Gender Stereotypes In Animated Fairy Tale Movies

Founded by Groves in 1999, the Cultivation Theory came into existence (Graves, 1999). The theory states that exposure to television develops social behavior and norms. At a young age, we are only just entering the stage in their lives where we are beginning to think for ourselves and develop our own personal beliefs and values. Our minds are gullible and can be easily manipulated. This particular empirical study analyzes the effects due to media, specifically Disney princess movies, on gender stereotyping. Gender stereotyping can be defined as common generalizations used to describe gender roles in society, specific attributes associated with each gender, and the differences between each. Many a time, gender stereotypes are

Most of the princesses portray women to be weak and in need of saving from a prince from a faraway land. Cinderella is one of the most well-loved and famous Disney princess but its story also serve as a classic example of how gender roles dominate Disney films. According to Mahooney, “Cinderella demonstrates the female need for a male to form her identity.” Cinderella, while shown to be kind and lovely, never did show any trace of strength in standing up for herself at all, a coincidence most of Disney princesses have in films. In light of physical appearance, one of the most controversial themes almost every Disney princess films have is the existence of “Prince Charming.”

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

From a young age, princess culture has impacted the lives of numerous people. Some individuals may have spent their childhood in the attire of their favorite Disney princess while they put on their best rendition of the character they admired most. Other children went seemingly unfazed by the phenomenon, as their peers remained spellbound by the magical world of princesses. With Disney’s debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, princess movies provided the defining factor of the Disney entertainment empire for years to come. From this, fairy tales embarked into a territory that would touch the lives of many in a new way. However, since princess culture has considerably grown, opponents, such as Monika Bartyzel, question if princess

Fairy tales have always been focused towards children ever since Walt Disney took over the industry of remaking these stories. He took out all of the gore and some of the violence to make it more acceptable for children. With Anne Sexton's version of Cinderella, she brings back the gore and violence to its full capacity just like with the original Brothers Grimm story. Sexton's poetic version of Cinderella gives a humorous and eye-opened twist to this classic fairy tale. What brings all of these stories together is the way they all socialize women to make them naive. With this in mind, fairy tales do humiliate and objectify women to get them to accept violence within society.

Throughout the years, fairytales have had a crucial role in perpetuating stereotypes regarding gender roles in society that portray women as dependent and distressed, also that being an attractive,young woman is the cause of most predicaments, and how women are entitled to specific jobs in the house while a man is supposed to go out and do all the hard work. In most cases, a beautiful young woman is put in a serious situation by a villain and/or monster who needs a hero, more specifically, a male, to come to her rescue. This is typically classified as using the literary device “Damsel in Distress”.

Walt Disney has presented fairytales for thousands of children to love and enjoy, but most importantly to learn from. However, several individuals claim that the fairytales are nonsense and do not present real life situations to children. Nor do the films depict an appropriate representation of women and men. Especially when the majority of the films present Disney princess with gender stereotypes that deal primarily with body image and social behavior. It is also claimed that children are co-opted by a money hungry corporation. On logistical and economic terms, this can be deemed as true. The purpose of creating these fictional characters was originally to bring joy and happiness to the entire family. Children are still growing up and getting to know the real world and one way for them to understand is by teaching through fictitious scenarios. While majority of his work comes from Walt Disney’s magical imagination, several of his fairytales are based upon folk literature. As G.K. Chesterton had said, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed”. No matter the terror that lies ahead, children learn to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and good things can come from any bad situation. These are key elements that children should learn from a very young age. They allow children to become better prepared for real life situations that they

People grow up conditioned to believe heavily in gender roles. One of the major contributors to our way of thinking is the media. Many young children watch Disney movies, through which, they learn how certain actions affect how they are seen; even material goods like clothes becoming symbolic of not only gender roles but status. At that age, people are easily influenced by the information that is presented in front of them. What little girl didn’t dream of being a Disney Princess? What little boy didn’t want to be a brave saviour? Girls are taught to want to be damsels in distress, waiting for their princes to come and rescue them. They are taught to be feminine and use their body in an exclusively seductive (and arguably, provocative) way.

Ursula (whole made a deal and stole her voice and is also very unattractive) uses her beautiful voice to steal Ariel’s human prince. Also, Ariel tries to convince the prince to marry her using her feminine charm since she is not able to speak. As, Ursula says “you got your looks, your pretty face and do not need to underestimate the importance of body language!”. “If a girl is beautiful, it is implied that the prince will fall in love with her in a

Walt Disney created an entire world of fantasy in which he scattered little boys’ and little girls’ heroes and heroines. His world was built on creativity and dreams. His characters gave every child an escape from reality. His images inspired their viewers and filled minds with visions of the impossible. Disney began building his empire in 1923 with his brother Roy and a small cartoon called Alice’s Wonderland (“Disney History”).

“The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in.” - W.H. Auden. This common saying may contain some truth, but in reality if you were to throw yourself in a fairy tale what would you really be getting yourself into? Disney/Mass Media communicates negative and false ideologies related to Gender, Race, and relationships.

So, how does the gendered image in Disney princesses affect children, especially girls? As the examples of both sexism and racism in Disney princess movies specifically emphasize the princesses’ pale skin tones, narrow waist and full breasts (England et al 2011, 556), the image of princesses represented in Disney movies gives children a false image of the ideal woman, both physically and mentally. Young-Eisendrath argues: “Throughout the centuries of patriarchal art and literature, we find a recurring image of the desire-awakening maiden, who is portrayed as the exact opposite of the

Fairy tales is an important aspect of growing up; because fairy tales teach children that good will always prevail evil, through various characters and magical creatures. Many fairly tales are written to develop certain role models for girls, which help them to acquire important traits. At the same time, it has been argued by many scholars and theorists that story lines of fairy tales assess women within a regressive and restricted moral character. The main objective of this essay is to demonstrate educational function of fairy tales and implied perfect female behaviour, while arguing that certain aspects of fairy tales’ morality may raise issue of sexism. This hypothesis will be checked based on “Snow White” fairy tale.

Children tend to think that their whole life revolves around who they are in high school or middle school, as if there is no life outside of it. To learn ways to fit into their environment, they look over to the easiest and most relatable source they have, which are movies and television shows. During their journey to find themselves they often stumble upon stereotypes that they don’t live up to, which can lower their self-esteem gradually. Disney has been the main source of children entertainment for decades now but the classic Disney are so beloved that not that many people talk about the gender stereotypes in them. We can see these is movies like, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" where the men are shown as incompetent creatures who don’t

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