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Disney Princesses have changed from time to time, but they still hold the same value. In Monika Bartyzel’s article “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with Disney Princess Brand”, she is basically pointing out the negative affects Disney Princesses have on little girls. Bartyzel claims that Disney is pulling the company’s progress back with feminine stereotypes of the past (Bartyzel 467). What really matters is how Disney princesses give little girls something to look up to, all around the world. Despite the backlash Disney has received based on the changes throughout Disney Princess history, Disney Princesses shed a positive light on little girls through love, a sense of morality and dreams.

In 2001, Disney started branding their princess line to target young girls. In their motion pictures, Disney has been known to portray some stereotypical depictions of gender (England, Descartes, and Collier-Meek, 556). They rendered these young princesses as naïve, submissive, weak, and domestic and the list continues. Take a look at the princesses from the past, Sleeping Beauty,

The effects of the portrayal of the princesses can be positive or negative. Young girls have become more imaginative by watching Disney films. According to Stephanie Hanes (n.p.), “’For 75 years, millions of little girls and their parents around the world have adored and embraced the diverse characters and rich stories featuring our Disney princesses.... [L]ittle girls experience the fantasy and imagination provided by these stories as a normal part of their childhood development’.” Also, children are encouraged to believe and hope. In most Disney movies, the characters convey the message that we can believe in true love (10 DISNEY MOMENTS THAT PROVE LOVE IS ALIVE AND WELL

Disney strongly portrays gendered stereotypes using their eleven official princesses. Young children, specifically young girls in this case, are extremely susceptible to being influenced by the portrayal of these gendered stereotypes. Golden and Jacoby performed research regarding how preschool girls interpret the gendered stereotypes shown through Disney Princess media, through both the young girls’ pretend play behaviors and the discussion of the princesses. Golden and Jacoby performed this research project in order to examine the perception of young girls in relation to princesses and awareness of gender-role stereotypes, a different research study found that girls who lived and accepted gendered stereotypes, in believing that women

Because of Disney’s stereotyping of gender, that little girl grew up wanting to become a perfect princess. Princesses in Disney’s movies and films gives young girls unrealistic ideas of the real word. However, some may believe that Disney princesses are a good influence on young girls and are able to show a them how to act eloquently. Gender roles, eloquence, and the beauty of the princesses are all topics that influence young girls. Even though some might believe that princesses are good role models for their child, princesses show young girls how they should interact around boys and other girls never mind the girls own opinions. An article about Children’s Responses to Gender Roles in Fairy-Tales written by Ella Westland writes, “The girls

Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite

Walt Disney over the years has impacted the lives of millions of children with his animated films. His Disney movies have evolved in the last years and have moved from the traditional damsel in distress theme. Specifically, the classic movie Cinderella gives the wrong idea about what it is to be a woman for young girls. The movie portrays a young woman facing emotional, mental, and physical abuse by her evil stepmother and later falls in love with a charming prince. However, if viewers take a closer look, Disney’s anti feminist message is firmly emphasized. The story of Cinderella is sexist due to it’s lesson to girls that beauty and submission will award them a rich bachelor. This is seen through Cinderella’s submissive behavior, Prince

* Television viewing creates the concept of gender-role and racial stereotypes in children, as they start considering it as very natural phenomena. Heroic acts are expected out of males, while women are displayed as objects and less powerful.

Disney makes over $3 billion on their Disney Princess products every year and now have over 25,000 items in their princess collection (Orenstein 2). Disney has played a big role in shaping not only societal viewpoints on what young girls should like, but also what little girls believe they should enjoy as well. Gender stereotypes have been around for a long time, but now with technology advancements, such as media in western society is able to play a bigger than ever role in influencing people’s perspectives. Not only do we see gender roles and stereotypes in television shows, but also in advertisements and in children’s toys. Although many readers of Peggy Orenstein’s “What’s wrong with Cinderella” have argued that the princess culture is corrupting today’s young girls and making them more dependent on men, a closer examination shows that many girls grow out of the princess phase with no negative repercussions and choose whatever passions they want.

Many girls dream of their knight in shining armor, a perfect wedding, and a “happily ever after” life. Disney princesses give them hope to find love and happiness, along with emphasizing their want for the beauty and grace princesses represent. Authors of “Cinderella and Princess Culture” and “The Princess Paradox,” Peggy Orenstein and James Poniewozik, respectively, agree most girls adore princesses. However, these articles convey differing parental opinions about lessons exhibited from princesses and the unfavorable effects on young girls. Orenstein describes her negative views of princesses through experiences with her daughter and the marketing knowledge of Disney executive, Andy Mooney. Conversely, Poniewozik recounts the changes in princess culture with examples of modern princess movies to depict positive lessons princesses communicate. Both authors find importance in business models, feminism, and future aspirations of young,

For decades now, Disney Corporation has been providing us with countless films made to delight and amuse children and adults alike. But not all Disney films seem particularly appropriate for their target audience. Many of these films portray violence, gender inequality, and skewed views of leadership roles that seem altogether inappropriate for impressionable young children. Better and more contemporary heroines need to be added to Disney’s wall of princesses in order to counteract years of sexism.

What young girl does not dream of becoming a princess and living in a castle happily ever after? Virtually every young girl identifies with princesses and has watched at least one Disney Princess movie. From the first movies of Snow White and Cinderella, to the later movies of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, to the most current movie Moana, Disney Princess movies permeate not only the movie theaters, but also our culture. In fact, “becoming a princess is as easy as purchasing a tiara and hosting a princess-themed birthday party or buying a Halloween costume and playing pretend” (Garabedian, 2014, p. 23). Nonetheless, as declared by Princess Merida in the movie Brave, “there comes a day when I don’t have to be a princess. No rules, no expectations. A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate” (Andrews & Chapman, 2012). In other words, does the life of a princess measure up to the expectations of little girls everywhere? The Disney Princess brand has grown incredibly popular, especially with young girls. In spite of this, the franchise has also become extremely controversial due to potential gender stereotypes in the films. “Gender is one of the most discussed topics in today’s society…[it] represents and also reproduces certain attributes, expectations and roles which are associated with male and female…influencing the views and opinions of future generations” (Maity, 2014, p. 31). Yet, is the Disney Princess brand harmful to young children due to gender stereotypes? Two essays that contemplate the Disney Princess brand and gender stereotypes with opposite viewpoints on this controversial issue are “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by writer Monika Bartyzel and “In Defense of Princess Culture” by writer and mother Crystal Liechty. However, Liechty’s essay “In Defense of Princess Culture,” is the most effective article in convincing the audience of her point of view due to the claim, support, warrant, language, and vocabulary employed.

Many kids grow up watching Disney movies, and some of the lessons learnt are some things we will forever remember. Even some things unconsciously learnt help us to become who we are, for better or worse. When we watch most Disney movies, for the most part, we see the gender and body stereotypes portrayed and sexualized on to the characters. We see the Sexualization of their bodies and how they are all seen doing stereotypical women’s duties. It is important to analyze this topic because so many young girls grow up and watch these movies expecting to look and act how these princesses do. This gives children certain unhealthy stigmatized expectations.

Cramped in a small Los Angeles office, Walt Disney drew a few larger than life cartoons. After Disney’s big hit Alice Comedies and cartoons of Mickey and the gang, he moved his office to Burbank, California. There, Walt and his brother, Roy, came up with their most famous movies such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Now with two American amusement parks, three international parks, multiple cruise lines, multiple resorts, over five hundred films, and over thirty academy award, it’s hard to not heard of Disney. Every boy or girl has at least seen or heard of Disney movies. It’s such a big part of society today that it becomes influential in a kid’s childhood. This project will look at the underlying effect of the Disney princess phenomenon and how it shapes a young girls’ perspective of herself and how she’s “supposed” to be.

It is important to identify the role the Disney Corporation plays in today’s culture. The company has numerous princesses’ films with identical merchandise. Parents buy the items for their children and through movie and merchandise; children are being informed such as how a lady ought to act, think or dress. Gender role in Disney princess films remains important because of the messages it shows to children. We need to identify whether gender roles presented in the movies modulate the intellect of a woman in a modern world or whether Disney princesses are restricted to the female gender roles such as nurturing and submissiveness. In addition, we need to study whether the messages are diverse for varied princesses.