From Delicate Damsels to Strong Self-Starters
analytical Essay
980 words
Young girls from all over the world idolize the princesses created by Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company (also known as Disney) is a mass media corporation founded by Walt Disney that is known for the creation of widely known and loved animated films, many of which include greatly admired princesses. The popularity of these princesses reached such a height that Disney created a franchise featuring various female heroines from several of Disney’s successful films. Society’s views on gender roles at different periods of time are reflected through each Disney Princess’s character and the time in which they were created. The first three princesses Disney creates each represent society’s ideal “woman” at the time in which they are created. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, released in 1937, is a movie of many firsts. Not only is it the first full-length, animated feature film, it is the first Disney movie and its protagonist, Snow White, is the first princess to join the Disney Princess franchise. Snow White, an iconic character, is a kind and beautiful damsel who is victimized by an evil queen who is jealous of her beauty and youth as the queen is both older and uglier than she. Snow White dreams and wishes for a prince to rescue her from an inauspicious situation yet she never attempts to save herself. Society is expectant of this behavior because women are viewed as weak beings in 1937, having only just gained their right to vote. Cinderella from the movie, “Cinderella”, released in 1950, and Aurora from the movie, “Sleeping Beauty”, released in 1959, share many characteristics with Snow White. All three leading ladies’ “happily ever afters” require a dashing prince who is attracted to their beauty to make it happen. In response ... ... middle of paper ... ...e changing views of women’s roles in society. At first, the Disney Princesses are weak and powerless women, saved only by their beauty. Eventually, the new Disney Princesses are independent, and do not wait around to be saved. Now, the Disney Princesses are the heroes of their own stories and have illustrated that women are as capable as men. Without a doubt, the Disney Princesses will continue to evolve as they have for the past seventy six years. How? That is up to society. Works Cited "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Hugel, Melissa. "How Disney Princesses Went From Passive Damsels to Active Heroes." PolicyMic. N.p., 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2014. Salt, Limara. "The Evolution of Disney Princesses." Virgin Media. N.p., 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. "Walt Disney Company." World Book. Vol. 21. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. 20-21. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the walt disney company (also known as disney) is known for the creation of widely known and loved animated films, many of which include greatly admired princesses.
- Explains that disney's "snow white and the seven dwarfs" is a movie of many firsts, and its protagonist, snow white, is the first princess to join the disney princess franchise.
- Analyzes how the next three princesses reflect society's changing thoughts on female role models. ariel rebels against her family in order to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a human.
- Explains that disney's next seven princesses continue to progress further and further from the damsels in distress that they once were.
- Explains that the disney princesses have evolved due to the changing views of women's roles in society.
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- Stover, Cassandra (2013) "Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist Disney Princess," LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 29.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the original interpretations of disney classics snow white and sleeping beauty are greatly reinvented, due to the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms.
- Analyzes how basile's sun, moon, and talia is the first recorded version of sleeping beauty.
- Analyzes how the king is infatuated with talia, who is passive, and disposes of her after he's done using her.
- Analyzes how grimm's fairytale, snow white and the seven dwarfs, hides the symbolic natures of gender roles of women.
- Analyzes how the royal men in sun, moon, and talia are infatuated with beautiful dead girls as a prized possession.
- Analyzes how the royals are enamored by talia and snow white because they are ideals of beauty by attaining a deceased and preserved appearance.
- Analyzes how the disney princesses are confined to a country home, while snow white is kept in the guarded glass casket, preserving their youthfulness.
- Explains that ancient symbology in fantasy literature: a psychological stud. jefferson, nc: macfarland &, 2012.
1563 wordsRead More - Feminism In Disney Moviesanalytical essayIn 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,
In this essay, the author
- Argues that frozen challenges gender stereotypes by portraying both male and female characters and replacing romantic love with a sisterly bond as the act of "true love."
- Explains that frozen takes place in arendelle, where princess elsa has the power to freeze and create ice, and her younger sister, anna, loves to play with her.
- Analyzes how anna is the opposite of what the stereotypical princess should be. she is hyper, clumsy, playful, and awkward in the most charming way possible.
- Analyzes how kristoff breaks gender stereotypes through different character traits that are expressed through the film.
- Analyzes how the scene reveals an unconventional act of "true love": anna is accidentally hit in the heart with ice by elsa and the only way to break the curse is by kissing prince hans.
- Analyzes how disney has realized the anti-feminist attributes that have been expressed through previous films. frozen is just the start of a new princess era, but is already empowering young girls and boys.
1213 wordsRead More - Disney and Traditional Stereotypesanalytical essayA 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 accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in Walt Disney movies. These unrealistic stereotypes may be detrimental to children because they grow up with a distorted view of how men and women interact. Disney animated films assign gender roles to characters, and young children should not be exposed to inequality between genders because its effect on their view of what is right and wrong in society is harmful to their future.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how women strive to achieve equality between the sexes, but mainstream media contradicts these accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in walt disney movies.
- Analyzes how disney films encourage women to maintain their beauty to capture men's attention, and have a curvy, petite body. the little mermaid is based on ron clements and john musker.
- Analyzes the stereotype of disney women not falling in love with their perfect prince in the end. aladdin, a street urchin, meets princess jasmine in 1992's "agrabah".
- Explains that in disney movies, the female character is always in need of a hero to help her out of stick situations. both male and female characters are saved by their own prince charming.
- Argues that disney movies imply that women should follow the "traditional" stereotypes of a female in society, such as looking pretty with no brains, and powerless on her own in dangerous situations.
1067 wordsRead More - Construction Of The Female Self Summaryanalytical essayIn the article Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Readings Of the Disney Heroine, Jill Birmie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith are looking at the female self and how it was developed based on two theories: Standpoint by Parker Follet and the psychological development of girls by Gilligam. That by examines gender identity especially girls and how media exposure affects them through analyzing five of Disney movies: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas. They segmented the article into three titles: The Oxymoron of Power and the Perfect Girl where they introduced the two theories in which they built their critic on, Construction of the Female Self where they talk about the evolution in the female character from Cinderella to Pocahontas, and Construction of Self in Relation to Others where they talk about the evolution of the self in relation to others from power-over to power-with until power-to. Finally they concluded that even if the female character in Disney’s movies was changing to become more
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jill birmie henke, diane zimmerman umble, and nancy j. smith are looking at the female self and how it was developed based on standpoint by parker follet and the psychological development of girls by gilligam.
- Explains that s of this article are all professors in millersville university and all have a phd degree, and nancy j. smith is the director of women’s studies at the university.
- Analyzes how the writers mention the psychological development that talks about the invention of the "perfect girl" who is always kind and good and happy and quite.
- Analyzes how disney movies kept the idea of the princess fall in love with charming prince. although the female is the main character, she always looks powerless, dependant and weak.
- Analyzes how ariel's voice was shut down despite the change in the little mermaid.
- Analyzes how belle is the first character not to fall in love and occupies almost 80 percent of the movie. she has a better control on her life and chooses her own destiny.
- Analyzes how pocahontas was strong defending her identity far from a marriage. disney stressed on the importance of the family relationship and sacrifices that girl can make to protect her family.
- Analyzes how disney is changing the role of the girl in her movies to respond to social changes, but the idea of "perfect girl" still exists. "brave", where the female character is strong, independent, and proves that can survive without a man, will give us hope that finally disney's movies start to take the side of women.
1218 wordsRead More - Women have been in movies since they first started playing on the big screen, they have played an assortment of roles, the damsel in distress, the first one to die, the poor scullery maid who ends up a princess, the evil witch, etc. While some of the roles have shed bad light on women, for example being a femme fatale, other movies have set positive examples for the future generations. As time has changed, the Disney princesses have evolved with it, each princess becoming more outspoken and independent, influencing the young women of today to want to grow up to be just like them, “They enact a shift from the "princesses" of ballet to the "heroes" of sport. Heroism, egalitarianism and autonomy are slipped into the conventions of Disney princesshood” (Do Rozario, R.,C., 2004, para. 34). In Mulan the movie, Mulan saves her father by disobeying him, and taking his place in the war by doing that she ended up saving her whole country. Disney isn’t telling young women to disobey their parents; they’re showing them that while you may be a girl, you can be brave and succeed.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that movies have impacted people's lives since they were first made, and continue to do so today. movies have cast women to play the roles of heroes.
- Analyzes how women have been in movies since they first started playing on the big screen. while some roles have shed bad light on women, others have set positive examples for the future generations.
- Opines that actresses have empowered young women to become something more than just the average girl. feminists call katharine hepburn a role model.
- Opines that young women of today are living the life katharine hepburn exemplified, but they might not know it. they all get to be accomplished and smart and physically active without necessarily recognizing those are hard-won rights.
- Explains that katharine hepburn was a role model for young women, and movies like cinderella have empowered women to want more than just an average life.
- Analyzes how movies have encouraged actresses to change the roles they have traditionally played, shedding light to feminist movements in the us.
- Explains that actresses, one movie at a time, have changed the way the world sees women. they helped shed light on the feminist movement in the u.s.
- Opines that some people believe women have been in roles that are less powerful than men's, and to an extent that’s true. some movies haven’t been painting women in the best light.
- Explains that in both cinderella and pretty woman the male sex is ranked higher in wealth, occupation, and status than the female. the prince's family is not wealthy but royal, making him the future king and ruler of his country.
- Opines that many movies have objectified women, such as being the first one to die, or having the woman play the domestic role of cleaning, cooking, and bearing children.
- Opines that many movies have cast women in roles that are less powerful than men's and have objectified women, but there were movies that helped women become the women they are today. actresses have empowered women and set examples for future generations.
- Opines that feminists call katharine hepburn a role model for young women.
963 wordsRead More - The Underlying Truth about Disney’s Princessesanalytical essayOver the years, Disney has presented many movies to their audience—most having a Princess as the protagonist. These movies became a babysitter for most parents in the early stages of their child’s life. Most people found these movies as relatively harmless. The obvious assumption about the Disney Princesses is that they only desire true love since almost every movie ends in romance. Parents just viewed these movies as romantic movies on a child’s level. However, these movies were not solely intended for an audience of an age that can be counted on both hands. They were intended to speak to “an intelligent and active audience” (Sumera 40). However, there are many people who disagree with the ways of the Disney Princess movies. The disagreements lie within the portrayal of women gender roles in these movies. It is argued that Disney portrays women as a being nurturing individuals without any control over their identity. The women are unable to think for themselves, because they are uneducated, and they are quick to fall in love with the first man that pays them any attention. However, this is not completely true. The people that are against the portrayal of women in the Disney movies are failing to recognize the underlying concepts in these movies. For example, Belle, in Beauty and the Beast, was well educated, Mulan went to war despite the consequences, and Merida, in Brave, stood up to her mother in refusal to marry. The Disney Princesses desired intelligence, bravery, strength, and independence—not true love’s kiss.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that disney princesses were harmless, but they were meant to speak to an intelligent and active audience. disney portrays women as nurturing individuals without any control over their identity.
- Explains that beauty and the beast is a disney movie that debuted in 1991. the audience enjoyed watching the relationship of belle and beast evolve from absolute disdain to pure adoration for one another.
- Analyzes how disney's belle is an educated woman who enjoys reading and can think for herself.
- Analyzes how belle's willingness to search for her father and take his place in imprisonment exemplifies her bravery, which broke her out of the "feminine" ideology.
- Analyzes how mulan exemplifies bravery in "female chauvinist pigs." she stands up for her father against the king's messenger and cuts her hair and dresses like a man to fight in the war.
- Analyzes how disney redefines strength and bravery as "womanly" traits despite society's view of them as manly traits.
- Analyzes how merida, in brave, exemplifies strength in other areas than mulan. she is able to shoot the arrows perfectly in the center of three different bull's-eyes.
- Analyzes how merida is in turmoil with her mother over her lack of desire to get married. her mother recognizes that her daughter's happiness and passion for independence is far more important than all the years of preparing for marriage.
- Explains that independence was a key factor in each of the three disney movies, not just in brave. belle, from beauty and the beast, was educated, brave, and independent.
1780 wordsRead More - Disney Stereotypesanalytical essayThe Walt Disney Company is a pillar of American culture, and has had an immense impact on society as a whole, for decades. The films created are filled with beautiful messages, catchy songs, and colorful characters. When discussing Disney films, critiques, and viewers in general, tend to focus the conversation around the portrayal of women and the influence it has on young women. There has been an unavoidable debate concerning the ideologies promoted by the Disney films, and in particular its princesses, since Snow White came out in 1937. The princesses were in fact often represented as passive characters with tiny waists, who are constantly in need of rescuing. These concepts in creating female characters contribute to societal standards of
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the walt disney company is a pillar of american culture and has had an immense impact on society.
- Explains that every walt disney prince is based off of the same archetypal character: handsome men with a tendency to be dependent, diffident, and submissive.
- Explains that disney introduced only two types of men in their films: the dashing hero and the incompetent father figure, which are stereotypical one-dimensional characters that push the story forward rather than be an inspiration or role model for male viewer.
- Analyzes how walt disney allows his male characters to develop a personality and become part of the story in their own right.
- Explains that the young attractive heroes are only one side of the male characters in early disney films, as the older characters offer the humor in the story.
889 wordsRead More - Female Roles and Stereotypes in Disney Animated Filmsanalytical essayEngland, D., Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. (2011). Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses. Sex Roles, 64(7/8), 555-567.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how disney's females and stereotypes in animated films changed over the years, from the early 1900s, beginning with their first feature film snow white (1937) to their most recent box office film frozen (2013).
- Explains that snow white, cinderella, and sleeping beauty were the first disney princesses in the era. all three were portrayed as helpless or a damsel in distress.
- Analyzes how disney upgraded their roles of females with the little mermaid, aladdin, and beauty and the beast. belle was the most remarkable with her brains and intellect.
- Analyzes how disney took female roles to a new level with mulan in the 1990's. she was the first disney princess to be the heroine and stopped shang yu from invading china.
- Explains that brave is one of the first mother-daughter films, and the story mostly revolves around their relationship and merida's lack of dainty look.
- Analyzes how frozen hits every good thing from the past advances of females in disney films. anna represented the traditional disney princess, while elsa was the first disney female heroine to be in a role of power.
- Analyzes how frozen is a good film for women and girls. the male is not the savior, but the sister's love is what saves both anna and elsa.
- Analyzes how disney's female roles in films progressed in correspondence with the progression of woman stereotypes throughout the decades. from the 1930s to the late 1960s, the ideal woman was petite and obedient.
- Cites thomas, o. and descartes, l., and collier-meek, m. (2011). gender role portrayal and the disney princesses
676 wordsRead More - Sexism In Disney Moviesanalytical essayDisney movies have a very narrow view of what women should be like. Since the arrival of the first Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, the idea of it has expanded, but rather marginally. There is a clear distinction of what a young women should be and what she shouldn’t be. Those who do not fit the mold of Disney’s expectations are cast aside to become villains, but those who do, end up becoming the damsel in distress. Ultimately, these stereotypes are what influences young girls who watch these films, and can have devastating effects on their self worth and change their idea of what it means to be a women. Films like Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
In this essay, the author
- Explains that disney movies have a narrow view of what women should be like, and that stereotypes are what influence young girls who watch these films.
- Analyzes how the princesses have been saved by their princes in all four of their texts, including sleeping beauty, the little mermaid, and snow white.
- Analyzes how sleeping beauty, cinderella, and snow white all echo the values that were held in the early 1900's - that women are weak willed who needs to be constantly taken care of and supported by a man.
- Analyzes how princesses in disney movies are portrayed to be one dimensional and have the same talents and ambitions. they are all kind, beautiful, helpful, naive, and overall the ideal women.
- Analyzes how sexuality plays a large role in cinderella, sleeping beauty, the little mermaid, and snow white and the seven dwarfs, thus contributing to sexism.
- Analyzes how the images from snow white and the seven dwarfs, cinderella, the little mermaid and sleeping beauty reflect the values held in the 1900s.
- Analyzes how the stereotypical portrayal of disney princesses emphasizes the sexism in the films. diversity is not explored in any of these films, whether it be about race, weight, character development or personality.
1820 wordsRead More - Book Review: Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture Adriana Cerezoanalytical essayOrenstein explores the rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and the differences that are in today’s society. The rise and fast spreading message that girls receive from the Disney Princesses is one of her biggest issues. Not only does she disagree, but other mothers from Daisy’s preschool do as well. In the second chapter Orenstein invites all the mothers with daughters that are obsessed with Princesses to discuss the subject, one mother states that she sees no problem with encouraging being feminine and then states, “On the other hand, I a...
In this essay, the author
- Introduces peggy orenstein's cinderella ate my daughter: dispatches from the front lines of the new girlie-girl culture.
- Analyzes how orenstein explores the rise of girl power in the 1990s and the differences that are in today's society.
- Analyzes how orenstein embarks on a journey to find the answers to these questions.
- Opines that orenstein's point of view is a bit more conservative than most, as she is white and doesn't understand why anyone would pay $500 for an american girl and her accessories.
- Opines that orenstein does a great job of bringing light on the issues of sexualization of or youth and why so many choose disney to try to keep our young girls safe.
715 wordsRead More - Gender Identity In Walt Disney Moviesanalytical essayDisney movies, which can be seen as very strong influences on impressionable children, seem to unequivocally present the romantic lives of princesses. In every film, the audience watches a beautiful princess almost fall into a moment of danger, if not for the charming prince, quick to rescue her. Yet, at a deeper level, we see that Disney Films are vehicles of powerful gender ideologies creating. Disney, through its movies, has the power to create a generational time frame of attitudes and beliefs in future gender definitions and gender roles for billions of young girls and female adolescents around the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that fairy tales have existed for hundreds of years to impart lessons to young children and teach them the importance of certain behaviors, thoughts or attitudes necessary for cultural success.
- Analyzes how a young girl's journey into adulthood is constrained by the constructed ideals of femininity perpetuated by cultural traditions, education, and media.
- Analyzes how disney's movies are powerful gender ideologies creating a generational time frame of attitudes and beliefs in future gender definitions and gender roles for billions of young girls and female adolescents around the world.
- Explains the aim of this paper is to examine the kinds of gendered ideas that disney films has projected to young women with regard to femininity and how they construct very specific judgments about what is or is not desirable in females in their animated movies.
480 wordsRead More - Most children grow up watching Disney princess movies. Girls want to be extraordinary, beautiful, and similar to the princesses seen in these movies in terms of behavior. These movies teach them that they must be fashionable, beautiful and be rescued by a prince in order to be happy. However, these movies have been shown to have negative impacts on these young girls’ life, often resulting in low self-esteem, disobedience, overdependence, and an unrealistic expectation of male partners. As a result, young girls should not be encouraged to watch Disney princess movies because they idolize the characters, which are simply fictitious and just meant for entertainment, and these movies also cause disobedience, low self-esteem and lack of confidence.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that children should not be encouraged to watch disney princess movies because they idolize the characters, which are fictitious and just meant for entertainment.
- Explains that disney princess movies display the image of extraordinary beautiful sexy girls as princesses. they define beauty as having the perfect body image, and the bad people in these movies are ugly, fat, or basically unattractive.
- Analyzes how disney princess movies teach young girls to be disobedient and weak in order to get what they want and become happy.
- Opines that disney princess movies teach young girls to be strong and independent, but this is not true, since they are weak and are often rescued by princes.
- Opines that disney princess movies are inappropriate for young girls. people blame adult media for a child's corruption, but they fail to see where it all started.
719 wordsRead More - It's Time For a Gay or Lesbian Disney Heroopinion essayUnfortunately, these stories all lack a crucial sense of diversity in today’s emerging and multicultural world. In the realm of the Disney Princesses franchise specifically, seven of the eleven women are Caucasian. Of these princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, and Aurora all exhibit similar aspects of female subordination and second-class citizenry. These women, so idolized around the world for their beauty and enchanting fairytales, are also remarkably indicative of a time where civil rights for women were not prevalent, and furthermore illustrate a sense of complacency with this environment. In the current media-centered learning structure, adolescent girls look up to the princesses’ example, and are thereby taught that it is both normal and acceptable to be subjugated to men and dependent on them.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that disney's new film, "sofia the first," features their first hispanic princess, as confirmed by the movie’s executive producer. celebrating sofia opens the door for an influx of ethnic diversity.
- Argues that divorce has become less of a taboo subject over the years as the rate of its occurrence has risen.
- Opines that a gay disney prince or lesbian princess will cause an uproar among socially conservative perspectives worldwide.
- Opines that adding progressive visions into the walt disney company's repertoire would improve their image and many cultures around the world that disney influences.
- Explains giroux, henry, the mouse that roared: disney and the end of innocence, lanham, md: rowman and littlefield publishers, 2010.
- Explains navarrette jr., ruben, "why isn't disney's princess sofia latino?"
- Explains pinsky, mark, the gospel according to disney: faith, trust, and pixie dust.
- Explains that the walt disney company is no. 39 in the diversityinc top 50.
- Explains walt disney on the front lines. buena vista home entertainment, 2003. film.
- Opines that disney's racially insulting habits were reinforced when the company incurred such a huge profit.
- Analyzes how the disney princesses lack a crucial sense of diversity in today's emerging and multicultural world.
- Argues that disney's role should be to encourage broad perspectives by bringing diverse players into the arena. disney needs to focus on animating real-life issues in the hopes of improving society.
- Explains that diversity in disney films : critical essays on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability.
2632 wordsRead More - An Analysis of “Disney’s Politically Correct Pocahontas”analytical essaySince 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.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that disney's "politically correct" pocahontas failed at being historically accurate and was culturally and socially inoffensive.
- Argues that disney should be held accountable for reinforcing antiquated ideals and promote healthy, realistic gender equality.
- Explains that disney's pocahontas portrays a dreamy, idealistic situation in which early settlers and the native americans were able to resolve differences having zero causalities and an insignificant amount of confrontations
- Analyzes how kilpatrick's informal article effectively argues the always-relevant ethnic equality and gender biases in contemporary media.
1207 wordsRead More - Longitudinal Effects Of Engagement With Disney Princesseanalytical essayCriticists however note the potential dangers of negative effects for young girls who may learn to put themselves into those gender stereotyped categories due to their exposal to the Disney Princesses. Since these almost always need men to save them and are often displayed in weak and vulnerable ways with the sole purpose to fulfill only traditional gender role stereotyped types of work. Furthermore, the article explains how more recent Disney movies approach a more feminist and modern version of Disney Princesses, however the merchandise still display them as more feminine and gender stereotyped in addition to the fact that the older Disney princesses remain very popular among young girls. The article mentions several minor studies that have been conducted with kindergarten aged girls and young adolescent women with the results that an “internalization of princess culture in the early childhood can potentially affect those girls’ long-term attitudes towards gender role typical distribution of work, behaviours, etc. It is also mentioned how boys who often watch Disney movies can be affected by the gender roles in the movies, such as for instance the possible engagement in less violent forms of play that exclude weapons etc. and their greater interest compared to other boys of the same age group in more feminine plays. Due to the broad range of movie related products and toys young children are often influenced by these when playing with gendered
In this essay, the author
- Explains that disney princesses are a safe and age-appropriate media model, but critics note the potential dangers of negative effects for young girls.
- Analyzes the short and long-term effects of disney princess movies, media, and toys on young children's "developing conceptions of the social world and their place in it."
- Explains that the experiment involved teachers, parents, and 198 children from various ethnicities, different environmental/situational circumstances and kindergartens and preschools of different locations.
- Explains that girls had higher levels of engagement, influence, and identification with all disney princess related media and merchandise than boys.
- Summarizes sarah m. coyne, jennifer ruh linder, eric e. rasmussen, david a. nelson, victoria birkbeck's study, pretty as a princess: longitudinal effects of engagement with disney princesses on gender stereotypes, body esteem, and prosocial behavior in children.
- Explains the article "pretty as a princess: longitudinal effects of engagement with disney princesses on gender stereotypes, body esteem, and prosocial behavior in children."
- Explains how the social cognitive theory of gender development suggests that there are two mechanisms named modelling and direct tuition that together build the complex process of gender development
1546 wordsRead More