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Gender Roles In Disney Princesses

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From the very beginning of Disney Princesses’, young children have received the wrong ideas on what gender roles should really be like. The story of Cinderella is about a young girl whos mother and father both passed away. However, before her father's passing, he remarried a woman with two daughters. Her step-mother took in Cinderella and made her the maid for her and her two children after the passing of Cinderella’s father. After being tormented and ridiculed, Cinderella was introduced to her Fairy Godmother. Her Godmother magically turned her beautiful to attend the Ball and meet the King. By the end of the story, the King finds Cinderella and she leaves her tragic life to be a wealthy and married princess. From this story, and many other similar Disney Princess stories, Ashley Bispo was able to write her article, “Fairytale Dreams: Disney Princesses’ Effect on Young Girls’ Self-Image”. This writing piece discusses the ideas of how stories like Cinderella have negative effects on girls and how they see themselves and/or others. Through both readings, it is clear that the Disney Princesses’ have given girls and boys an inaccurate understanding of gender roles in society through domestic responsibilities, one's appearance, and the ideas of marriage. When Disney Princesses’ were first introduced, their ideas on gender roles were very different from …show more content…

Men were supposed to be the caretakers of the finances, while women were in charge of cleaning the house and being superb wives/mothers. This was shown in multiple ways throughout the Cinderella stories. Cinderella took care of the household and eventually became beautiful enough to win over the heart of the prince. Her entire position in the story shifted as soon as she was able to become a wife and a princess. All in all, the story of Cinderella is a prime example of the way girls are misinformed on gender roles in

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This response aims to reflect upon my personal engagement with Disney princesses, compare childhood perceptions with the study's findings, and explore the potential gendered messages conveyed by these characters. As a child, I was undoubtedly captivated by the enchanting world of Disney Princess movies. These films had a significant impact on shaping my perception of gender roles, and the study's findings resonate strongly with my childhood experiences. The portrayal of female

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While reading and watching films of different cultural Fairy Tales, you notice that in every Cinderella Tale there is a girl who is tired of living a life where they just want to be better. Also from all the different versions of Cinderella stories, all of them are surrounded by jealousy, hate, and negative vibes. However, there are cultural differences that are expressed in each of the different versions of these Fairy Tales. In my paper I am going to express these differences, the two versions that I’ll be talking about is “Aschenputtel” which is the Germany version, and a modern version “Maid in Manhattan”. My goal in this essay is to compare the historical context between the two, and also the cultural differences that is shown while reading

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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?”).

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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).

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“The word ‘Disney’ alone puts smiles on many faces,” (Pederson), and I believe it to be true. Disney has the capability to bring happiness to people worldwide, and bringing the magic to life with Disneyworld and Disneyland. Disney has created a plethora of animations and films, but the all time favorite for the majority of girls are the princesses. I’ve always imagined the day I would share the stories and movies of Disney Princesses when I have children (boy or girl). Disney princesses give young girls a chance to use their figment of imagination through entertainment, positive behavior, and teach them the evaluation of women’s roles.

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Numerous schools of criticisms have attempted to find the meaning behind most of our favorite childhood stories. From Marxist who pursue the idea of social classes portrayed in literary works, to Psychoanalysts who depict the sexual tensions and desires that are subconsciously embedded behind characters’ motives and actions, to Historicists who try to show the preservation of tradition in stories, many different concepts exist for each fairy tale. The Feminist school of criticism greatly focuses on unveiling the patriarchal system and sexist roles that are displayed in stories, and more specifically, fairytales. Four versions of the well-known fairytale of The Little Mermaid will be compared and discussed while focusing on many distinctive

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The Disney princess movies had a great deal of influence on many young girls watching princesses represent what royalty looked like. The princesses are always beautiful, polite and seeking the love of their Prince Charming. This plays a strong role in perpetuating the idea that being a princess means seeking only love from a man, and a man who contains all the stereotypical masculine qualities; handsome, powerful and rich. For example, in The Little Mermaid, Ariel had to give up who she was in order to win over the affection of her prince charming. She traded in her voice in order to have real legs and near Prince Eric.

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Regardless of your views of Disney princesses, it’s important to view and assess the impact it has on a person’s knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Disney has a large role in how children perceive how women should act and how men should act in their daily lives, especially when interacting with one another. Dawn Elizabeth England, a family studies professor at Arizona State University, outlines that gender role depictions of the prince and princess characters were examined in her work with a focus on their behavioral characteristics and climactic outcomes in the films. England suggest that the prince and princess characters differ in their portrayal of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, these gender role portrayals are complex, and trends towards equality between gender roles are not linear over time. Although both the male and female roles have changed over

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They all include the house lady persona and display female practices through their physical appearance (Coyne & Whitehead, 2009). Snow White is viewed as subordinate to the ruler, despite the fact that he is a minor character (Do Rozario, 2004). The film elaborate how she get saved by the Dwarf by going up against local obligations, for example, cleaning and cooking for them (Britain, Descartes, Collier-Docile, 2011). In Cinderella, her housework obligations are a demonstration of accommodation and an attempt to entice her family members. The second era of Disney princesses still has customary female qualities.

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