It seems to be a part of society now, that everything offends someone or is potentially problematic to a child. One of those things being, the “infamous” princess culture, that teaches our girls’ to “rely on a man,” or “behave like a princess.” However, these ideas are misguided, the princess culture can actually be a very positive tool to young girls and boys, in many ways. Disney princesses, specifically, were a huge part of my childhood, so it is fitting to focus on them. Each princess was unique, she had her own quirks, goals that she strove to meet, and she searched for her own happy endings. One of the greatest parts of Disney princesses are their unique personalities, few of which are negative. Young women should take these characteristics …show more content…
Many feminists will argue that a princesses only role in a movie, is to find love. This is simply not true, in fact, they overlooked the unique personalities each princess had and only paid attention to the idea of “Prince Charming,” which completely contradicts their arguments. What is true, is the fact that the search for “true love” is a part of reality, that does not stem from a princess movie. True love is a part of society, and for many kids, true love is in their homes. Though there are kids who have grown up in divorce, there are plenty of others who grew up with two parents who love each other. Therefore, Disney isn’t the one to blame for this epidemic of …show more content…
Disney has definitely been making strides to please everyone, and it seems to be working a bit. In one of the most recent films, The Princess and the Frog, Disney features the first African American girl, Tiana, who has no desire to be a princess (unlike previous girls before her,) instead she wants to open up her own business. Tiana is shown working multiple jobs, in order to accomplish her dreams, through this she learns to “understand the importance of balancing hard work and fun” (Stephens 2014.) She meets a frog who promises to help her with the restaurant, if she kisses him. Unfortunately, this turns her into a frog too, which begins their adventure. On this adventure she does find love, just like in other fairytales, but this time it is different since she falls in love with his character and not his looks. While Disney gives us the happy ending we always seek, they still provided a movie that’s characters driving force is not a man or becoming a princess but instead owning her own business. Another very progressive move by Disney was the movie, Brave, which includes a less than ordinary princess. Unlike Tiana, Merida was born a princess, yet she still rides horses and shoots arrows besides it being “unladylike.” Therefore, “Merida is not only a princess, she is an able-minded, independent female lead, who can save
Liechty supports her claim by explaining how she lets her children choose what they want to watch or play with and she uses that culture to teach her children the values she wants them to learn. The author’s purpose is to show that princess culture should not be frowned upon in order to persuade parents to not shield their children from the idea of finding love. The author writes in a humorous tone for parents who believe the princess culture is a symbol of being spoiled or superficial. I agree with Liechty because I believe that parents should allow their children to learn about the princess
Stephanie Hanes opens up the article with an experience a woman named Mary Finucane had with her daughter. The 3-year-old, Caoimhe (Keeva), became a more passive child than she was before discovering the world of Disney Princesses, which her mother credits to be the cause. Mrs.
We’ve all seen the Disney movies and have fallen in love with the idea of being a princess, and having you true love carry me off into the sunset. “And isn't that, at it's core, what the princess fantasy is about for all of us? "Princess" is how we tell little girls that they are special, precious. "Princess" is the wish that we could protect them from pain, that they would never know sorrow, that they will live happily ever after ensconces in lace and innocence.” (129). Orenstein explains here that the word “princess” simply tells these girls that they will never experience pain. Have you ever seen a Disney princess experience pain? Only over their true love of course, which they always get in the end, telling girls they will get what they want. This sends a negative message to little girls that they have to have true love and they always should get what they want. But in reality, disappointment is everywhere we go and there's no pain without
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 their mask of progression, Disney princesses still have the potential to corrupt the minds of young children through sexism and racism.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
Disney promotes sexisim by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White are all examples of popular Disney movies that encourage young viewers that they need a man to save the day. Yes, it’s true that there are recent movies such as Moana and Frozen that prove otherwise, but how long will it take to completely get over the fact that women are mainly viewed as secondary citizens compared to the men? There are countless examples of how Disney movies influence this theme, and how much the female characters’ actions, ideas and thoughts are not included in a Disney movie.
"Disney Princesses: Classic Fairy Tales Or Gender Stereotypes?" Hartford Courant, 27 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
...aves Princess Jasmine multiple times and falling in love at first sight. They also live happily ever-after together, just as every other Disney prince and princess in every other Disney movie. Parents should be aware of the subliminal messages that their children view in the Disney movies they are watching, and grow up to believe that is how life goes. The children that are growing up watching Disney movies with such strong gender stereotypes are learning things they may factor into their own futures, and think that acting the way of the Disney roles is the only way for them to live their life in a happy manner. The way Disney animated films assign gender roles to their characters effect young children’s views of right and wrong in society. It is wrong, and they should not be exposed to such material growing up because it is harmful to their future expectations.
Since Disney’s Snow White appeared in 1937, Disney princesses have been a present in pop culture. With the release of new movies frequent and re-release of decades old movies inevitable, a continuous stream keeps Disney princesses in the foreground of adolescent society. It is with the value of entertainment they have been created and as entertainment they should be viewed.
This chapter provides an overview of past researchers knowledge sharing and insights. It will introduce a framework for the study of identity portrayal and identity change in Disney princesses which are the main focus of the research.
Garcia, Nadia. "Disney Princesses Are Still a Favorite, Reaserchers Discuss Negative Influence." The Prospector :. The Prospector, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Each Disney princess has different positive attributes that make her unique, the most recent Disney princesses are especially fitting in today’s society. In Jena Stephens’ analysis of the three most recent princesses, excluding Anna and Elsa, she describes Rapunzel by saying, “Her forward thinking, desire to prove she is just as capable as a man, and realistic dreaming make her a great role model for young girls”. Whether it is to become a princess and marry her true love like Cinderella or open a restaurant like Princess Tiana, all of the Disney princesses have aspirations. Jena Stephens says, “The words that Tiana sings about the necessary hard work it will take for her to reach her dream stand out as a message to young viewersone that does not covey that love is the only thing that will make girls happy”. Not only do Disney princesses have dreams but they make their dreams come true with hard work. As Liz Gumbinner described her trip to Disney World with her daughters, “The princess luncheon led to a great discussion later in our hotel room, in which we told our girls that it is okay to be strong, smart, hardworking and still dream of marrying a prince”. Disney princesses carry themselves in a humble and confident manner. The princesses are beautiful but they are not conceited. Lastly, they are never stuck up but rather loving and independent which makes their character so
England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-meek, M. (2011). Proquest. “Gender role portrayal and the disney princesses”. Sex Roles, 64(7-8), 555-567.
In society today, there is pressure from all sides to conform to a certain ideal of beauty. People are overwhelmed with the different types of images and media forms that are telling people how to act and what to look like. Media is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It has the power to educate, affect social change, and much more, but if taken incorrectly people will take drastic lengths to change something about themselves. There have been many attempts to empower women through different types of media, but many have failed miserably. Over the last couple of years, Disney has struggled greatly with the representation of women throughout Princess movies because young girls are hounded with images of princesses,
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for