The media is a very powerful tool that reaches all ages and can impact how a person views him/herself. These patterns can impact the role models for young girls by misrepresenting the characters (Gill). Disney heroines should be idols for young girls (Gill). The media should not make women feel inferior, instead the media should focus on independent women and how success is not determined by the man they
Stephanie Hanes’s article “Little Girl or Little Women?” , is more of an emotional piece of writing that controversially adds in the Disney Princess effect that the young girls unknowingly participate in. The author then proceeds to the concern of sexualization while nearly failing
In the article, “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect” originally published on October 3, 2011 from the Christian Science Monitor, author Stephanie Hanes persuades parents that social media and advertisements are the reasons behind their daughter's wanting to mature too soon. Hanes shapes her argument by using logos and pathos techniques, and using considerate organization of the information. Throughout the article, Hanes makes it evident that the audience of intent is the parents of young girls by referring to other sources such as Disney Princess Recovery: Bringing Sexy Back for a Full Refund, a blog by Mary Finucane, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, a book by Peggy Orenstein, and "What's Wrong With Cinderella?", an essay in New York Times, also by Orenstein. The authors of these sources are mothers sharing their attempts to steer their daughters away from Disney Princesses because of the negative effect it brings on their maturing.
In the article, “ Little Girls or Little women? The Disney Princess Effect,” author Stephanie Hanes educates the reader on the increasing sexualization of our younger generation of girls. Her organizational method of the article provides an easy and personal, yet factual explanation for her audience through her use of combining the appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. Hanes applies ethos by referencing different sources and statistics throughout her article, creating a sense of credibility to the reader. She makes it clear right off the bat that she is well informed on what she’s writing about by including an easy-to-read bullet point list of facts.
As one of the most influential entertainment producers, Disney dominates the global market for ages attracting the countless audience around the world. However, Disney’s most famous “‘princess’ fairy tale stories” (Barker, 2010, p. 492) are criticized for racism and sexism. In 2007, Disney confirmed production of the film, The Princess and the Frog, featuring the first African-American Disney princess, Tiana. For Disney this film was the response to the accusation of racism and sexism represented in its animation. Also, it was filled with African American parents’ anticipation and excitement who longed for a non-stereotypical black woman on the screen (Breaux, 2010, p. 399).
Children all around the world have grown up watching feature films produced by the beloved Walt Disney Company. Few companies have catapulted themselves into the limelight of American youth greater than Walt Disney. Particularly, little girls have grown up watching illogical tales of princesses with unimaginable beauty. In general, these movies display women with unachievable physical standards and provide a false standard of beauty. In an article written in the Christian Science Monitor, freelance journalist Stephanie Hanes addresses this issue that young girls face today.
The topic of self confidence is a subject that is heavily discussed when it comes to girls of all ages. Journalist, Stephanie Hanes, examines the current trend of sexualization amongst young girls. In the article “Little Girls or Little Women: The Disney Princess Effect”, Hanes examines the current trend of sexualization amongst girls. She addresses the issue of desiring to become a women too soon. Hanes develops her article by using the literary techniques of pathos and logos to describe the emotions young girls feel when they see images of women with unattainable features.
Moreover, there was a study done in 2014 at Kennesaw State University, which focused on how Disney Princess films alters the mindset of young girls, and affects the way they behave when they grow up. The study compared how first generation princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora) acted versus how second generation princesses (Ariel, Belle, Aladdin, and Merida) acted. When comparing the generations, it was concluded that the producers of Disney have changed how they portrayed females. In an example, Rapunzel from Tangled and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog both had dreams and life goals unrelated to love. Second generation princesses had different dreams from first generation princesses, whose dreams were based on finding true love
Across the world, little girls and little boys are being raised on gendered norms that determine how they will behave for the rest of their lives. Exposure to various types of media during their formative years instruct children on how they should look, feel, and behave. Consequently, adult women strive to emulate the fantasies they were exposed to through the Disney Princess films they were raised on. Disney Princesses offer a mold for what a successful woman looks like in terms of size, color, and physical sexuality. In modern society, countless marginalized groups are seeking equal representation in the media to accurately reflect how diverse the world truly is.
The moment a women finds out her unborn child is going to be a girl, the stereotypes of how a women should act, look, and her career choice start. For instance, in the article “List of Gender Stereotypes” by Holly Brewer, she says “We assume that our daughter will be very "girly" and fill her closet with frilly dresses and her toy box with tea sets and dolls. What this is essentially doing […], is setting our child up to be the "perfect lady," and teaching her how to be the stereotypical woman.” Throughout the show, the women are taken to beautiful cities and countries, and dressed in extraordinary gowns, not to mention that these gowns are not provided by the show, and must have their hair and makeup done at all times. This show displays examples of the “princess effect” that stimulate women’s idea to have to look and act a certain way for them to be princess-like and accepted by society.
In the introduction of Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, Susan Douglas argues that the war on women in media is complex due to the fact of the struggle between femininity and feminism that has been presented in American media to define gender roles. She identifies the cause for this ambivalence as the media’s obsessions with defining femininity and masculinity according patriarchal ideology. Douglas develops her claim by giving examples of contradicting sexist imagery in American media that had a profound message on how girls should look and behave. One of the examples she gives is the Shirelles.
How does Disney Princess influence young girls? Disney princesses were Created by Andy Mooney, a worker of the Disney Consumer Products, in the late 1990s, it features a line-up of fictional female heroines. Since 1937, Walt Disney Studios has been creating fairytale movies that total fifty feature films. Many of these films, the most classic, are based in ancient stories featuring villains, princes and princesses. As society has changed in the seventy-three years Disney has been making movies, so have the animated films themselves.
Putnam explains that when her daughter asks questions about gender norms (boys having long hair, etc...), she knows that this is because of influences like Disney that establish and reestablish ‘correct’ gender standards in many of their films.
Men, just as in advertising, are also much more likely to be an attorney, an executive or have a higher education than women. The representation of gender in movies shapes imaginations and stereotypes and they teach young girls and boys about the way society sees them: the ‘roles’ they should fulfill, their worth, the way they should
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.
