Negative Portrayal Of Women In Disney Princess Movies

Disney tells stories about pretty girls and princes who meet each other once and fall in love. This indirectly implants in children’s mind that appearance and materialism does matter, which might lead to vanity. For instance, the Hunchback of Notre Dame shows us that no matter how caring and kind Quasimodo is, Esmeralda and Phoebus are one couple because they are adequately good-looking. Another research has shown that in Disney classic movies, female characters are praised for their appearances (55%) and only 11% are for their abilities; however, Disney has changed their practice as in the millennial Disney movies, women are commented on their skills and abilities more (40%). (Guo 2016)

There are also negative life lessons found in Disney films. Some examples are on how it’s a must for each girl to become a princess; ugly people are evil and immoral and that being beautiful is moral and; almost all Disney films would have a happily ever after which is not true in real life. With all these flaws found in Disney films, Disney princesses should be portrayed in a way that will have a positive impact on young girls. Disney has created many Disney princesses that have had an impact on young girls. Their very first Disney princess movie was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” which was released in 1937.

DISNEY SEXISM In society, there are gender roles which put each sex in stereotypical figures. These roles affect the way how we speak, dress and act. In general, women expected to behave feminine such as being polite and fragile and on the other hand men are expected to be aggressive and stronger. All these roles are over exaggerated in Disney 's women and men figures. When we look at the society, children are the ones who are more likely to being manipulated by elements such as media.

By this I mean, I was obsessed with becoming a size 0, wearing dresses all the time and even trying to talk like the princesses. One of my favorite princesses from Disney was The Little Mermaid. Analyzing this movie has made me realize that women have been portrayed in such a diminishing way at such a young age.

Also in both stories, Cinderella still fits into the slipper and the step-sister are caught for trying to be Cinderella. However in the Disney’s Cinderella everyone lives happily ever after. In contrast, in Grimm’s Cinderella the step-sisters do not live happily ever after instead they are blinded by the birds pecking their eyes out. Another difference between the two stories is in Disney’s Cinderella the two step-sisters try to put their feet into the slipper, but it was obvious that they were both too big, then Cinderella tried it one and it fit just right. However in Grimm’s Cinderella the two step-sisters cut their heels and toes to fit into the slipper.

Since the 1930’s, Disney has been producing adaptations of fairy tales. Disney is known for their use of stereotypical images which is prominent still in today’s society. The first Disney film emerged with the adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and soon after that came Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Since the beginning, when the fairy tale princesses were “born”, it became evident that young girls and women were trying to imitate their behaviors. Young girls and women identify themselves as these character which affects not only how they view themselves but also their future roles in society based on the girls’ unrealistic beliefs.

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?”).

While many think Cinderella it is thought of a poor girl that had a good life with her parents. Cinderella had a mother and a Father at the beginning of all three versions of Cinderella. The Father figure and Cinderella had a terrible woman live with them because The Father thought that Cinderella would need a Mother figure since her biological mother had passed away, right? Well, many people think that but what if the ways the interpretation of Cinderella is about to change. The three tales of Cinderella analyzed have very similar structure and substance, themes, archetypes like the circle and of course the Godmother character deviates significantly from each other.

On the other hand, in the Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, their also may be a negative effect on the girls specially as shown in the Sleeping Beauty that the princess is very blonde and she is very skinny too and has a very melodious voice. So this may be a negative effect on those girls who are not skinny, blonde and don’t have a melodious voice. The girls who don’t has these qualities will force them to think that to get a prince, get married with a prince or to become a princess they must look blonde, they must have skinny body and sweet voice and who don’t have these qualities they will get upset, will be tensed about themselves that they cannot get married with a prince as they are black, fatty and don’t have sweet voice. So there must be equality

With her beautiful dress, she received “a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the whole world.” At the ball, no one is aware of Cinderella’s true identity. Despite that, the King’s son falls in love with her and she gets a happily-ever-after. Due to the different social classes Cinderella portrays to be, she is treated differently

Gender Ideology in Grimm and Disney Why are young girls in society expected to look up to perfect princesses as role models? When did singing with animals and loving to cook and clean become admirable traits? Since 1937, movies have been made about the Grimm fairy tale princesses that highlight these ideals. Not only are these things inaccurate in real life; they are also altered from their original stories.

Until August 18, 1920, women were restricted rights. Throughout history, gender roles were set as women were ineligible to be educated and get paying jobs, leaving them to stay at home to cook and clean. August 18, 1920 was the day it changed for woman. The 19th amendment of the United States constitution was ratified to give women their own suffrage. After this day, women gained more equality, access to education, jobs in the workforce, and a change in domestic role.

In "Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect", Stephanie Hanes makes the argument that Disney princesses and modern day media influence young girls in negative ways. Hanes suggests that sexualization is everywhere including cartoons. She points out that any detail such as Ms. Piggy showing cleavage, leads girls to assume that doing so is okay and natural. Furthermore, Hanes asserts that allowing girls to see themselves as sex objects is a contributor to depression, eating disorders, and many other health problems for young girls.

The title Miss Representation is significant because the documentary revolves around the representation of women in media and how their portrayals are oversexualized, placing a misogynistic lens over how women are represented. The argument that the title makes is that women are shown primarily as weaker, less cerebral, and more useful as physical objects than men, and therefore are highly misrepresented by TV shows, movies, and advertisements which focus only on the physical aspects of women and not on the academic or mental aspects. This is pervasive throughout the documentary, as seen through interviews with various women and young girls providing examples of the misrepresentation of women. One such example is when a young girl discusses the fact that

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.