Much like most of Americans, I grew up glued to the TV whenever my mom put on "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," or my personal favorite, "Mulan." Disney Princesses were my life. I remember going to Disney world and begging my mom to buy me the Jasmine costume. I watched my "Beauty and the Beast" VHS until it hardly worked. Disney Princesses are a giant part of our culture, but could all the magic and splendor actually be hurting our kids?
A new study from Brigham Young University seems to think so. Family Life professor Sarah M. Coyne shows how engagement with the Disney princess culture can influence preschoolers to be more susceptible to harmful stereotypes. Although these necessarily bad, they can potentially have a long term impact on young women.
The study involved 198 preschoolers who were assessed on how much they were involved with Princess culture. They then were asked to rank their favorite toys from a list of "girl" toys, "boy" toys, and general neutral toys. The research found that 96 percent of the girls studied had viewed Disney Princess media while only 87 percent of the boys had. It also found that 61 percent of the girls play with princess toys at least once a week while only 4 percent of the boys did the same. More interaction with Princess Culture lead to more female gender-stereotypical behavior a year later in both boys and girls.
This is more problematic in girls because it tends to limit young women. They can avoid important learning experiences because they aren't viewed as feminine and can also believe their opportunities are limited as a woman. Exposure to Princess culture at a young age is also exposing 3 and 4 year-old's to their first idea of body-image. These young girls are idolizing princesses who are incredibly thin and beautiful, leading them to unrealistic standards about beauty.
Adversely, greater female stereotypical behavior had a positive effect on boys. Boys who were exposed to Princess culture tended to have better body esteem and were more helpful to others. This is believed to be because the Princess culture provides a positive counterbalance to the hyper-masculine superhero media boys are generally exposed to.
This study really hits home for me because as I previously said, I am a product of a princess filled childhood. Although I'm not hanging out windows singing "Some Day My Prince Will Come," I think I have fallen victim to the idea that my prince should come and sweep me off my feet.
Disney has come an incredibly long way from Sleeping Beauty needing her prince to kiss her and awaken her from her sleep (although Mulan was kickin' ass and taking names way before Elsa saved Anna). Merida from "Brave" is a great example of a strong independent woman who doesn't need makeup and glass slippers to have a good time. But still, Disney can't help but over feminize her in the media, slimming her down and giving her makeup. Although Disney has come a long way, they've still got a long way to go.
I'm not saying go out and boycott Disney Princesses! The idea of life without Disney Princesses is a sad one. Similar to junk food, everything is fine in moderation. Maybe don't let your kid watch Cinderella on repeat for three days, ya know? And a little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never hurt anyone! Fight gender stereotypes and let your kids enjoy what they wanna enjoy. If your daughter really likes Power Rangers and G.I. Joe, good! Let G.I. Joe hang out in Barbies dream-house every once in a while.
