Disney Princess Stereotypes

As the word princess comes to mind, people associate that with someone compliant and portraying someone perfect. In the refinement process of the word princess, Poniewozik puts forth the idea that, “She should be pretty, but in a class-president way, not a head-cheerleader way”(325). He is stating how the perfect princess picture every girl looks up to should be someone who is intelligent and a leader, not just nice looking. Poniewozik does this by highlighting the fact that girls should be able to stand up for themselves, and speak upon what they desire, whatever that may be for

The minds of children are like sponges, absorbing everything they hear, touch, and see. They are consciously taught ideas in school and participate in subconscious learning of moral behaviors and attitudes outside of the classroom. Disney is undeniably a large part of most children’s subconscious learning. Regardless of the movie, children are internalizing stereotypes of what princesses and princes do and what they look like. Before 2009, the stereotypical princess was a character being of lighter skin, dependent on men, and being of privileged descent.

The movie “The Princess and the Frog” is not your typical “boy saves girl” movie. Instead, this Disney movie presents us with a strong female lead who doesn’t need a man to achieve her goals. In many previous Disney movies, it is demonstrated that a girl needs a man in order to get her happily ever after. Without a prince, she is nothing. In “The Princess and the Frog” the gender roles are presented to us as equal, even reverse at times.

These phenomenons bring up the fact that just by them watching this they get a certain perception of a princess and how to be one. Not only does this have an effect on girls so do the approval of others as they understand

Young girls are being told by the boys that they cannot do certain things. Most girls believe that their favorite color is supposed to be pink instead of blue, or that they are supposed to play with dolls instead of cars. Disney’s campaign is attempting to show these girls that they can do whatever they want by having the princesses do what they

In the short essay, “The Princess Paradox,” James Poniewozik, whos is the chief TV critic for The New York Times, introduces the idea that parents have recently tried to stay away from giving their daughters princess related toys and clothes, contrasting a girly stereotype, and instead, give them a more wide variety of toys, including the ones associated with boy’s stereotypes such as legos, from which she can choose from and determine her own interests. Additionally, Poniewozik states that parents get frustrated when their “empowered, self-confident budding Marie Curie tells you [the parent] she wants to be… a princess [for halloween]” (Poniewozik). According to Poniewozik, past princess culture implies that being both a princess and self-determined

To most little girls growing up wishing to become a princess and find their Prince Charming is nothing far from normal. From the very first Disney princess movies in the early 1900s young girls have naturally falling in love with the princess characters. However the morals of these movies are there to mask the negative impact that these movies are actually putting on young girls. For years these movies have been teaching girls to be sweet, emotional and a damsel in distress. That way their Prince Charmings will fall in love with them and save them when they are in danger, this trend is shown in multiple disney princess movies where the princesses are dependent on their prince.

Rhetorical Analysis Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and many other Disney movies all have one thing in common, they feature a female lead who need a male figure to save them. However, things started to change after the release of Mulan 1988. It changed from only having those female leads who always needed to rely on someone, to females who were able to show off their more masculine side. In the article “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Pixar/Disney,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden explored the idea that Pixar movies were starting to show male characters who weren 't afraid to show their emotions and feminine attributes, to promote the “New Man” model.

From its onset with its first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon today. But over the years, various parent groups, scholars and film critics have accused Disney for creating shallow, stereotypical princesses whose ultimate aim was to find her 'prince charming ' and live happily ever after. In her article, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein expresses her concern over the effect of princess figures like Cinderella on young girls ' perceptions of themselves and how they should behave (“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”).

Walt Disney has been making girls think that in order to be beautiful you have to be the perfect shape and size. (Shortridge). Some people believe that the Disney Princesses are great role models for children because Mulan teaches us to never give up on the strengths we have just because we are girls, Belle teaches us to never judge a book by its cover, and Pocahontas shows us real princesses are strong leaders. On the other hand, some individuals feel that Disney Princesses are bad role models because of their unrealistic body appearance, telling girls every marriage ends with a happily ever after when you get married at a young age, and saying every girl needs a man in order to be happy. Both sides have valid points but in reality everyone

Princesses’ in Disney movies are tied down to a recurring theme: the princess that must be saved from the evil woman by the charming prince. A significant contrast to the usually weak and easily persuaded figure of the father. Even though the women are portrayed as weak, nobody stops to think how strong they have to be to carry the responsibility of an entire household on her shoulder, while the men always seem to be traveling or ill. Fairytales are based on a patriarchal way of thinking and as time passes by, it’s proven to be detrimental to society Women and men are constantly being bound to a series of stereotypes.

The Little Mermaid which was produced in 1989, was the first Disney movie to challenge the traditional gender roles, for the fact that Ariel wanted to explore, and was more independent and assertive in her desires than the earlier princesses of the 1930’s and 50s films. Also the prince in The Little Mermaid went against traditional gender roles as well, simply because he was more affectionate and loving than his prince counterparts in other Disney films. “Both the male and female roles have changed over time, but overall the male characters evinced less change then the female characters and were more androgynous throughout.” (Descartes & England, pg.566). Disney movies have been for a long time a strong media target for children, and can serve as a way to address stereotypical gender roles (Leaper, 2000).

The characters in The Little Mermaid are stragetically designed in a way that conveniently adheres to stereotypical ideas of how males and females should behave, value, and appear according to their gender roles in a patriarchal society that demeans women. In order to do this, the main male characters, including King Triton and Prince Eric, must depict hypermasculinity to dramatically contrast from the creation of their fragile and inferior female counterparts. This is to also exhibit the men’s hypothetical ownership over these women, and using their displayed incompetence as justification of their assumed possession of Ariel. Ariel, the central female character, is depicted as beautiful, because she meets stereotypical standards of beauty

3.3 Aladdin “Aladdin“ is a relatively old Disney movie, released 1992, which won several Academy Awards and broke grossing records of its days. The animated feature is about a street-urchin called Aladdin, who falls in love with the princess Jasmine as she escapes the palace and meets him at the marketplace. However, the evil vizier Jafar finds out Aladdin is the “diamond in the rough“, the only one that can get into the cave, where the miracle lamp is, that he so desperately wants. So Aladdin is arrested and tricked into getting the lamp for Jafar, but eventually catches it himself.

Whether she is singing "Part of Your World" from within a cavern filled with knick-knacks or watching longingly as her sisters partake in the wonders of age old traditions on the surface, the Little Mermaid is a fairytale character which countless children have enjoyed encountering throughout the nearly two centuries that she has existed. In the time between The Little Mermaid 's conception and the present, this tale about a young sea-princess longing for a life out of the ocean has been adapted into multiple stories, plays, musicals, and films; yet, with each adaptation comes a different set of artistic liberties taken by the creators which meld the mermaid into a form which vastly contrasts with the original text. The original Little Mermaid