Gender Stereotypes In Disney Movies

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.

Some quick things I have noticed in some of the Disney Princess films: In many of the films like Beauty and the Beast, there is a main female character, who is the princess and a male character who is romantically connected with the princess. There is also a portrayal of the social construction of gender. In Beauty and the Beast, while Belle is small, gentle, and kind, the Beast is portrayed as large and prone to angry outbursts. Even though the Beast was an actual beast, his personality compared to Belle’s infers that a person’s literal body size affects moods. This teaches children that people that “the social differences that define “woman” and “man” … individuals… act and react in expected ways”

A number of children’s literature are progressively becoming produced with reverse gender roles. In fact, “Merida’s heroism is why Brave signifies a turning point for Disney” (Garabedian, 2014). Modern day princesses are ending these past stereotypes and becoming strong and independent female characters. Merida is no damsel in distress!

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 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

If you did not grow up watching Disney fairytale movies, what did you watch for the first decade of your life? Movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid have captured the attention of young children since the mid-twentieth century. A child’s opinion on gender roles and behaviors has been strengthened by Disney movies. Most young girls believe their lives will be incomplete without a man to protect them from all evils. Women have always felt inferior to men due to society’s interpretation of them in major motion pictures and advertisements. Society has started to realize its mistake on judging women and their ability to be independent by giving women more inspiring and uplifting roles in movies. A movie which does not focus as much on the typical stereotype of women would be the 1991 Disney fairytale classic known as Beauty and the Beast. This romantic fairytale does not identify women as powerless, but instead starts a positive trend of independence and intelligence. Beauty and the Beast wants viewers to realize the importance of inner beauty rather than external beauty, but still emphasizes gender inequality through the script and various songs.

Since 1937, Disney has been creating several animation movies for children, as well as adults, to enjoy. From Snow White to Cinderella to Tangled, Disney has produced household names and characters for children to look up to. Without disregarding the happiness Disney has brought to billions of children, it has also enforced multiple societal norms that are otherwise alarming. At first glance the typical Disney fairytale seems entertaining, but when examining closer they have portrayed patriarchy, unrealistic body images and racial stereotypes. For years Disney has portrayed woman as tall, beautiful and thin.

Once upon a time, in a not so far off place, a man named Walt Disney changed the way of fairy tales in a fantastic and ground-breaking way. From fairy tales to love stories, Disney has been a part of the lives of millions for over 80 years. The company started by a man and a mouse, has become the leader in animated movies. With being a huge part of the entertainment industry, they are compared to the surrounding culture and ideals that it represents. Disney has for many years been at battle with the public and their audience for being accused of portraying their characters, specifically females, in stereotypical ways.

Aurora, Snow White, Ariel, Belle; these are a few beloved protagonist from Disney movies made pre-2010. Many children fell in love with the happily ever afters of these characters without realizing the true meaning behind their stories. Family films produced by Disney focus on gender roles and social constructs dictating what is or is not desirable in females. In the article, “The Shame of Family Films: Why Family Films Are So Sexist” by Julia Baird claims that there aren’t many female characters in family films, and when there are, they are portrayed as inferior or as sexy. The problem is that this hurts the way that girls and boys think about girls and this is cycle in Hollywood. The storylines of nearly every film follow the same pattern;

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.

In the article, Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses by Dawn England, Lara Descartes, and Melissa Collier-Meek, the authors discuss Disney’s portrayal of gender roles through princess movies, and they argue that Disney is providing children with stereotypical gender-role models. Throughout the article the authors discuss the over-sexualization of the princesses and their more dominantly effeminate traits. The authors also composed a coding system for traits demonstrated by the princes and the princesses through the Disney movies from Snow White up until the most current at the time of the article, Princess and the Frog. The coding scheme for traits had two categories that traits would fall under, traditionally masculine and traditionally

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.

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.

Disney takes girls at a young age how they must physically appear and stand for. Throughout numerous Disney movies the princess is dependent on the man when she is faced with a challenge. For example, in the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the Queen asks the mirror on the wall who is the most beautiful of all in the kingdom when the mirror replies that Snow White is more beautiful than she her immediate reaction is to tell the huntsman, “Take Snow White to the forest, and kill her!As proof bring me her heart” (Cortell et. al. 1937). This teaches young girls that they must be in competition with one another rather than empowering each other and not comparing themselves to their peer. This can cause the young girls to feel insecure

Animated movies have always been a part of a person’s life, especially during the childhood. These movies are meant to be a refreshment activity for children. However, these innocent display of animation despite their educative aspect acts as a slow poison which ingests some deeper negative messages into the audience, which happen to be children or even adults in some cases(Baker & Ball, 1969). Children tend to look for a model in their early years(2-3 year olds). They learn through imitating what they see. Children at such ages usually take other same-sex people in their immediate surroundings as models. Children imitate their father’s behavior if it’s a boy, and they imitate their mother’s behavior if it’s a girl, which links back to what the children watch. In addition to copying behaviors of the same-sex people in their surrounding (Parents), it also includes fictional characters which they watch in cartoon movies. It is because children at that age group cannot differentiate between a fictional character from a non-fictional character(Noble, 1975, p.84). Children taking cartoon characters designed according to the customary gender norms as models can make a definite adverse impact on their future. Furthermore enhancing the gender stereotype issue as the majority of the animated movies have specified roles for each gender.