Disney Princess Stereotypes

In this society, there are proposition how each gender should conduct oneself, dress, and accord themselves. Kids that are growing up in the area have a person that they think are superhuman. For young girls they role models are Disney princesses. Disney princesses make great role models to girls they teach girls to have hope and courage. All the princesses have different stories and that makes it better for girls to understand. Although it may seem great parents think otherwise. Parents think they promote damaging stereotypes of women.

Apart from the stereotypes, recent Disney princesses have been counteracting the stereotypical images of a Disney princess. They are no longer waiting around for their prince to come and be with them. Instead, they are using their intelligence to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Also, they can be independent and that they don’t always need a man (Bowser n.p.). The portrayal of love in these films are different from the others. The characters are not focused in waiting for their prince. Rather, they were trying to achieve their dreams. In "The Princess and the Frog", Tiana pursues her dream in becoming a restaurant owner. She didn't need a male counterpart to be able to feel happy but only wanted to fulfill her dream to feel happiness.

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

Many have criticized Disney for their lack of minority representation in their line of Disney princesses. Disney’s debut of their twelfth princess, Anna of Arendelle from their recent film Frozen, marks their eighth “white” princess, leaving only four as “people of color.” Although she was not the first minority princess Disney debuted, Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog was the most anticipated out of the four. African-American moms and children had looked forward to the representation of African-Americans in Disney films for years. Princess Tiana made her debut as the first black princess over 70 years after Disney’s first- Snow White (Cheu). However,

For decades Disney princess films have been among the multiple stories that most all-young girls have at some point been exposed to. Many girls watch these seemingly harmless films and are in awe at the beauty and poise these princesses present. For example, the film Beauty and the Beast (1991) features a young village girl, Belle, who constantly turns down the affection from a hunky prince, Gaston. She longs to find the man of her dreams until circumstances turn her unexpectedly to the arms of a cursed Beast who must learn to love again. After seeing the happily-ever-after that Belle experiences while walking off into the sunset with her prince charming, who wouldn’t want to be a princess? This is exactly where the problem comes in. Eventually children come to see these characters as their idol, and soon they want to live like them, look and dress as they do, and

The Disney princess movies have a typical female body that they use in every Disney movie. According to Rachael Michelle Johnson, “The classic Disney princesses depict the societal Western standards of beauty such as thin, graceful, young, and attractive to romantic suitors of the opposite sex.”(Rachael Michelle Johnson) Furthermore, the ideal concept of beauty is preserved through princesses having “extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breasts,” (England et al., 2011, p.556) This stereotype teaches children that girls and women are only beautiful if they have these characteristics, and if they don’t then they are automatically considered ugly. Young children learn a lot from the media, when they see

Fred Rogers and the Disney princesses have a unique similarity in that they both employ an overt sense of self-esteem in children, which negatively impacts that child’s future. Mr. Rogers, through his television show, has made kids believe that they are special for just being who they are. A similar idea is also true regarding Disney princesses, in that the little girls who emulate them believe that life should be lived as a fairy tale. As children grow up, they are very easily influenced by what their surroundings, particularly by what they see and hear. With Mr. Rogers being the main character on an educational children’s TV program and the “princess” message being promoted everywhere you look, it is very simple for children to latch onto these people/characters. All of these individuals seem to allow the child to believe that they are at the center of the world. This may be nothing to yearn over if it is seen in a young child, but as the child grows up there are various factors that may be worrisome. Self-esteem, empowerment, and entitlement are three ideals that could be influenced negatively as the child develops into a young adult. Once again, on the surface it may seem that Mr. Rogers and the Disney princesses are very positive role models for the youth of our country, but it is evident that there are aspects of their teaching/culture that are not all that good for an easily influenced, developing child.

A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these

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.

Disney is one of the most successful and largest companies in the world. They have their hand in nearly every form of entertainment as well as media, and broadcasting. Disney is best known for their animated films, unique cartoon characters, catchy musicals, and fairy tales that most of us were first introduced to as children. They are one of the few entertainment companies in the World whose primary demographic is children and teens. Nearly everybody is familiar with the Disney name and its brand, and its realistic to suggest that nearly everybody has experienced a Disney film and animated character at some point in their lives; which may have helped to influence them or their behaviors or even their

In this New age, there are proposition how each gender should conduct oneself, dress, and accord themselves. Kids that are growing up in the area have a person that they think are superhuman. For young girls their role models are Disney princesses. Disney princesses make great role models for girls they teach girls to have hope and courage. All the princesses have different stories and that makes it better for girls to understand. Although it may seem great parents think otherwise. Parents think they promote damaging stereotypes of women.

Growing up, my sister and I would fight nearly everyday. We would scream and chuck items at each other. We would hit and scratch each other. Dealing with our behavior was probably a nightmare for my mother. Although, on a rare occasion my sister and I would get along. Many times it was when we were watching television or a Disney princess movie. We would decide who would set up the movie in the basement on the VCR. The other would run upstairs and grab blankets for us to lay on. The one who set up the movie set up the blankets while the other ran back upstairs to grab candy, popcorn, and soda. We would be completely mesmerized by the magic of Disney and occasionally ate some of the snacks we grabbed. All good Disney princesses should have certain characteristics in order to be considered a Disney princess.

Growing up, all I ever did was watch Disney movies and the Disney channel. Now as I’m older, I can’t help but realize that all the movies are exactly the same. The princess is stuck in a dilemma and then a perfect prince comes along and saves her and then they marry in the end. Other than a similar plot, all the movies have very similar character traits. England, Descartes, and Collier-Meek in Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses explain the characters, “traditionally masculine (e.g., athletic, brave) and traditionally feminine (e.g., helpful, nurturing) characteristics exhibited by the prince and princess characters through

Another interesting way Disney and Studio Ghibli codes their characters are possessing them with either “feminine” or “masculine” traits. Traditional “feminine” traits include being easily hurt emotionally, verbal, dependent, and non-aggressive. “Masculine” traits are defined as aggressive, independent, and active. Ariel and other Disney Princesses typically fall into the feminine traits- throughout the film, Ariel cries and is extremely emotional, dramatically throwing herself down and sobbing over her conflicts. She is also extremely talkative, unlike her father, who is more stoic and tough. Ariel doesn’t seem to possess any traditional masculine traits, and is mostly seen as very dependent on her relationship with her love interest for happiness.

This study will examine princess films and decide whether color of the princesses has an effect on the gender role portrayal of each character. By using a content analysis, this research will identify the difference in each princess with respect to their color.