( CNN ) -- In the three days since Disney crowned its 11th official princess and people got a glimpse of the `` new '' Merida -- Disney 's doll version of the fire-haired heroine of the Oscar-winning animated film `` Brave '' -- there 's been much uproar . The princess-ified Merida aimed at the merchandising market is hippier , her neckline a little more plunging and off-the-shoulder than it was in the film . Her features are softer . And is that lipstick she 's wearing ? Disney was quickly taken to task by many , including the film 's writer and co-director Brenda Chapman , who called the makeover a `` blatantly sexist marketing move based on money '' that strips the character of her place as a `` better , stronger role model ... something of substance , not just a pretty face that waits around for romance . '' The implication , of course , being that pretty girls ca n't be role models . Or have substance . Let me be clear : As a female heroine , Merida was revolutionary , and we should have more like her . Increasingly , we do . Disney 's Mulan -- the female warrior from its 1998 animated film -- was one , in fact . And indeed , in the film , Merida 's best features were the ones that had nothing to do with her body , her face or her outfits . She was outspoken and unafraid , independent and empowered . She stood up for herself and others . She carried a bow and arrow , and she knew how to use it -- far more skillfully than the boys , besides . She was perfectly subversive as a princess for all the reasons that had nothing to do with her looks . ( Though let 's be honest : Her wild mane of red hair could not have meant to be anything but ravishing . ) At the same time , she was undeniably sexy , if you consider strong women sexy -- and do n't we ? Dolls are built on the notion of fantasy . They are not true to life -- but even less true , by nature of their technical limitations , than cartoons , which benefit from animation that 's often so precise as to appear real . As toys , dolls take on many of the characteristics that the child playing with them chooses to impart . Part of parenting is to help children explore the many options that life offers , to tap into the vast reaches of their imagination , but also to know the difference between what 's fiction and fantasy and what 's reality . And dolls , perhaps more than most toys for children , are not meant to be taken at face value . Otherwise , we 'd be making the case for legions of 8-year-olds to be running around suburban America with bows and arrows . And that 's not , I do n't think , the point Chapman was trying to make in her movie . The reality is that in deciding to make some changes to Merida , Disney probably was thinking about money . How corporate America works is a conversation for another day . But more poignantly , moneymaking is how Disney , and others , help new films get made -- and yes , even the progressive ones . Disney 's Princess Merida does n't take away from the positive message that `` Brave '' put forth : Lipstick or no , she 's still the same girl inside . But Chapman 's argument does -- by bringing the focus back to Merida 's looks in a way that 's exclusionary of all else . The fact is that `` babes '' can be worthwhile role models , too , and no less so than those women whose looks are more rough and tumble . What 's sexist , polarizing -- and most damaging -- is the suggestion that women can be only one or the other : pretty or powerful . Vulnerable or strong . Pink wearing or substantive . These are incorrect messages that serve to confuse and contain . Instead , the message should be about how these days , women can be many things . Girls -- and boys -- are listening . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peggy Drexler .
Peggy Drexler : Disney retooled Princess Merida from `` Brave '' movie as `` babe '' for doll . Director 's criticism of `` sexist marketing '' implies pretty girls not role models , Drexler says . She says dolls are for fantasy , and parents help kids use their imagination . Drexler : Calling new Merida sexist sends poor message .