The Disney Princess
The Disney Princess
COMM 440: Gender and Communication
Cydney Linch, Fall 2012
The Disney Princess
Gender seems to be a hot topic in our society; many people feel the pressure to conform to a specific gender stereotype without really being aware of what they are or their influences on our perception. So what is a gender role? A gender role is the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness. A common gender stereotype in our culture has been that a woman’s place is as a homemaker, and caregiver, while men are expected to provide for their families. In today’s world women have been able to shed some of the more traditional roles, however the “princess” ideal still abounds within the culture, through media and merchandise all aimed at little girls. Disney has had a major part in keeping the princess stereotype alive and well. Disney ventures include radio, television, film companies, and massive amounts of merchandising. The Disney Princess line was created in 2001 as a advertising and marketing campaign aimed directly at girls.The products that go along with the line also promote gendered roles by the messages they convey. I am going to look at seven Disney princess films: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan. In these films I will be looking for their social role, character attributes, themes, and the characters resolution by the end of the film. These categories were adapted from a study I read on gender and animated films, (Dundes 2001). Another aspect I want to consider is what each of the princesses look like, their body language, clothing, and figures. I know even before I re-watch these films that each princess is extremely thin, with tiny little waists, somewhat revealing clothing, beautiful faces, and seductive expressions. Considering these appearance factors I wonder how they affect young girls. The images reinforce the ideal that
COMM 440: Gender and Communication
Cydney Linch, Fall 2012
The Disney Princess
Gender seems to be a hot topic in our society; many people feel the pressure to conform to a specific gender stereotype without really being aware of what they are or their influences on our perception. So what is a gender role? A gender role is the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your maleness or femaleness. A common gender stereotype in our culture has been that a woman’s place is as a homemaker, and caregiver, while men are expected to provide for their families. In today’s world women have been able to shed some of the more traditional roles, however the “princess” ideal still abounds within the culture, through media and merchandise all aimed at little girls. Disney has had a major part in keeping the princess stereotype alive and well. Disney ventures include radio, television, film companies, and massive amounts of merchandising. The Disney Princess line was created in 2001 as a advertising and marketing campaign aimed directly at girls.The products that go along with the line also promote gendered roles by the messages they convey. I am going to look at seven Disney princess films: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan. In these films I will be looking for their social role, character attributes, themes, and the characters resolution by the end of the film. These categories were adapted from a study I read on gender and animated films, (Dundes 2001). Another aspect I want to consider is what each of the princesses look like, their body language, clothing, and figures. I know even before I re-watch these films that each princess is extremely thin, with tiny little waists, somewhat revealing clothing, beautiful faces, and seductive expressions. Considering these appearance factors I wonder how they affect young girls. The images reinforce the ideal that
References: http://scots.covenant.edu/faculty/davis/Disney%20Princesses/index.htm Dundes, L. (2001). Disney 's modern heroine Pocahontas: revealing age-old gender stereotypes and role discontinuity under a facade of liberation. The Social Science Journal, 38, 353-365. Retrieved December 9, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science Youngs, G. (1999). The ghost of Snow White. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from a Pierre Guillermin Library, Lynchburg. Welsh, J. (April, 1 2011). Disney princes and princesses still slaves to some stereotypes. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/13526-disney-princes-pink-princess-culture-stereotypes.html