Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Bell (Beauty and the Beast) and Little Mermaid are all-time American favorites, but these stories are heavily criticized for espousing political incorrectness of promoting male dominance or giving a false notion that women are happy only with men. The critics failed to realize that the stories are actually more feminist in such a way the stories present rationally-minded female characters pursuing their individual happiness in their own way. Ignore the critics when you go shopping and give your daughter a Little Mermaid beach towel. The original story may lack poetic justice but the Disney version showed a strong young lady who fought her more powerful adversary to save the woman she loves. The prints on the towel remind her that beauty and happiness are still important virtues that she should seek in her life.
As parents we want our daughters to develop heroic virtues. We give let them watch television shows and movies showing tough female characters. We give them bags with Tinkerbell prints on them. We give them shirts with pictures of Catwoman and the X-Men Characters Storm or Jubilee. Giving your daughter a Little Mermaid beach towel is like giving her the wand of Hermione Granger. She will see the print on the towel and she will know that she can do more in the world or that she can pursue her own happiness in her own way. Besides, the towel prints are beautiful. Even if the character printed there represent some negative ideas held by some people, the towels are extremely beautiful, soft, and they still serve the purpose of keeping you warm after a shower at the beach cottage.