Disney Princesses are known for their beauty and happily ever after’s. However, we need to look deeper into the stories and examine the narratives that reinforce traditional gender roles. If we look past the love, magic and ballgowns what story is actually being told? Disney Princesses reinforce expectations of the genders. So let’s discover what narratives lie within?
The classics and the damsel in distress:
Starting with Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) these are all a reflection on what was going on at the time. Disney create each princess to be an ideal of women during that period (Dawn, 2017.a). Here they represent the damsel in distress that need to be saved by a man and have some sort of love and romance between female and males which drives the story of him saving her. (Dawn, 2017.b).
Snow White's arrangement with the dwarfs, where she takes on household chores in exchange for protection, perpetuates the stereotype of women as housewives. This reinforces societal expectations of women's domestic roles. The narrative unfolds further with Snow White waiting for her true love to rescue her. Which shows traditional notions that women need male intervention in challenging situations (Priya, 2022:1355-1356).
Similarly, Cinderella is portrayed as a 1950s housewife who joyfully performs domestic duties and dreams of a fairy-tale ending. Her character embodies the damsel-in-distress, which again relies on a Prince to save her. Disney's portrayal reinforces societal expectations of women finding happiness through marriage and embracing traditional roles (Barber, 2015:12-13).
Sleeping Beauty is shown as a princess who’s beauty made the Prince fall in love and how she as well waits to be saved by a Prince. They emphasise the importance of physical attractiveness of the female (Brown, 2020:12). This reinforces ideas about what women should look like and women’s helplessness and the need for a man to save them to the young girls who watch (Dockterman, 2021).
These films portray woman staying at home, being a damsel-in-distress which depend on a man for rescue, while they’re anticipated to work throughout the day to provide for his family (Dynes, 2021:2). Princesses show how women were still seen as homemakers and men as breadwinners. (Barber, 2015:11). This image makes young girls dream of castles and charming men, whereas young boys want to rescue women and possess authority of them. The stereotypes portrayed in the initial Disney films established a harmful ideal that influences the perception of gender roles in society (Douglas, 2021).
An attempt for change:
As Disney portrays women relevant to the time they attempted to change the narrative, but how well did they do?
In The Little Mermaid (1989), Ariel was seen as rebellious in the 1980’s (Barber, 2015:9). At the start she is seen to save Eric which showcases that women can be the heroes but this narrative swiftly changes. As Eric then later kills Ursula to save Ariel from her. Ariel also sacrifices her voice and tail for the pursuit of love and societal acceptance as a human, reinforcing the idea that a woman's worth is tied to her physical appearance (Douglas, 2021). This shows the idea that women have to change for a man.
In Beauty and the Beast (1991), Belle is shown as an object for Gaston to win showing the idea that women are inferior who are “pawns in a man’s world” (Priya, 2022:1358). The beast also throws things at Belle which is problematic due to them getting a happily ever after, implying the idea that this aggression is okay (Dawn, 2017.c).
Mulan (1998) broke gender stereotypes by challenging traditional views on women and men's roles. The film highlighted her fight against societal expectations, showcasing her value beyond stereotypical roles (Jimenez, 2022:15). Unlike traditional princesses, Mulan didn't need saving by a prince as she fought like one instead, contributing to a shift in Disney's portrayal of stronger female characters (Barber, 2015:16-17).
Tangled (2010) challenges traditional gender roles. As Rapunzel doesn't await rescue by a prince. Although Flynn Rider does help Rapunzel experience freedom for the first time by breaking her out of the tower (Barber, 2015:17-18). Rapunzel takes charge of her destiny with Flynn aiding her. The movie subverts the damsel-in-distress trope, portraying Rapunzel as a rebellious and ambitious character who speaks her mind and saves Flynn through a heroic sacrifice, showcasing a sense of empowerment and change (Priya, 2022:1358).
Brave (2012) was where a real shift occurred. Merida challenges societal expectations by resisting an arranged marriage. She competes in games to determine her own fate and rejects the idea of marrying to a stranger. This defiance challenges the outdated traditions (Jimenez, 2022:17). It shows that a Princess's happiness does not rely on a man and the independence and self-worth she has goes against societal norms. Her refusal to accept this establishes a new shifting from a domestic dependent female to an independent, free-spirited hero (Barber, 2015: 19-21).
Frozen (2013) changed the idea of true love when it was the sisters love rather than the typical male. This was significant as it was the first change to this narrative in their films (Dockterman, 2021). But Elsa is also seen as an outcast which gives the idea that women are less involved and important to society (Hamilton, 2022).
Moana (2016) aimed to focus on the adventure and avoid romance. Showing her independence and didn’t specifically need a man to rescue her but rather assist (Dawn, 2017.a). But this male role follows a more empathetic behaviour which doesn’t take away from Moana being a hero and goes against gender norms. (Douglas, 2021).
What about for men?
Disney stereotypes of men are present with Gaston’s emphasis on physical appearance in Beauty and the Beast. Implying that a man's worth is defined by his muscularity, which can impact boys' ideas (Dynes, 2021:2). And Princes are often shown as an accessory or show unhealthy stereotypes. Insinuating they are useless, evil, or absent. Flynn Rider from Tangled stands out as a more developed male lead, with a flawed yet explained character. This shows Disney's attempt to improve the Prince’s role in characters like Flynn. However, the prince legacy was cut short, leaving a missed opportunity for positive male role models (Dawn, 2017.c).
Solutions?
Tangled, Brave, Frozen and Moana break away from traditional Princess narratives portraying strong, independent female leads. Disney should focus on these in the future and that a Princess does not need a man for happiness (Douglas, 2021). Having more female directors could also help as when they are present they reject the conventional love story like in Brave and Frozen (Hamilton, 2022). There has been a remake of The Little Mermaid to show diversity and to tackle race equality in Disney films. So why can’t there be the same for a better representation of gender equality?
References:
Barber, M. (2015). Disney’s Female Gender Roles: The Change of Modern Culture Item Type Thesis. [online] Available at: https://scholars.indstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10484/12132/Barber_McKenzie_2015_HT.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Brown, K.M. (2020). Happily Ever After? How Disney Princesses Represent Gender Role Stereotypes in Animated and Live Action Films. Digital commons. Available at: https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=pell_theses. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Dawn, L. (2017.a) How the Disney Princesses Stayed Modern for 80 Years. The Princess Blog. 7 August. Available at: https://www.theprincessblog.org/2017/08/how-disney-princesses-managed-to-stay.html. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Dawn, L. (2017.b) The "Damsel in Distress" Stigma. The Princess Blog. 20 November. Available at: https://www.theprincessblog.org/2017/11/the-damsel-in-distress-stigma.html (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Dawn, L. (2017.c) The Rise and Fall of the Animated Prince. The Princess Blog. 8 August. Available at: https://www.theprincessblog.org/2017/08/the-rise-and-fall-of-animated-prince.html. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Dockterman, E. (2021). A Researcher Thought Disney Princesses Had a Negative Impact on Young Girls. The Results of Her New Study Surprised Her. Time. 3 August. Available at: https://time.com/6086875/disney-princess-culture-study/ (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Douglas, H. (2021). Deconstructing gender roles – has Disney finally debunked gender stereotypes? Palatinate. 6 March. Available at: https://www.palatinate.org.uk/deconstructing-gender-roles-has-disney-finally-debunked-gender-stereotypes/. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Dynes, R. (2021). Disney and Children’s Perception of Gender Roles and Expectations. [online] Available at: https://www.ecsdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Rhyannon-Dynes-University-of-Chester.pdf. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Hamilton, I. (2022). Opinion: How Disney’s skewed gender balance shapes our world. The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/frozen-disney-elsa-gender-balance-b2024916.html. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Jimenez, S. (2022) THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN DISNEY ANIMATED FILMS. [online] Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=university_honors_program. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
Priya, K. (2022). Gender stereotypes and Sexism in Disney movies: Analysing Disney Movies during Pandemic in the backdrop of Gender studies. [online] 8. Available at: https://ijirt.org/master/publishedpaper/IJIRT155117_PAPER.pdf. (Accessed: 1 February 2024).
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