Princesses Then Until Now
Since 1937, there has been a Disney Princess around. A Disney Princess is a female character created by Disney that gives young girls a role model and someone they can model their actions, behavior and looks after. But that may not always be a good thing considering that the Disney Princesses are far from what reality is for a young girl. Constantly exposing young girls to images like the Disney Princesses that are unrealistic and heavily advertised can have a negative effect on their body image as well as their self esteem. This section of Growing Up with a Fairytale looks at 6 of the 10 Disney Princesses and how their image has changed from 1937 until 2010 and what messages these fairytales are sending young girls.
Snow White-1937
Snow White was the first Princess that Disney introduced. She was introduced to the public by Disney in 1937 as a sweet, innocent, obedient young girl who didn't mind housework because she was sure a handsome rich prince would find her someday and take her away. The basic plot of the movie is that Snow White stumbles upon a shelter in the woods of which she cleans from top to bottom. There are 7 small men living there that clearly need a cleaning mother figure which Snow White fulfills. Like a typical disney movie there is a wicked step-mother who tricks Snow White into eating a poison apple, after which she falls into a coma until the prince comes to wake her up from it.
Visually Snow White is properly attired, and doesn't have an excessive amount of make-up or an unrealistic head of hair for young girls who watch her to strive for. She was created at a time where there was not an over-sexualization of characters in the media and she clearly portrays that. On the reverse side of that, Snow White has to wait for a man to save her, which gives girls the idea that they need a handsome young prince to take them away in order to live happily ever after. This is the distorted view of love that Disney has put out there.
Visually Snow White is properly attired, and doesn't have an excessive amount of make-up or an unrealistic head of hair for young girls who watch her to strive for. She was created at a time where there was not an over-sexualization of characters in the media and she clearly portrays that. On the reverse side of that, Snow White has to wait for a man to save her, which gives girls the idea that they need a handsome young prince to take them away in order to live happily ever after. This is the distorted view of love that Disney has put out there.
Cinderella-1950
Cinderella has the same basic idea as Snow White in that she wait's for a prince to come and save her and completely change her life. In her story, Cinderella has evil an evil step-mother and evil step-sisters that boss her around all day long. She is the typical rags to riches story, but has help from her fairy godmother and her animal friends throughout the story.
The clothing that Cinderella wears in both the beginning and the end of the movie is appropriate for a young audience. Cinderella is appropriate for the generation she was introduced too, similar to Snow White. In the movie she was never overexposed, and had a semi-realistic look in terms of hair and makeup. However, in terms of her body image she is the same size as Snow White, which can communicate to young girls that thin is what you need to be to find your prince. The idea that a prince is what you need to get out of a difficult situation is not a realistic story for young girls to be exposed to either. It gives them the ideal that all they need in life is prince charming, and that is simply not the case. Cinderella also brings in the idea of a fairy godmother, which is completely unrealistic and gives girls a distorted view of how to find help and get through a difficult situation.
The clothing that Cinderella wears in both the beginning and the end of the movie is appropriate for a young audience. Cinderella is appropriate for the generation she was introduced too, similar to Snow White. In the movie she was never overexposed, and had a semi-realistic look in terms of hair and makeup. However, in terms of her body image she is the same size as Snow White, which can communicate to young girls that thin is what you need to be to find your prince. The idea that a prince is what you need to get out of a difficult situation is not a realistic story for young girls to be exposed to either. It gives them the ideal that all they need in life is prince charming, and that is simply not the case. Cinderella also brings in the idea of a fairy godmother, which is completely unrealistic and gives girls a distorted view of how to find help and get through a difficult situation.
Ariel-The Little Mermaid-1989
Young girls loved Ariel who was the first underwater princess introduced in Disney's The Little Mermaid in 1989. In the film Ariel is trapped in a world she doesn't want to be in, she wants to live with the humans on land. Her best friends include the guppy, Flounder and the crab, Sebastian. These two being who she spends most of her time talking too. In the movie Ariel falls for a young man named Eric, but in order to meet him and for him to fall in love with her she needs to be with the humans. In order to do that she trades her voice, with a sea witch (Octopus Ursula) for the chance to walk among the people. She eventually disobeys her father, the king of the sea, and becomes a human to win over her prince.
The message this is sending to young girls is that it is okay to trade something you love, like your voice, in order to gain something you really want. The other message that trading in her voice says is that it's okay to silence yourself for a man. In Ariel's case she is being seen not heard which sends a negative message to a younger audience in terms of body image along with body image is Ariel's attire. Ariel is dressed dramatically different than those princesses in the past, and it can be looked at as somewhat scandalous in terms of such a young audience. Ariel's image promotes using your body as a means to get attention, not to mention her hair is virtually impossible to re-create in real life, leaving girls with an unrealistic role model.
The message this is sending to young girls is that it is okay to trade something you love, like your voice, in order to gain something you really want. The other message that trading in her voice says is that it's okay to silence yourself for a man. In Ariel's case she is being seen not heard which sends a negative message to a younger audience in terms of body image along with body image is Ariel's attire. Ariel is dressed dramatically different than those princesses in the past, and it can be looked at as somewhat scandalous in terms of such a young audience. Ariel's image promotes using your body as a means to get attention, not to mention her hair is virtually impossible to re-create in real life, leaving girls with an unrealistic role model.
Belle-Beauty and The Beast-1991
The next princess after Ariel was Belle from Beauty and the Beast released in 1991 by Disney. Belle is different from the previous princesses in that she is interested in reading, this is something we have not seen yet from Disney. In her story, Belle lives with a Beast who is portrayed as terrifying and frightening. The beast never harms Belle in the movie, but the threat of physical violence is there. In the movie, Belle changes the character of the Beast, helping him go from cruel to someone who is kind. Her sweet nature also changes his from a beast to a prince. The concept portrayed through this movie is very different than what Disney had explored in the past.
In the film, the message is that if a woman is pretty and sweet-natured she can change an abusive man into one that is kind and gentle. In other words, it is the woman's fault if the male in her life abuses her. This is not a positive message for girls whatsoever. If this were to occur in real life Belle would most likely be a battered housewife, and not know how to get out of the situation she was in.
In the film, the message is that if a woman is pretty and sweet-natured she can change an abusive man into one that is kind and gentle. In other words, it is the woman's fault if the male in her life abuses her. This is not a positive message for girls whatsoever. If this were to occur in real life Belle would most likely be a battered housewife, and not know how to get out of the situation she was in.
Jasmine-Aladdin-1992
Disney's Aladdin is a story that invloves a lot of different characters and has a plot that goes into great detail. The important part to pull from that movie in terms of Media Literacy involves Jasmine and what she does for the "street rat" Aladdin. Aladdin finds himself in trouble, and princess Jasmine plays a major role in getting him out of it and making him her prince.
It is very easy to notice that Jasmine is different from all princesses Disney has put out there before her. She is clearly of a different ethnicity, which can give young girls the ideal that it is okay to be different. But at the same time, to counteract her uniqueness her prince (Aladdin) does not look like he does. In the movie he looks like a "fresh-faced American Boy." The kind of image that paints for girl's is that the American boy is going to be their prince. That if they find an American boy they have found their prince charming. Another aspect to notice about Jasmine is her attire. She is dressed similarly to Ariel in that she is wearing a bikini top throughout most of the movie, which sends a negative message to young girls. Encouraging them that they need to look like Jasmine in order to find their ideal man. Strictly looking at her attire Jasmine can also be said to be the first princess to be heavily adorned with jewelry (take a look at her earrings, necklace and headpiece). These things may be subtle but young girls can pick up on these things, and feel as though they need to have extravagant jewelry like Jasmine in order to be attractive which is simply untrue.
It is very easy to notice that Jasmine is different from all princesses Disney has put out there before her. She is clearly of a different ethnicity, which can give young girls the ideal that it is okay to be different. But at the same time, to counteract her uniqueness her prince (Aladdin) does not look like he does. In the movie he looks like a "fresh-faced American Boy." The kind of image that paints for girl's is that the American boy is going to be their prince. That if they find an American boy they have found their prince charming. Another aspect to notice about Jasmine is her attire. She is dressed similarly to Ariel in that she is wearing a bikini top throughout most of the movie, which sends a negative message to young girls. Encouraging them that they need to look like Jasmine in order to find their ideal man. Strictly looking at her attire Jasmine can also be said to be the first princess to be heavily adorned with jewelry (take a look at her earrings, necklace and headpiece). These things may be subtle but young girls can pick up on these things, and feel as though they need to have extravagant jewelry like Jasmine in order to be attractive which is simply untrue.
Tiana-The Princess and the Frog-2009
In 2009 Disney introduced it's princess fan base to the first African American Princess which has been long overdue. Tiana was introduced in the Princess and the Frog. She was the first Disney Princess in the new millennium and the newest one since Mulan was released in 1998.
In the film, Tiana is an aspiring young adult that gives her audience something to strive for. She has dreams and hopes beyond being swept off her feet by prince charming. However, her prince is still overwhelmingly white. Disney made such a great move by incorporating an African American princess into the princess lineup but a giant move backwards when they did not make her prince a streong African American like herself. It seems as though Disney has a problem with putting that type of prince in it's movies. The prince has a similar role to that of Aladdin in that he is white. This put's the image out there for young audiences that the ideal prince is a strong white male, when that is not at all the case.
In the film, Tiana is an aspiring young adult that gives her audience something to strive for. She has dreams and hopes beyond being swept off her feet by prince charming. However, her prince is still overwhelmingly white. Disney made such a great move by incorporating an African American princess into the princess lineup but a giant move backwards when they did not make her prince a streong African American like herself. It seems as though Disney has a problem with putting that type of prince in it's movies. The prince has a similar role to that of Aladdin in that he is white. This put's the image out there for young audiences that the ideal prince is a strong white male, when that is not at all the case.
The End
Disney has 10 princesses in their lineup currently, the 6 listed above as well as Aurora (1959), Pocahontas (1995), Mulan (1998), and Rapunzel (2010). I chose to focus on Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Tiana because I felt as though they represented the most significant varieties among all Princesses. While these Princesses may portray a variety of qualities, some of the qualities that they have are sending the wrong messages to young girls consuming the idea of the Disney Princess.