. Jasmine leaves the tower herself, while Rapunzel waits for Flynn to come. Jasmine doesn't take help until she needs it, where as Rapunzel asks for help because she wants it to leave. However, I don't really see this as anti-feminist, just showing more foresight. Rapunzel, however, actually wields power over Flynn for a while when Jasmine never does, and Rapunzel actually does do things for herself, she just needs help most of the time, where Jasmine really doesn't actually do all that much for herself other than say "I am not a prize to be won." I really don't see what is so terrible about needing help, we all do at some point, I don't even see what's so bad about accepting the help of a man, especially when that was the only help available to her. The difference is Rapunzel makes plans and decides to do things, but needs help from Flynn, where Jasmine says she is strong and independent, but not only does she not come up with the plans, she doesn't do much in the way of executing them either.
I will be interested to see who the top three are. I am sure Mulan and Pocahontas will be in there, but I will be interested to see whether Belle or Tiana makes it.

I see Rapunzel as much more of a feminist heroine than Jasmine. Rapunzel is determined and fights for herself. Jasmine just talks. I agee with everything SwanPride and princesslullaby said.

Belle is more feminist than Tiana IMO--

A lot of what constitutes as feminist, if not if a princess is physically strong and beats everybody up, but her mentality and her personality. Ariel's definitely more feminist friendly than some of the classical princesses, but she's pretty girly. She sacrifices something for a guy, she's totally infatuated with somebody she's only met for a few days, and she's very naturally feminine even though she doesn't always act like it. Rapunzel is probably next in line. While she loves to read and learn about the world, she's portrayed as being a little ditzy and gullible at times.

Bravery has something to do with feminism because the idea that a woman always needs a protector is one of the issue feminism has to adress. And with bravery I don't mean leaping of cliffs, but proving that woman are just as capable (and sometimes even more) than men.
And that's the difference between Ariel and Rapunzel. Ariel, who isn't opressed at all (there is nothing in the movie which suggests that the rules for mermaids and mermen are somhow different, the rule she is rebelling against is one, everyone has to follow, regardless of gender), goes to land with no concept at all. Without Eric immediatly finding and taking care of her, her fate would have been quite different. She would have been pennyless (and clotheless) on the streets. Her friends not only give her emotional support, they have come to her aid all the time, and always because of situations, she orchestrated. In short, Ariel is a character who says: Woman are capable of some things, but they are too stupid to think ahead, and in the end, they always need a man to come to their rescue.
Ariel is a good efford, but Rapunzel is in my eyes the next step. Someone who knows his own abilities (and what who knows what she doesn't know), someone who might not know much about some areas, but is nevertheless competent in other areas. None of the dangerous situations Rapunzel finds herself in are in any shape or form her fault, and she proves herself capapble to deal with them. Yes, she has emotional support too, but unlike Ariel, who is quite selfish, Rapunzel isn't selfish at all.
Jasmine, btw, is a character who really has a feminist problem to deal with, but since she (unlike all the other princesses) isn't the protagonist of her movie, she always gets shoved aside, so that Aladdin can rescue the day.

Wow, this countdown is getting heated!
I find it interesting that a lot of things people are using as arguments that princesses are being anti-feminist are not arguments for why they are being anti-gender equality, but why they are not being anti-male, which is not feminism but sexism. I really don't see what the big deal is about Rapunzel using Flynn, he was the only outsider who had come in eighteen years, he was likely to be the only chance she would have to leave and see the lights. Rapunzel was being an opportunist. She would have relied on a woman who she met just as much as she relied on Flynn. I don't see what is anti-feminist about her relying on a man when she would have relied on a woman just as much. I also don't really get the "Ariel didn't try to become a human before meeting Eric" argument, seeing as she never had a chance to become a human before then. How do we know she wouldn't have jumped at the chance before then? She might not have gone to Ursula, but she was in a pretty low moment then, and people have a tendency to do crazy irrational things at times like that.

magicfairydust- Why is Ariel being girly anti-feminist? Feminism isn't about women abandoning their femininity but being able to be accepted for it, isn't it?

Swanpride- I get what you say about Jasmine not being the protagonist, I've even made that point before, but in the movies where the princess is the protagonist, the prince is very rarely shoved aside so the princess can save the day, or at least he plays an active role in helping her. The only real exception I can see is John Smith, but is certainly more proactive than Jasmine.

Well, we have the same phenomenan in Mulan - Mulan suddenly becomes so good in everything that Shang has next to no opportunity to shine, even though he is a competent leader.

But Mualn can't defeat Shan Yu herself, she needs the help of her unit, and Shang is part of that. He fights Shan Yu and saves the emperor from his clutches. Mulan might have been the one to take him down in the end, but Shang is part of it.

Yes, but Shang, who has been trained to fight basically since birth, is defeated and knocked out in a matter of seconds by Shan-Yu, so that Mulan can have the spotlight. I always thought that was really ridiculous. Mulan's unit basically only serves as a distraction. Technically Mulan is the one who saves the emperor by cutting the rope, as well.

I agree-- there is nothing wrong with Ariel being feminine. In fact, it goes AGAINST feminism to say that Ariel has to be more stereotypically manly to prove her worth.
And I agree about Ariel-- I still think she would have taken the deal from Ursula just to become human, before she had met Eric. The terms of the deal would probably be different. She would have to be in another moment of great distress, but yeah, she'd still do it. It's just in this moment, Ursula saw it to her advantage to seize this opportunity and offer this deal to Ariel. I don't think Ariel had even been AWARE that it was a possibility.

Yes, but what Shang does to help Mulan is more than what Jasmine does to help Aladdin. My point wasn't that the princes necessarily do the saving, but that they are active in the plot and have a role in the plans of the princesses- unlike Jasmine. And even if you take Shang out of the equation, Mulan could not have gotten past the guards without the help of Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. Mulan needed help, where Aladdin was able to do it all basically himself (if I remember correctly.)

Yeah... I was agreeing with you. But I'm not sure what the purpose of pointing that out was?

Oooh jeesh, it's at a tie.... and it closes in 15 mins...

Rapunzel has to go now

On the Mulan part? Oh, sorry.

Can I just give SwanPride a round of applause?!
Your points about Rapunzel are absolutely fantastic.
Nothing more can be said or argued, you freaking nailed it.