Is There a Problem with Disney?

      After watching a few films and movies about the problems women deal with in the face of media, it has me wondering where I have actually seen these stereotypes being portrayed. In media, women are too often portrayed as being ignorant, sassy, or having super-human powers. Many women are also highly sexualized and are forced to have a certain body image that is deemed acceptable in society. Media projects this idea that women's jobs are solely to make a man satisfied and that their best attribute is their physical appearance. After much thought, it occurred to me that all throughout my childhood, Disney has been putting out princess movies that devalue women. It was hard to me to actually digest the fact that Disney does this to women because I love Disney, but after applying the different ideas and methods that I've learned in class, it became clear to me what Disney's hidden messages were.

       My favorite princess Disney movies would have to be classics such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast. I have been watching these movies for as long as I can remember. I think it is crazy how almost all of these movies have very similar plot lines to each other. It is even crazier how I have never noticed how alike the hidden messages were until I actually analyzed each plot line and compared them. First, Disney displays the idea to young females that women are incapable of doing a lot of things independently, need to be reliant on men, and are quite ditzy/ lost. Second, Disney almost always includes the archetype of the "witchy" stepmother or old lady. It shows young girls that these are the only two types of women you can be. However, there are many more attributes of women that are not often portrayed in media. Women can be influential, empowering, intelligent, brave, etc. The list goes on. These Disney princesses are almost always saved by a man; this shows that women are supposed to be submissive to men and that men hold more power than women. However, women are equal to men, in the sense that we are capable of supporting ourselves and can do the same jobs; we are just as influential as men.

      In these films, Disney depicts the "princess" as having a beautiful physical appearance, with a slender and ideal physique that attracts men. She fits into the image that media is sending out to their audiences of young girls. She is supposed to be graceful and subordinate to a male figure- either a prince or father. Then as the plot of the movie continues, the stereotypical princess has to encounter an experience with the "witchy" old lady or stepmother, in which she cannot help herself. She has to wait for her prince charming to come and save her from the terrible accident (normally by kissing her). In the end, the prince and the princess live happily ever after and ride off into the sunset.
     I would be lying if I said these Disney movies didn't play a huge role in my life. Throughout my childhood, I felt as if I had a particular image I needed to fit into. I had to be graceful and mannered in front of men; I couldn't be my loud or obnoxious self. I also felt that I needed to uphold a certain beauty standard. My all-time favorite Disney princess is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, and I remember that when I was younger, I thought that because I had dark-colored hair, I wasn't as gorgeous as the girls with blonde hair. These movies taught me that I needed a man in my life, in order to take care of me and "rescue me" because I am not capable of doing that myself. However, now that I am more aware of these hidden messages in media, I know that these are false stereotypes; I know that women have much more to offer to society than their outer appearances.