Ah, Disney. Whatever Faustian deal Uncle Walt made, it seems to have paid off because in the past century the company has become the gatekeeper of childhood wonder and adulthood nostalgia. One of their most popular marketing lines is naturally the Disney Princesses. Not just making up a good portion of the studio’s impressive filmography, but the Princesses sport an extensive array of toys, books and games.
Parents of young girls and feminists should rejoice heroines have taken such a primary role in media for young children. Frankly, such characters are hard to find. According to the 2010 APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls report, a study “evaluated the 101 top grossing G-rated films from 1990 to 2004. Out of the over 4,000 characters in these films, 75% overall were male.”
However, the voices of several feminist mothers were echoed in the 2006 essay by Peggy Orenstein, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” where Orenstein bemoaned her daughter’s preoccupation with sparkly, silky dresses. She equated the new infatuation as a possible reaction “against the so-called second wave of the women’s movement of the 1960s and 70s… which came with an undercurrent of fear among women themselves.”
There are two prevalent theories to why this might be true. Socialization theories, according to the APA report, teach girls “about women’s expected roles in the world and strive to enact these expectations, because doing so brings specific rewards."
Furthermore, sociocultural theories purport that “choices about one’s appearance and behavior, as well as reinforcement from socialization agents, exist within a cultural milieu in which only certain options are available, recognizing as existing, or sanctioned.”
Orenstein does make reference to a 2006 survey released by Girls, Inc. that ”school-age girls overwhelmingly reported a paralyzing pressure to be ‘perfect’" -- pressure to be high-achievers, exhibit emotional sensitivity to others and fulfill societal expectations of appearance.
This desire to be perfect and ladylike may come from sources outside young girls’ control. Miriam Forman-Brunell, a historian at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (whom Orenstein quotes) says, “Historically, princess worship has emerged during periods of uncertainty and profound social change… Girls play savior during times of economic crisis and instability.’”
Indeed, Orenstein’s essay was published shortly after 9/11, and the resulting social and political instability in the aftermath was effectively buoyed by the financial crash of 2008. In fact the first black princess, Tiana, was introduced the following year, nearly a decade after the release of the last official Princess film, “Mulan.”
But I have to wonder whether or not this idea of being a savior to a troubled world speaks to something that is innate to all humans rather than young girls. The most popular comic characters (usually marketed to males) have lasted for decades by becoming the new myths associated with the American elite the same way that the fairy tales of Disney films are based on the lives of the European elite.
But this is where the influence of Orenstein’s essay falls short. It’s been nearly a decade since the essay’s publication and there’s a new influx of positive representation for both females and minorities with the introduction of Tiana of “Princess and the Frog,” Merida of “Brave,” Rapunzel of “Tangled” and the sisters Elsa and Anna of “Frozen.” Moana, the star of the film of the same name, will be coming to silver screens everywhere this fall.
Have filmmakers and the movie-going public overcome their fascination with willowy, wishful heroines? Tiana is hard-working entrepreneur. Merida is a staunch creator of her own destiny. Rapunzel’s story is one of self-exploration and end of a relationship with a toxic parent. The relationship between Elsa and Anna is touted as the true love story of the film.
Everything that has been said so far on this subject makes a dangerous assumption: that young children view these things in vacuum. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the end of the day, these films are pieces of art, and art cannot be consumed in a vacuum any more than it can be produced in one. Such an assumption must be made in order to make a clinical study of the effects, but that is where such studies fall short.
So maybe it’s a good thing that Disney inspires young girls to hold themselves to a higher standard. If that is how the seed is planted in them to see themselves as saviors, as people who have duty to make a positive change in the world, who are we to stop them?
