Disney movies play a major role in body dissatisfaction among young girls. Although one might presume that thin, ideal body types are more present in adult television shows, it has been proven that Disney films contain many body image related messages (Bispo 1). Princesses and other female protagonists are displayed with very slim waists. This unnatural body size portrayed in Disney movies is, unfortunately, what society calls for. The thin, ideal body type has existed in American culture since the 1960s, and it is increasingly prevalent today in numerous forms of media (Davidson 1). Society views a slender figure as beautiful, and the media reflects that. For example, Disney follows society’s expectations of beauty with its films. If Disney
During the film, Elsa sings the song “Let it Go”, where she transforms from a scared, trapped queen to a free, powerful individual. Though this moment is a positive rhetoric on her gender, the display of her body shape transforms at the same moment to appear like a stereotypical Disney princess. Before, her clothing was very conservative and did not particularly define her features; when Elsa undergoes her transformation, her clothing is very skimpy and revealing, and does nothing but highlight her tiny waist (Davidson 3). This portrayal of body image presents to the viewer that strong, successful women are also skinny and fit society’s beauty standards. Also, in the movie Cinderella, Cinderella depicts the ideal princess who has a size zero waist, a beautiful and blushing face, and large eyelashes, features that can be described as alluring (Bispo 5). In addition, she is dressed in an elegant gown, indicating wealth and prestige (Bispo 5). These features create the illusion that these distinct qualities define beauty. Also, in The Little Mermaid, Ariel looks like every other Disney princess with her slender figure. Furthermore, Ariel’s body features are exaggerated by what she wears. For instance, from the waist up she has a “shell bra” to cover up her chest (Clements & Musker). This shows young girls that it’s okay to show off their bodies in public, which, in turn, makes them feel pressured to look desirable to men. Additionally, Ursula refers to a merman who is too thin and a mermaid who is too fat as “poor unfortunate souls” and uses her magic to change their body shape into something more ‘desirable’, which makes the mermaid and merman happier (Clements and Musker). This implies that all a person needs is a pretty face and nice figure to be happy with
From the time girls are little, they are taught to be pretty. In Fat is Not A Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen, she explains how she has come to understand that all of the glamorous princesses that little girls look up to are all unrealistically thin, with beauty being their most important asset. She tells her point in a sarcastic and bitter way, showing how this anorexic beauty is not something to look up to and want to become someday. She wants to let the reader know that this romanticizing of skinniness is not a reality.
Every woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” she gives an in depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys.
A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes.
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
Disney is a company that almost everybody has either seen, heard about, or been to. Throughout the years that Disney has been making movies, some people have been saying that Disney shows stereotyping through their movies. Even though some people do not notice these stereotyping images, some people do notice them and do get very offended. Disney has been around since the early 1920`s when “Walt signed a contract with M. J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies — this date is considered the start of the Disney company first known as The Disney Brothers Studio”(Wikipedia 3). In the past, Disney has had many different claims about stereotyping, but nothing was really done about the issues. Despite claims that Disney invents perfect role models for children, Disney actually creates their characters based upon stereotypes.
Media is infamous for having a tremendous effect on teenage girls. The mass media have long been criticized for presenting unrealistic appearance ideals that contribute to the development of negative body image for many women and girls (Harrison & Hefner, 2006). Whether it’s the influence on their choice of friends, school, or their self image, media has played an important role in affecting those decisions. A growing number of experimental studies have demonstrated a causal link between acute exposure to "thin-ideal" images (i.e., images of impossibly thin and attractive female beauty) and increased body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). It has recently been brought up that media influences girls in preadolescence, which is highly likely since most young girls idolize Barbie (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate” (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). Most young girls wish that they could look like Barbie when they grew up, but if they knew the reality of having her measurements their perceptions would probably change. Children frequently fantasize about who they will be, what they will do, and how they will look when they grow into adulthood.
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
Dittmar, Helga. "How Do "body Perfect" Ideals in the Media Have a Negative Impact on Body Image and Behaviors? Factors and Processes Related to Self and Identity." : Sussex Research Online. N.p, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
As in many fairy tales we have grown up with, the characters are always beautiful or handsome, with an evil mother that wants to destroy that. Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz state that, “The feminine beauty ideal-the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women's most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain…[is] viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women”(711). Women grow up with the impression that they must be perfect and beautiful in order to get a man. They will see the beautiful girl get a handsome guy and everything they want. The characters in Tangled prove the fact that every fairy tale follows the same guide lines; Rapunzel, Flynn, and even mother Gothel are beautiful. Their features are all the same with them being thin, having straight teeth, and being good looking. If a person was described as being perfect looking, than a fairy tale character is what they would be compared to. A little girl will see Rapunzel and want to be like her because she’s pretty and a princess and they will l...
According to A. Waller Hastings Ariel didn’t have to face her consequences. The movie ends with Ariel’s father trading his life to the sea witch in order to save her. “Once again Disney’s heroine survives to find happiness thanks solely to the heroism and sacrifice of male characters” (O’Brien). Because of this, Ariel doesn’t grow or mature. Instead, everyone lives happily ever after thanks to the men in Ariel’s life (Hastings). Now, there’s nothing wrong with living happily ever after. However, this perpetuates an unrealistic expectation of life for impressionable viewers that abide by Mulvey’s theories on narcissism and how viewers may relate themselves to the object on the screen (Storey, 110). The image of a helpless damsel in distress being saved by men with no further consequences to her life is harmful because it may give viewers a distorted view of reality. The damsel in distress stereotype erases all of Ariel’s prior independence due to the fact that she has to be
Women in these fairy tales are young and beautiful. In all reality not every girl in this world is truly considered beautiful by our society’s terms. In today’s society the term beautiful is often used to describe a women who is a size 0, tall, flawless skin, and dressed nicely. Haven’t you ever seen princesses that are in all these fairy tales, our society’s description of beautiful describes every single one of these princesses?
Today, the ideal physical image is desperately sought after by Americans. Women seek to have a size two waist and model-thin hips. Men seek to have “manlier” facial hair and bigger, stronger muscles (TEEN TRUTH: BODY IMAGE Trailer). The ideal has not always been like this. In the 1800s, the voluptuous, plump women were thought to be healthy, wealthy, and beautiful. Even in the 1950s, people like size-fourteen Marilyn Monroe were venerated. It wasn’t until the 1960s where underweight women became ideal. In the 1980s, emphasis on fitness and dieting became more popular in the media (“Dissatisfaction”). Up to this day, the many factors of influence have caused most Americans to feel they are inadequate.
Since 1937, when Snow White was created, Disney princesses have been falsely portraying women. While their personalities have changed to keep up with society’s standards, their unrealistic body
Tales that make frequent references to the appearance of women are constantly being remade, such as “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. “Tales that make frequent reference to physical appearance and beauty for women are likely to have been reproduced… those that have been reproduced the most are precisely the ones that promote a feminine beauty ideal” (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz). References to women’s beauty and physical appearance isn’t limited long stories, but also shortened stories keep the feminine beauty within them. Detail to attractiveness in fairy tales has increased over time (and still is). Fairy tales that have been remade or rewritten suggests that women (and men) are manipulated by media and their ideals of attractiveness. “Beauty, for beauty’s sake,” (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz) plays a very big part in fairy tales, especially for women. There is a difference in messages between women’s beauty and male’s attractiveness and is consistent in a social control perspective. Fairy tales aren’t always popular because of the (feminine) beauty within, but also because
Cinderella 's stepsisters spend many hours dressing for the ball because they know the only quality that matters is their looks. Even Cinderella is fascinated by the nice clothing her fairy godmother gives her. Prince Charming falls in love with her at first sight not because of personality but because of the beauty of her attire. The message is that a woman 's worth is in the way she dresses and the way she looks. That message teaches little girls who listen to Cinderella 's story over and over to grow up becoming women who obsess over their appearance rather than the quality of their