It is supposedly a known fact that Disney has hidden sexism nature throughout their movies. Each princess represents biased views on different lifestyles. Since these films are mainly targeting a younger audience, do these subliminal messages effect these children? The author of this article gives examples from a few of the Disney movies. (more can be found here)

One of the examples of Disney’s sexism is Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. Jasmine is the sultan’s daughter who has to be married when she  turns 16, and of course it is an arranged marriage. The arranged marriage shows how in some cultures, women are considered second-class citizens. This film also shows how women are always believing and giving into men. Aladdin lies to Jasmine throughout the entire movie claiming he loves her, but all he really wants to do is marry her so he can become the future sultan.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast is also another sexism example. The movie portrays Belle as being stuck in an abusive relationship. Instead of leaving the beast, Belle gives up being with her family to live in isolation being yelled, only hoping for the beast to change into a nicer and better person. Even when Belle leaves the castle to help her father, she ends up returning not that much later, like most victims of abuse. The beast eventually changes into the person Belle wants, Disney makes it seem like if you stick with a bad situation, you will eventually be happy in the end.

One of the other examples given in the article is Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Ariel is willing to change her physical appearance for a man to love her. This shows girls that it is okay to change who you are for other people to like you.

I also found a video on youtube that explains the “morals” that the Disney Princesses are teaching younger girls in the movies

The author made some very good points in their article that I have never thought of before. I have grown up watching these movies, but now that I am older and after reading these articles, I am starting to see where these different views are coming from. I agree with the author that the older Disney movies portrayed women as being frail, fragile, and very dependent on males. Even though the movies are based on different story lines, each princess still had extremely similar characteristics.

There are points though, where I have to disagree with the author. Not all Disney movies portray women in this kind of way. The movies started evolving where now the princess are the characters of the movies saving the day and don’t need a man to help them. After reading this article I am going steer my research in the direction of the evolution of Disney movies. With this, I am hoping to find which movies started the evolution of the standard “Disney Princess” and how movies today portray women.

Are you one of the children that has grown up with all of the Disney movies?

Is it hard to just pick one of your favorites?

Do you randomly find yourself singing a Disney song in your head?

Walt Disney has made a huge impact on the lives of children in multiple generations and is still making an impact on adults as well. Countless movies have been produced to serve different life lessons and morals for the audience to take away with them. Since Disney movies have such a huge impact on children of all ages, why is there a crowd that is so against them and think that they convey the wrong message to children?

This topic really interested me because I was and still am a Disney fan. The movies definitely have made a huge impact on my life, but not in a bad way. Yes I always wanted to become a Disney Princess and pretend that a prince was going to come my rescue, but I knew that there is a difference between the movies and real life.

Multiple people believe that Walt Disney is racist and sexist. They believe that only white people are represented by Disney and that the women in the movies are seen as the typical “damsel in distress.”

The typical princess is usually described as being tall, thin, pale skin, and long hair. Yes, this is the case for many of the early Disney princesses, such as Aurora, Snow White, and Belle. Few think that this messes with girls’ minds saying if they don’t look like the stereotypical princess, they aren’t beautiful. Often these pessimists forget about the Disney movies that don’t involve a princess that is white. Mulan, Pocahontas, Jasmine from Aladdin, Tianna of Notre Dame are just a few of the movies that involve people of different ethnic backgrounds. Everyone is represented, so there isn’t a need to feel that Disney gravitates to only one ethnic background.

There are some racism examples that people have found in several Disney movies that just aren’t princess-related. Here are a few: (more can be found here)

In Aladdin, in the intro son “Arabian Nights,” which first contained the lyrics “Where they cut off your ear / If they don’t like your face / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” When it was released on DVD though, the lyrics were changed to “Where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense.”

Another example is Sebastian in The Little Mermaid being portrayed as a Jamaican saying it’s better under the sea because you don’t have to get a job.

There are also the monkeys in The Jungle Book that are supposedly “African American sounding” while the other characters sound British. The monkeys are also singing about wanting to be human, which is symbolic for African Americans wanting to be humans and not slaves or under everyone else.

I have seen all of these disney movies and I never picked up on any of these assumptions and there are even adults that don’t even notice. I feel that people like to analyze everything just to find something wrong. The pessimists are making nothing into such a big deal.

Some consider Disney movies sexist because the princess is usually in some type of trouble, is considered weak, and needs a man to save her in the end. The most referenced example is the movie Sleeping Beauty. She pricks her finger on the spinning and is put to sleep. The only way that she can be saved is to be kissed by a prince. People think that this shows little girls that they are incapable of accomplishing anything on their own. Another example is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. The negative thinking audience believes that Belle is in an abusive relationship with the Beast and there is nothing she can do about it. Once Belle is set free to take care of her father, she returns very quickly, which is what most victims of abuse do. People also think that there is sexism in the Little Mermaid with Ariel. Ariel changes her physical appearance just to be with the man she loves. By sacrificing her voice and signing Ursula’s contract, she is representing women’s sacrifice of their voice and opinions for the happiness of the man in their lives. Yes these are very sexist (along with others) but there are more movies where the woman is the hero in the end.

In Mulan, she ends up pretending to be a man to take her father’s spot in the Chinese army. She goes through the training, but once people find out she is female, she is sent home. A problem then occurs and Mulan ends up saving her country fighting, being more successful and determined than the men in the army. Disney’s newest movie, Frozen, most definitely breaks all of the stereotypes that people make about Disney movies. Queen Elsa has a magical power that is hard for her to control. Her powers get out of hand and she ends up leaving the castle. Her sister, Princess Anna is then in charge. Instead of having the men go after Elsa, Anna goes after her herself. While talking to Queen Elsa, Princess Anna gets struck by Elsa’s powers and is told that the only way to be saved is by an act of true love. Princess Anna falls for Prince Hans and she falls under his spell that she is in love with him and is going to marry him after only knowing him for a day. Towards the end of the movie we find out that Prince Hans was fake and never really loved Anna, he jut wanted to rule the kingdom. Since Prince Hans never loved Anna, she isn’t sure if she will be saved. Princess Anna then proceeds to freeze and it looks as if she cannot be saved. Queen Elsa returns and sees what has happened and hugs Princess Anna’s frozen statue. Since Queen Elsa loves her sister, Princess Anna thaws and is saved by an act of true love by her sister. This proves that an act of true love can come from anyone, not just a male figure.

I personally feel that Disney movies are good for children to watch because it is a break from reality for them to get lost in a different world where anything is possible. Children can be whatever they want and don’t let anyone or anything get in their way.