Is it just me, or have there been a lot of Disney princesses floating around this year? We’ve seen it all, from reimagining the princesses with average waistlines to reillustrating these girls in the form of a hotdog with accompanying toppings and everything else in between. I’ve even seen a post that likened sponges to the princesses. And when I say sponges, we’re talking the plain old squares (and sometimes for those who dared to be bold enough, round sponges with a little curve), with nothing more than an associated color. But it wasn’t just the princesses who were getting rehashed. I even saw a countdown of which prince had the nicest butt (poor Prince Charming got the worst dreamy butt).
Although some of these posts have been really important, like when the girls were dressed in historically appropriate clothing or when the gender roles were swapped between the main characters, the fact of the matter remains: it has become really obvious that there’s something seriously wrong with the driving influences of our little “princesses.” Girls across America are watching these unrealistic movies and idolizing them. Parents tell their children that they are “their little princesses,” without fully explaining what that means. Since when is it cool to place such a harsh gender stereotype on little girls in the 21st century?
As a parent, I know it can be very hard to slip into this state of mind, but if we’re going to show our children Disney princess movies, then please, let’s at least take the time to explain to them what is happening and what is not happening. For example, in Cinderella (a classic stock image of Disney princess):
What is happening: A girl loses her mother and father early on in life, but not without being replaced by an evil stepmother and stepsisters who impose cruel punishment. She falls in love with a man she meets in one night, for a mere several hours; then she proceeds to marry him. And of course, they live “Happily Ever After.” To name a few.
What is not happening: The girl is not defending herself, but rather submitting to torturous punishment (though she is old enough to get married, she is not old enough to protect herself). There is no getting to know a guy, maybe going on a couple dates, seeing a movie, going out to dinner, before she subjects herself to a life of marriage. Also, there is no real life “fairy godmother.” The movie teaches you, that if you have a problem, you cannot correct it yourself or have a friend or family member help you; instead, you must wait until some magical fairy comes to rescue you. Honestly, the list could go on and on.
I’m tired of watching these stories unfold in the movies and expecting our little girls to be just like them, or even likening them to these women. I’m tired of comparing our little girls to helpless women in movies who can’t seem to get a move on in their own lives. I’m tired of living in a society where we want our children to be little white girls dressed in beautiful, and probably back breakingly expensive dresses only to be worn once in a lifetime, with a pure morality and little room for error (or else she doesn’t get to marry a charming prince), and expecting them to live happily ever after without any hard work or effort on their part. Most of all, I am tired of letting our girls think that it’s o.k. to let someone else predict the ending to their story for them. I want our girls to be strong, independent, inspired, and motivated by all the right things. The way to get there is to start by analyzing the movies we allow them to watch and expect them to emulate.
In the next couple weeks, I am going to be rhetorically analyzing various Disney princess movies and calling out all their bluffs. In the mean time, please don’t sit back and relax. I ask you to join alongside me in rethinking how we want the future of the next generation of girls, and boys, to be like.
While I’m working on these next pieces, check out this cool article I found about these princess movies and their casting roles, speaking roles, and other aspects: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/25/researchers-have-discovered-a-major-problem-with-the-little-mermaid-and-other-disney-movies/
If you’re still bored, see how princesses (and princes) have been redrawn this year:
Click here to see historically accurate princesses
Click here to see princesses with average waistlines
Click here to see princesses as hot dogs, or in case you need help recreating these lovely hot dogs for yourself, check it out here
Click here to see for yourself what a princess may look like as a sponge
Click here to see what a little bit of makeup and long hair can do to swap genders of famous Disney characters
Click here to see one of the new ones I found where Disney princesses are recreated with different races
Click here to see the ranking of sexiest princes’ butts
Click here to make your dreams a reality by seeing Disney princes and other male Disney characters drawn in real life
As you can see, the list is endless so please feel free to google some of your own finding and share your favorites with me.
The New de-Generation of Media 
Char, I think that you’re absolutely right about Disney teaching unrealistic ideals to youngsters. Although it’s easy to get swept up in the magic of the fairy tales, Disney might be leaving our kids with false, if not harmful, expectations about life and relationships. Also, the Washington Post article was enjoyable!
– Nora
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Hey Char! Quite a well-thought out post. 🙂 I really like that you included all of the links at the bottom—I definitely had to see what the sponges were all about. Looking forward to the rest of your posts! It might be interesting to hear your ideas of what messages Disney is conveying about male gender roles too, just a thought!
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