Gender Roles In Disney Princesses

Gender Roles in Disney Princesses

Merida

Confident

Untamed

Headstrong

Free-Spirited

21st Century Disney

Rapunzel

Moana

Some of the older Disney movies have taught lessons that have influenced the minds of children, which have mostly been messages about the identity of young girls. Disney has, in more recent years, been trying to change images within their movies to reflect the current world and more diverse gender roles. Some ways they are doing this are by:

Powerful

Corageous

Driven

Independent

Modern

Down-To-Earth

Adventurous

Sophisticated

• Portraying women in empowering roles and giving them confident and independent characteristics.

Characteristics of Disney Princesses In More Recent Movies

Belle (Beauty & The Beast):

Cinderella:

• Romanticizes domestic abuse in relationships.

• They learn that only girls of high stature can be capable of finding love.
• Young girls see Cinderella and learn that they need to be domestic.

Tiana

Mulan

• By Belle staying with the Beast, Disney shows that it is okay to be in an abusive relationship.

• Shows girls that they need to accept that men are dominate in relationships.

Heroic

Diverse

Fearless

Motivated

Determined

Smart

Has Courage

Bold

Brave

Gender Roles vs. Disney

Disney Princess Lessons

Disney animations are a reflection of the culture that distinguishes between Male Characteristics and Female Characteristics and create bias regarding gender roles.

Each Disney Princess teaches a certain lesson and little kids (mainly being little girls) pick up on them.

Male Characteristics:

Female Characteristics:

More prominent and portrayed as more likely to have a recognizable job, more independent, assertive, intelligent, athletic, important, competent, technical, confident, responsible, and stronger than female characters (physically and emotionally).

EX) Tarzan- He was adopted by a tribe of some of the strongest mammals on earth and spent his formative years trying to imitate them. The entire film displayed his muscular body. It also showed him being a hero when he saves Jane from the saber-toothed tiger attack.

Portrayed as weaker, more controlled by others, emotional, warmer, tentative, romantic, affectionate, sensitive, frailer, passive, complaining, domestic, stereotypical, and more troublesome than male characters.

EX) Snow White- Being the first Disney Princess movie made, has tons of gender characteristics. Snow White cleans and cooks for the men while they are at work and she is waiting for Prince Charming to come and save her once she is in danger.

What are Gender Roles?

Ariel:

Snow White:

• Girls need to be pretty and silenced.

• Ursula shows girls that they do not need intelligence and a pretty face is all that matters.

• Teaches young girls they must clean and be domestic.
• Also, that you need a man to save you.

• When she accepts Ursula's deal, she teaches girls that they need to change to earn a man's love.

• Ariel also teaches young girls that everything about a girl is superficial.

Gender roles- cultural and personal. They determine how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Learning plays a role in this process of shaping gender roles. These gender identities are deeply embedded cognitive frameworks regarding what defines masculine and feminine.

Why is it relevant?

Knowledge Questions

• How do figures in authority affect the perception of followers?

• Human Sciences
• Ethics
• Perception
• Imagination or language

In Conclusion...

Disney's animated movies representing women, race, and other cultures has changed over time. In the early Disney animations, female characters with minor or even inferior roles didn't send positive messages to young girls.

However, as gender roles have changed, the female characters have also changed by gaining more important roles, by becoming stronger and more independent, as well as a hero of their own destiny.

Works cited

1. https://disneyanalysis.weebly.com/female-stereotypes.html

By: Kelsey Rodriguez

2.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=soc_facpub

3.https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/20/health/geas-gender-stereotypes-study/index.html