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Lindzi MadsenPeriod 5How Disney Princesses Negatively Affect GirlsWhen I was young, I loved Cinderella. Cinderella was the first Disney princess movie I watched and I loved it. I would act out the movie with my friends, when we would play pretend my character was always named Cinderella. I finally got the chance to go to Disneyland and meet Cinderella. It was disappointing because I didn’t get to meet her, she was on vacation that week. My mom wrote to Disney explaining the disappointing situation and Disney kindly sent me a Cinderella dress, Cinderella shoes, a Cinderella tiara, and an autographed picture of Cinderella in hopes to ease my disappointment. It took a lot of persuading for me to take the Cinderella dress off. I felt like the princess when I wore that dress; I felt pretty and important. I looked up to Cinderella very much, she was my role model. As I grew older, and I saw more princess movies I found other princesses to love, but I never loved one nearly as much as I loved Cinderella when I was young. There has been a great concern over how the media affects the self-image men and women have of themselves. The media should also include Disney movies. Disney is one of the leading corporations of movies in the world. They are famous for their animation, stories, music, characters, and other things. Many little girls, aspire to be like Disney characters, especially a Disney princess. Girls will stand in line at a Disney Resort for hours just to take a picture with their favorite princess. Disney also sells all the items you need to look like your favorite princess. They sell dresses, crowns, shoes, makeup, gloves, etc. Disney has a large franchise just for princesses. You can also find school supplies, room decorations, and toys all with your favorite princess on it. As a young girl, Disney princesses are all around. Some people question whether Disney princesses are a good influence for children. Due to the way princesses and other female characters are portrayed in Disney animated films, could this have a negative effect on girls? I believe it does. I will argue that Disney films can have a negative impact on girls because of their stereotyping of gender roles, and because of how their characters look unrealistic. Disney films include a lot of stereotyping. This stereotyping include men and women and their traditional roles. In her article “Fairytale Dream: Disney Princesses’ Effect on Young Girls’ Self-Images” Ashley Bispo discusses the negative stereotypes in Disney films. Bispo describes Disney men as, “physically aggressive, non-expressive, and as heroic saviors, particularly of women” (3). Bispo describe Disney women as, “beautiful, dependent on men, and engaged in domestic responsibilities” (3). These stereotypes of men and women are shown throughout many Disney films. In Cinderella, Cinderella cooks and cleans while also somehow managing to stay gorgeous. She goes to the ball and her Prince falls in love with her and then he saves her from her evil step mother and sisters. Cinderella and her prince match the stereotypes previously stated by Bispo. Other Disney films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Sleeping Beauty do this as well which proves that stereotyping gender does exist in Disney films. Lena Lee has done numerous studies on the effect of Disney films on Korean immigrant children, although her studies could also involve American-born children and still get the same results. She studies how Disney movies shape their views on different ideas: gender roles, marriage, etc. Lee points out that, “Men were often seen to accomplish their goals based on their own needs, while women usually faced a substantial hindrance to their marriages in Disney films” (16). This idea can be shown in the film The Little Mermaid. Ariel has to choose between her family and her home or Prince Eric. Prince Eric doesn’t have to give anything up to marry Ariel. This is seen in many films that Disney men don’t have to give up anything for their ladies, but the women have to give up something in order to be with their prince. This is a bad lesson to teach girls. But yet this stereotype appears in nearly every Disney movie. What makes one princess more popular than another one? Merida from Brave is one of the most unpopular Disney princesses. Could this be because of her unruly red locks? Or of her wild nature? Or her lack of a beautiful ball gown? Or is it possible that what made her so unpopular was that she doesn’t end up with a prince in the end? Merida is very tough. She is an archer who doesn’t want a man. She was the most realistic looking princess thus far, although her look was changed for advertising after the release of the film in 2012. She was made curvier and less muscular. Her unruly red locks were made more sexual, instead of representing her wild and free nature. . She is even wearing the dress that she hated to wear in the movie. What made Merida not liked by little girls? Could this be because she broke the stereotype with her look and personality?While on occasion Disney will try to re-create a character like they did with Merida, they won’t do it with every character. Although Pocahontas is of royal birth it is noted that, “Pocahontas and Mulan are Disney heroines, not official Disney princesses” (Lester 295). Merida, Pocahontas, and Mulan don’t have a magical ball to go to. They don’t wear gorgeous dresses. Merida and Pocahontas don’t get married at the end of their movies, and nothing really happens with Mulan and her love interest Shang. Are they not liked because they don’t wear gorgeous gowns and get handsome princes? These heroines didn’t follow to stereotype to be princesses. Disney Princesses are viewed as flawless. They are beautiful, kind, and always get their prince. “Beauty and youth are inextricably tied to one another” (Shipley 154). This is a reoccurring theme in Disney films. Beauty is needed. Most princes are attracted to their princess because of their looks, not because of their character. Their look is what matters. They could have the lamest of personalities like the early Disney princess Snow White, but as long as they are beautiful that is what is important. Most Disney Princesses have a similar look. Although their hair and eye color may be different, the traditional princesses “typically have unnaturally small waists, large breasts, bug eyes, and batting eyelashes” (Bispo 6-7). This look of Disney princesses has only gotten worse throughout the years. Princesses have gotten skinnier and skinnier. Elsa and Anna from Frozen make Cinderella and Snow White look huge, even though they are also slender. Society believes that thin is beautiful, extremely thin is gorgeous. In the song, “Mother Knows Best” from the movie Tangled, Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel that she is “getting kinda chubby”. I felt that this lyric was a very negative. Although it was supposed to be comedic, it didn’t feel appropriate. Rapunzel looks anorexic. What are young girls going to think of themselves when they hear that Rapunzel is chubby? How is that going to affect their self-image? “Dieting and, in some cases, problem eating behaviors also are more relevant in 9-year-old girls who display signs of body dissatisfaction and weight concerns at younger ages than those who do not” (Bispo 9). Do we really feel the need to show girls these images that may encourage them to lose weight and diet when they are as young as nine-years old? This shows that our society is based on looks and beauty. Beauty is a big deal in princess films. Princesses have to be pretty. One of Lena Lee’s participants had a discovery about the film The Little Mermaid, “I know why Ursula turned into a really pretty woman. It was because she wanted the prince to break up with Ariel. When she turns pretty, I mean prettier than Ariel, the prince will like her more than Ariel” (91). Her perception would suggest that to young girls beauty is more important than character in movies. A woman’s beauty is what men are attracted too. They prefer beauty over personality or character. Many adults have said lately that Barbie is a horrible role model for girls. Barbie is blonde, blue-eyed, and has unusually large breasts. Although, Neal Lester argues that, “the blond-haired, blue-eyes Cinderella-not far removed from Barbie” (295). For some reason we believe that Barbie isn’t a good role model but Cinderella is. As Peggy Orenstein points out, “Cinderella doesn’t really do anything” (2). Why is Cinderella any better of a role model than Barbie? Neither of them do much and they look very similar. What makes one better than the other? Because they look so similar, they could both have an awful impact on how girl’s view themselves. If you would like to audition be a Disney princess at a Disney resort, the Disney website says that you must have a slender build. Normal sized isn’t pretty. Fat isn’t pretty. Muscle isn’t pretty. Skin and bones is what society currently believes is beauty. What ideas is this sending to young girls? If they have grown up with the idea that skinny is beautiful, how is that going to impact their life if they aren’t skinny? This shows that Disney movies only look towards how their characters look. Characters are more famous for their looks on the outside than what makes them beautiful inside. Although it is acknowledged that there are not any studies that prove that princesses, “directly damage a girl’s self-esteem or dampens other aspirations” (Orenstein 2). Others seem to believe that Disney princesses can actually hurt a young girl’s self-esteem. Even though studies haven’t been done on if Disney princesses affect a girl’s self-esteem many believe that they do. Young girls who aspire to be these princesses may compare themselves to these animated characters. “Girls who watch Disney movies will want to be like Disney’s beautiful, thin, sexy heroines” (Lee 90). When people find a role model, they typically want to be like that role model in every way. This could have a very negative impact on the girl who is idolizing a Disney princess. Bispo believes that Disney princesses could negatively impact girls when she says, “Disney princess films portray various stereotypical images, they can be detrimental to a young girl’s development of a positive self-image despite the various positive messages and life lessons the films often convey” (Bispo 2). It is clearly shown that people question how these unrealistic characters could negatively affect a girl’s self-esteem. Nearly every little girl dreams of becoming a princess. Disney is here to help make that wish come true. With a variety of clothes, crowns, dolls, bed sheets, towels, and anything else to help make a little girl feel like a princess. I believe that Disney princesses have the potential to negatively impact young girls. Disney uses many stereotypes in their films about the roles each gender should play. Disney princesses also have a very specific look. They are gorgeous. But their beauty is unrealistic. These Disney characters will have a negative impact on the way girls view themselves, and also the way they view society. Bispo, Ashley. "Fairytale Dreams: Disney Princesses’ Effect on Young Girls’ Self-Images."Dialogues@RU?9 (2014). Web. 6 Dec. 2014.?Lee, Lena. "Boys Like Smart Girls More Than Pretty Girls": Young Korean Immigrant Girls' Understanding Of Romantic Love In American Popular Culture." Journal Of Instructional Psychology 36.1 (2009): 87-94. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.Lee, Lena. "Understanding Gender Through Disney’s Marriages: A Study Of Young KoreanImmigrant Girls." Early Childhood Education Journal 36.1 (2008): 11-18. AcademicSearch Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.Lester, Neal A. "Disney's The Princess And The Frog: The Pride, The Pressure, And The Politics Of Being A First." Journal Of American Culture 33.4 (2010): 294-308. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2014"Mother Knows Best - Tangled." . Web. 15 Dec. 2014.Orenstein, Peggy. "What's Wrong With Cinderella?" The New York Times. The New YorkTimes, 23 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.Shipley, Heather E. "Fairies, Mermaids, Mothers, And Princesses: Sexual Difference And Gender Roles In Peter Pan." Studies In Gender & Sexuality 13.2 (2012): 145-159.Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. ................
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