Essay on Gender Stereotypes in Disney Movies

The use of media technology increases as time passes by. People, especially children and adolescents, are exposed to a wide array of information, issues, and trends in society with the help of media. It has been a great help for society to deliver and exchange all sorts of information. However, certain issues have been raised such as racism and religious biases. These problems are the societal effects of media, but looking into the micro level, the influences of media on individuals are as problematic as the said issues. It is undeniable that media plays an important role in everyone’s lives. Media is one of the most significant tools of communication in society, aiding in spreading awareness, collecting views, and manipulating the attitude of people towards certain issues (Esolz, 2018). The technological advancements present provide avenues for everyone to be exposed to the wide array of information, issues, and trends in society. Media plays a big role in shaping people's perception of reality, expectations of love, cultural ideals, and ideas about sex roles (Behm-Morawitz & Mastro, 2008; Herbozo, Tantleff-Dunn, Gokee-Larose & Thompson, 2004).

Films are one example of media that has an important part in shaping reality and molding the perceptions of people. Motion pictures greatly affect the views of their audience because of the vivid imagery they present. Disney princess films are examined in this study since these movies provide very descriptive and imaginative views for people, thus affecting their views. Furthermore, these films have an iconic image that is present in the global community. Their light and children-appropriate concepts, which show moral values and cultural norms that are accepted worldwide through the protagonists and the story flow, prove their global influence. The princesses, along with the characters present in the movies, are reproduced in different forms such as dolls, stickers, coloring books, and other toys. They are not just characters from a movie or fantasy, instead, they are something which the children interact with.

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'The Walt Disney Company' is already approximately 96 years old, It started last 1923 when they released their first animated franchise, “Alice Comedies”. Years later, they launched their first ever Disney princess movie entitled “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1938. Disney was able to continue its legacy up until now with the remake of “Aladdin”, which debuted last May 2019 (The Walt Disney Company, 2019). Considering the age of Disney, children watching the latest Disney princess movies are most likely repeating an action that their mothers and grandmothers have engaged in during their childhood years. This means that Disney movies are not just millennial-based, instead, it includes generation after generation. Disney can spread and maintain its influence across different ages and cultures because of its ability to adapt to the changes happening in society. It is important to study how Disney dominates the cultural perceptions of people since it has a very strong influence on communities around the globe.

There are three distinctive periods of princesses, the first era having “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Cinderella”, and “Sleeping Beauty”. In this generation, the princesses are damsels in distress who wait for a prince to save her from despair. They were voiceless heroines who performed conventional gendered behaviors like housekeeping and nurturing which were the gender roles given in those ages.

“The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “Pocahontas”, and “Mulan” comprises the second era of Disney princesses. This was a new wave of princesses transforming from a damsel to a heroine with a voice and an urge for excitement and adventure. In this era, they also included women of color and culture since from the first era all of the ladies were white and American which shifted to women of color like Pocahontas and women of culture like Mulan. This approach led to decades of proactive female characters having progressive qualities and character traits that complemented completely the increasing acceptance of sex roles in a society where women have the same jobs as men.

Lastly, the most recent era has protagonists that are complex characters with a variety of traits and a different from the historical princesses of the past. This era contains the “Princess and the Frog”, “Tangled”, “Brave”, “Frozen”, “Moana”, and the latest addition, “Frozen 2” which was released on November 2019. The princesses in this era showcase a more feministic ideal of independence but reduce them to common ideals of marriage. The idea of traditional femininity is quite removed in this era, recognizing the complexity of females in the current society.

Disney and its princess concept have been a powerful influence on children's media and product consumerism which contributes to a girly image that is defined by gender and the consumption of related messages and products (Giroux,1997; Lacroix, 2004; McRobbie, 2008; Orenstein, 2006). Although Disney princess films are produced in the United States and the norm is American, Disney has a strong international presence and marketing efforts (Disney International, 2010). This means that the Disney princess line and its sex role portrayal have significant meanings for the international viewer's media as well.

Disney films have shown stereotypical depictions of gender which can influence a child’s socialization process and perception of gender. These processes and depictions have a direct effect on their cognitive understanding of gender itself and their behavior (Graves, 1999). The movies showcased by Disney establish beliefs on what roles men and women should play in society as well as the values they have to uphold.

Disney has been one of the most influential tools in children’s lives, as it shapes its princess concept that eventually plays an important role in continuing the endless stereotypes. Disney targets young girls in particular to personally identify with the princesses and encourages them with messages about femininity (England, Descartes & Collier-Meek, 2011).

It has been suggested that media influences children's perceptions and that these perceptions may be carried into adulthood. Thus, romantic Disney films have a role in some insights of adolescents to romantic perceptions. Disney characters have become widely known to millions of children. An analyst of Disney Empire stated that these films motivate cultural authority and appropriateness to teach specific sex roles, values, and ideals than more traditional sites of learning like educational settings, religious institutions, and the family (Giroux, 1995, p. 25). An estimated of 1/3 of the world's population has seen at least one Disney film (Fathergoose, 1954). Thus, it is logical to evaluate the themes and messages romantic Disney films want to send to the youth about love and romantic relationships.

Past researchers have proposed that media, including Disney princess films, portray messy and unrealistic representations of romantic relationships because they are highly idealistic and they show the development of the relationships evolving quickly which sends a wrong message of how to think and behave in forming a fruitful romantic relationship, together with encouraging unrealistic expectations of romantic partners (Bachen & Illouz, 1996; Eggermont, 2004; England et al., 2009; Johnson & Holmes, 2009; Lockhart, 2000; Richardson, 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003).

Romantic love is portrayed in media as having repeating themes like finding love at first sight, experiencing a true love's kiss, and living happily ever after ( Richardson 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003). According to Segrin and Nabi (2002), these examples show an ideal romantic relationship conveyed through media because it does not show the real contexts of romantic relationships such as arguing, petty fights, and choosing solitude over company because of the partner's misbehavior. Researchers suggest that these representations are skewed since romantic relationships are wrongly portrayed, establishing expectations that would affect behaviors and perceptions in the real world (Bachen & Illouz, 1996; Eggermont, 2004; England et al., 2009; Johnson & Holmes, 2009; Lockhart, 2000; Richardson, 2012; Segrin & Nabi, 2002; Tanner et al., 2003).

The presence of media has changed the perceptions of people. Exposure to movies creates a change in mindset, perceptions, and behaviors which are crucial to society. For instance, the continuous viewing of violent movies makes the audience immune to violent acts, and they may even view it as normal and appropriate to do in society. Similarly, watching these princess movies may mold the children’s minds on how they perceive the world, and would most likely affect their behaviors, just like how children imitate superheroes by jumping up and down everywhere (Studymoose, 2019). Furthermore, according to Kids’ Health Medical Experts (2019), exposure of children to films helps them learn educational skills, but also the persistent viewing of some movies may reinforce gender roles and racial stereotypes. Adolescents who watch risky content like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes are most likely to be involved in such, affecting their behaviors in society (Kids’ Health Medical Experts, 2019). In addition to that, children who watch Disney Princess movies make the princesses their role models, which shapes their childhood dreams about their future. Furthermore, images created by Disney movies affect the sense of identity of a person during childhood, which is brought up until adolescence (Binkley, 2016). These impacts on the young minds, which are the future of our society, are very important. Thus, knowing the messages it conveys to the adolescents would inform parents to control such viewings.

Given that romantic beliefs and sex roles are important in living in our society, there is a need to study the implications of Disney princess films to adolescents because the shaping of their perceptions plays a big part in the success of our society. The study would now focus on the implications of the messages conveyed by the Disney princess movies to the sex roles and romantic beliefs of adolescents since past research has shown how it affects young adults ranging from 19 to 20 or even older. As the generation of Disney princesses changes, its effects may also change, thus the conduct of the study.

There is a considerable amount of research about the Disney Princess collection using different approaches to themes of femininity and masculinity, however, there is still little research conducted in the Philippines. Furthermore, the large influence of media and exposure of adolescents may affect the perceptions that were established by the Disney films. In addition to that, there are also Philippine cultural figures that influenced the interest of many Filipino children in Disney princess films such as different mythical Filipino characters like Maria Makiling, Maria Clara, and Amaya. This is evident enough to prove Filipino women's attachment to Disney princess films. It has developed to the point that they incorporate the Philippine norms into another culture, which reflects their romantic ideologies and orientation toward sex roles. This leads to the research concerning the effect of Disney Princess's movies on adolescents’ perception of romantic beliefs and sex roles in the Philippine setting.

This study aims to determine the messages conveyed by the construction and characterization of the Disney Princess collection's feature films. This study will also examine the sex roles implicated by these films. Furthermore, this study will explore messages dealing with how the primary characters try to find a significant other.