We love Disney's new princess and the message he's sending

Disney XD's cartoon Star vs. the Forces of Evil has no problem breaking down traditional gender roles, and we couldn't be happier to welcome the show's newest princess: Marco.

In a recent episode, one of the show’s main characters, Marco Diaz, dons a gown and becomes “Princess Turdina” in order to save a reform school for wayward princesses from its evil headmistress Miss Heinous. Miss Heinous exposes Marco’s secret, baring his single chest hair as proof that “Turdina isn’t a princess—she’s a boy!”

When he comes clean about lying to everyone, Miss Heinous tries to use his confession to sway the school to her side, but the princesses defend Marco and refute the notion that only girls can be princesses.

“Why does it matter if he’s a boy?” says one princess.

“He can be a princess if he wants to!” says another, rousing the crowd’s support.

It’s a small but beautiful scene and one that hopefully helps the kids watching overcome the idea that a person's sex limits what they can be or do. For a company so dedicated to its princesses, Disney sending this message makes it all the more powerful.

This isn't the first time Star vs. the Forces of Evil has broken boundaries in kids' entertainment. The Disney XD program was also responsible for Disney’s very first same-sex kiss earlier this year. With kids picking up gendered behaviour at an earlier age than ever before, it's great to see kids' shows actively challenging these stereotypes.

“Turdina is a state of mind!” says one of the show's princesses. We totally agree!

You can watch the clip here:

Read more: Don’t blame Elsa: It’s time to stop the princess shaming Why it's not unusual for preschoolers to obsess over gender differences