It is indisputable that young girls adore Disney princesses and the films that they starred in (and I still do, to be honest). What young girl wouldn’t? Disney princesses are enchanting, majestic, romantic and…the epitome of beauty? Yet, when maturity sets in and one becomes more attentive, how Disney’s princess movies have trained the developing brains of young girls to perceive beauty, love, and the specificity of their role as a woman is in fact frightening and toxic to young girls' minds. One might offer that Disney has evolved since the start of the Disney princess movies, and it has. We now have Tiana, the first Black princess, and the first American princess. We also have "Frozen," the first Disney princess movie that has a female rescuing another female, rather than a male rescuing the female. But, what is it about Disney’s princess movies (and the majority of Disney's animation) that seem to remain static? Well, several things.
Beauty
There seems to be one body type according to Disney: an hourglass figure. Each princess is skinny with a small waist that curves into her thighs complete with a rather busty chest. No stretch marks, no cellulite and no wrinkles – very unrealistic. It doesn’t stop at the body either. Facial features seem to be the same amongst the women as well, they all posses European features, such as a narrow nose, small lips, and fare skin. Which is interesting considering the fact that there are about 5 different ethnicities amongst all of the princesses (Caucasian, Asian, Native American, and now Black, and Scottish). This creates the idea that beauty has a look, and just one look. But, beauty comes in different shapes, sizes, and colors, and it is what is on the inside that makes someone beautiful, more than it is what is on the outside.
In addition, beauty is delivered in a sexualized way by these characters through either body exposure or body language that intentionally draws attention to the woman's assets (e.g. the GIF of Princess Jasmine shown above). Unfortunately, this forms a foundation for young girls’ perception of beauty. It causes them to think that they must look a certain way to be considered beautiful, and they must draw attention to their body to be recognized.
Love
Love is the most powerful thing in the world; it is an unparalleled feeling, and the strongest force of nature. It is free, selfless, honest, and kind. Yet, it is often times confused with infatuation and lust by many. The love depicted in several Disney movies is very artificial; it is based heavily on looks and infatuation rather than love. For example, in "Cinderella," the prince notices Cinderella dressed up, finds her attractive, they dance and…fall in love? They don’t even know each other’s name! Perhaps Disney was trying to portray the idea of "love at first sight", but knowing the name of the person one is intended to marry may be an important piece of information to have (by the way, I am referring to the original animated Disney princess movies, not any of the remakes. Although, some of these themes still prevail in the remakes). Disney does this again in "Sleeping Beauty" with Aurora and Prince Phillip. The only requirement to wake Aurora up was a “true love’s kiss.” Yet, she is awakened by Prince Phillip without ever spending substantial time with him, and without getting to know him. But, since she was awakened, it was true love, right? Right…
Then of course, both Cinderella and Aurora live happily ever after with their Prince, and all they had to do was just look pretty. Unfortunately, this seems to be a theme, and once again, sends a terrible message to children and opens the door for confusion. For young men, it encourages finding a partner based off of looks, and for young women, it encourages being a partner who only has and who only needs looks to offer.
Gender Roles
For some reason, the woman always needs to be saved and it always needs to be done by a man. Why is it that we can’t save ourselves, and why is it that we have to be saved by a man (with the exception of "Frozen" )? This alone sends the message that women are dependent and incompetent. Another theme Disney has that reflects this idea is that a woman can’t be in a position of power on their own, they need to marry a prince in order to be a princess. In the original Disney princess movies, any woman who was in a position of power was revealed in a very negative way, such as The Evil Queen (or The Wicked Queen) who ruled her own kingdom in "Snow White;"she was portrayed very malicious and envious. In Cinderella, Disney also depicts women to be financially dependent. Cinderella’s stepmother has everything she owns because of her dead husband, Cinderella’s biological father. And, once again, the only way Cinderella could be “saved” from her evil stepmother and stepsisters was by marrying a prince. Who needs a job when you can marry rich, right?
Oh, and we can’t forget Ariel, from "The Little Mermaid" who was so desperate for love that she completely changes who she is, and gives up her voice for a man (because Ursula gave Ariel legs for the cost of her voice) – two both very powerful messages being sent out from the film. The first being that a woman must change who she is and sacrifice something in order to get a man, and the second being that a woman must silence herself for a man. Sadly, the sexism and the stereotypical gender roles hidden in children's films go on and on, but I’ll stop here.
So, what am I really suggesting by exposing the “toxic truths” about Disney’s classic princess movies? Well, I’m not saying that I think it’s necessary to restrict children from watching these films at all; besides, they really are classics. But, I think that it is necessary to be constantly communicating with our young men and women about what it means to be real, strong men and women; what it means to really love and respect oneself and one another, and what it means to promote equality. Especially at a young age when a child's brain is still developing and they are like sponges, soaking in everything they see and hear. Of course, Disney isn't the only source of media that depicts these messages either; there are several movies, television shows, and commercials etc. that do this, but media is media. It only grows and becomes more accessible with time. Therefore, we can’t control all the content being put out and we can't control all the content that is being taken in, but we can control what we do. We must be leaders, role models, learners, and teachers for the upcoming generations so that they too can see through the corruptness of the media, and so that they can live beyond it.
