Disney Stereotypes

It’s a tale as old as time. The damsel-in-distress needs to save her family or her kingdom, so she goes on a quest. She befriends the criminal and turns him into a law-abiding citizen. Disney’s films have the obvious message such as anyone can be anything they want to be, but it is with a sacrifice. To be what they want, something must change. It’s seen in some of the older Disney films with characters such as Ariel and Cinderella. Their unrealistic physical appearance along with the stereotypical behavior of many princesses have affected younger viewers in as little as a year, according to research done in 2012 to 2014. Disney’s misuse of gender stereotypes affects younger viewers in their social and gender developmental stages.

It’s a common

Prosocial Behavior: Parents and teachers were asked to report how the children interacted with other students and children their age. Questions such as if they were helpful towards others would be rated 1 = never or almost never true to 5 = always or almost always true for parents and 1 = never to 5 = almost always for teachers to rate.

Once a year had passed, the results and questionnaires were analyzed. After connecting the frequency of exposure to Disney media to the behaviors mentioned before, the researchers found that the girls who had more involvement with Disney princess products started showing signs of stereotypical behavior a year later (McBride) and would stick with playing with the same gender over their siblings. Observers noticed an increased use of toys that had relation to Disney princesses. “Gendered behavior can become problematic if girls avoid important learning experiences that aren't perceived as feminine or believe their opportunities in life are different as women” as McBride summarizes from the