Disney Princesses have been role models to many girls for a long time, and feminists have tried endlessly to empower women and drive young girls to believe they can achieve so much more on their own, without having to make huge sacrifices or wait for some prince to rescue them and give them a better life.

South Californian mom Setsu Shigematsu, who is a professor of media and communications at the University of California, Riverside, was one of many who are fed up of the outdated cast of characters. But instead of eliminating the princesses altogether, she created a different story for them in a book series called The Guardian Princess Alliance.

In this not-so-fairytale, the story is about a diverse group of women who protect the environment and exemplify compassion and self-reliance.

“The dominant and traditional stories that portray princesses as waiting to be rescued by a prince are too restrictive and limiting for children in terms of their gender roles,” Setsu shared. “We wanted to combine the action-oriented adventures and ethical challenges faced by superheroes to reinvent the princesses as superheroines. The Guardian Princesses protect people and the planet with their special powers.”

It all began when Shigematsu wrote an alternative princess story for her daughter's 5th birthday party. The kids loved it, and other parents encouraged her to publish it. One of the mothers, Risti Marco, described the independent princesses:

"The Guardian Princesses, they are more like, go there and do it for yourself," Marco says. "You can do anything you put your mind into it. You don't have to wait for anybody. You can work together with Prince Charming and do stuff for the world, but you don't have to sit there and wait for him to rescue you."

Shigematsu maintained some girly features little girls expect of role model princesses, such as long hair, pretty clothes, and twinkly eyes, but deliberately designed the Guardian Princesses to be racially and culturally diverse, ranging from size 2 to 14.