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The False Expectations Of Women In Disney Princesses

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Disney princesses have been idols of little girls everywhere since Disney’s debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937. Many of these young girls find these women beautiful as well as elegant, hoping to grow up to be just like them and having there own fairy tale one day. A careful examination of Disney films reveals gender bias. These films show females in a very vulnerable state waiting for their prince to come rescue them from their dreadful life. Disney Princesses are also shown in a very sexual manner, with tiny waists, wide hips and large breasts. These films do not only affect females but cause males have false expectations of females as well. Although Disney Princesses have been loved for years, these films encourage young …show more content…

But they also draw the eyes of young girls as well. Young girls admire Disney Princesses beauty but in reality their female figure is distorted and unrealistic. These women are very shapely with small waists, wide hips, and large breasts. This gives young girls the sense that they need to look exactly like them to attract their prince and have a happily ever after. Dawn England, Lara Descartes, and Melissa Collier-Meek write in their article Gender Role Portrayal And The Disney Princesses that “numerous examples of both sexism and racism in the films, specifically noting the heroines’ extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breasts.” This type of sexism is disgraceful to the female gender. Princess Jasmine is an example of this sexism. She is one of the most reveling princesses. She wears a small top barely covering her breasts and pants that drift very low in the front exposing her stomach and hugging her hips. This type of clothing shows off her tiny, fit waist, larger breasts, and wide hips. All these factors are what attract the male gender. This causes females to want to mimic her shape. Women come in all shapes and sizes but the larger women are not represented in the films as beautiful. In some cased they are even portrayed as evil, for example Ursala in The Little Mermaid. She is the evil sea queen whom happens to be larger or in some cases even considered over weight. For the young girls who do not look like Princess Jasmine of any of the other princesses they find themselves as less then beautiful, as if they were the evil sea queen or one of the villains in the Disney movies, which no little girl or women should ever see themselves as. This type of portrayal of women is what causes young females to become weight conscious as well as anorexic and bulimic. Women have a desire to be fit with a slim waist just like the ones shown on the bodies

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Gill disagrees “About 20% of the reviews studied focus solely on the heroines’ appearances rather than their personalities and do so in a way that is more demeaning than complimentary” (Gill 763). The author also emphasizes how Disney movies like to show that the women always end up needing a prince to “save them” and depend on. The article also goes in to detail on how movies stereotype each princess to look perfect, portray innocence and have the same main goal; finding their prince charming. (Gill) states, “By subtly influencing society’s view of Disney princess in a way that implies they are stereotypically feminine, these media weaken the perception of the princesses’ strengths and focus instead on traits such as beauty and domesticity” (Gill

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In the article “The Trouble With Disney’s Teeny, Tiny Princesses” by Philip Cohen examines the reason why Disney princesses are so tiny compared to their male counterparts, and what impression it put on the general population who watch many disney movies. Disney has been known to show stereotypical women and men. The damsel in distress, and her knight in shining armor. Some people have called them out on this and they responded with some female empowerment movies. Like Frozen and Brave that do not focus on romance.

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Introduction: A New Age of Disney Females? Most women and girls you may know in developed countries have an idea of who their favourite Disney Princess is. A question may arise out of this cultural notion: What effect has Disney’s Princesses and other Disney’s animated female icons had on women and girls over the years, in terms of their identity? Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown discuss this question in their 2008 paper Disney’s Version of Girlhood. However, more Disney Princesses and Female Icon’s (FI’s) have emerged and touched little girl’s hearts since then.

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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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Many people believe Disney princesses can alter a child’s perspective about his or her self. The way princesses act and what they wear both affect children’s state of mind. The essay “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by Monika Bartyzel claims that the image of Disney princesses changes the way both children and society feel about women.

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Logos creates a sense of urgency in the reader’s head that they need to monitor their child’s behavior. One of the credible sources Hanes uses is from a University of Central Florida poll, which found that, “50 percent of 3-6 year old girls worry they’re fat” (*). Hanes argues this statistic could be stemmed from the Disney Princesses image. The princesses have a particular shape and size that has created a standard for body image. The author uses these facts to show her audience that if parents continue to allow their children to view these images, their child will desire to be just like the Disney Princesses.

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In today's society, the issue of gender roles has always been divisive and is still a source of contention for many. Remarks made about women in the media and even in person have always presented difficulties for women. Isabelle Gill writes about the prejudice that women still experience today and how it affects how princesses are perceived. Her article's goal was to highlight the distinctions between men and women in Disney tales. Isabelle talks about how princesses in movies receive unfair criticism and why they should be given more credit.

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The princesses have unrealistic body images, uses bad gender roles, historical inaccuracies in their few movies, etc. Many Disney movies are intended for children but they have something which attracts adult people to be interested. In every Disney movie has given characterized protagonist and antagonist in very interesting characteristic, for example, Cinderella and her stepsisters, Snow White and Evil Queen, Belle and Maleficient, etc. The characters of Disney is either beautiful or ugly, either villains or heroes, in linguistic those are called binary opposition.

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People of all ages throughout the years are very familiar with the concept of Disney movies. Some notable classics of Disney are “Beauty and the Beast” which was released in 1991 and “The Little Mermaid” which was released in 1989. Among the children, the Disney princesses left a good impression on them like Cinderella from “Cinderella”, Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”, and Mulan from “Mulan”. However, many believe that Disney movies serve as a good influence to young audiences but people should know that Disney also has its flaws. Disney have showed negative portrayals of Disney princesses in their films especially when it comes to their usual unattainable beauty ideal and portraying their princesses as inferior to men.

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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

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Therefore, Princess movies have a habit of displaying sexism that affects our thinking on how women are stereotypically perceived. This sends the wrong message to young girls who look up

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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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While many young girls love the princesses and look up to them, others view these characters as negative role models. Disney Princesses have always appeared in movies as young women who dress in elegant gowns, have sexy bodies and perfect hair. They are always paired with a prince who lives in a castle, meaning that he has a lot of money. This description of what the Disney Princess is like; give us a big concern in the influence this image is giving to the little girls. Unfortunately, what girls learn as children carries on into adulthood.

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Gender roles have been noticeable in Disney films especially the Disney Princess series. Women are typically portrayed as a princess, homemaker, or queen while men are portrayed as strong, dominant and authority characters. The portrayal of the prince or knights in the movies usually highlighted with the strong and powerful characteristic, whereas the Disney princesses are weak, vulnerable and being protected. According to Tiffany, gender stereotypes and behaviours illustrations are very common in Disney culture and their depictions have become sophisticated over the years especially those of female characters.

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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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