Disney Princesses Research Paper

Since 1938 the Walt Disney Company has occupied the market on princesses. For many, watching these movies was an integral part of growing up. But what were they actually teaching us and what do they continue to teach girls even now? Have the perpetuation of gender norms and boy-girl relationships changed since the original princesses appeared on screen? In order to dive into this question, we must first understand the evolution of Disney princesses. We will break these down into three categories: early princesses which include Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, middle princesses which include Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan, and current princesses which include Tiana, Rapunzel, Anna, Elsa, Merida, and Moana (England,

The Walt Disney Company started to moved away from showing princesses engaging in domestic work during the middle princesses period (England, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011). However, aside from Belle and Mulan, all of the other princesses in this wave of movies were born into royalty. They were princesses by blood and, thus, were not expected to do the same things a “normal” girl would have to. And, to that end, the two princesses who came to the throne through marriage can be seen doing domestic work. For example, Belle’s mother died and she can been seen on many occasions taking on those responsibilities becoming, as she grew up, a caretaker for her father. She even lets herself be captured by Beast so her father would be let go. Then, something interesting happened. In 2009, Disney released The Princess and the Frog which featured the first black princess. The plot line of this film is based upon Tiana, a poorer girl who is a good cook and waitress and dreams of one day opening her own restaurant. She can be seen cleaning and serving others on several occasions. The fact that the first black princess brought about the resurgence of domestic work (England, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011), shows not only does Disney perpetuate gender stereotypes, but racialized ones as