The Culture of a Disney Princess
 
   
Disney's princesses not only teach young girls how to behave, having their heroines succeed by being passive ones, but also give females unrealistic expectations the way many forms of media, such as advertisements, do to older females. Presumably, not all females will read Disney in the same way, and even if they all did they may not all emulate typical Disney princess behavior, but for some, like the former interviewee, Disney's message remains close and shapes the thoughts females have about themselves. Many of these messages are portrayed in Grimms' fairytale versions that have served as the foundations for Disney movies so these origins should be investigated as well. Fairy tales are believed to stimulate the imaginations of children, offering a world into which they can escape and be enchanted by, not to mention their simplicity, making them even more pleasurable by children of many ages. Yet many critics of fairy tales do not agree with the important role they have come to play in the lives of children all over the world, some even considering the fairy tale as "an institutionalized discourse with manipulation as one of its components," a discourse "socializing children to meet definitive normative expectations at home and in the public sphere" (1983 Zipes 9,10). If this is the case, what they communicate to children is a serious concern, especially when female characters, particularly princesses, are passive, submissive, quiet, compliant and easily manipulated while males are the contrary. Heroes are persistent and confident whereas Disney's heroines are portrayed as too helpless to behave in such a manner. "The restriction of women at puberty can also be interpreted as a reaction of men to the threat of female sexuality" (Stone 47). Females realize that sexual differences define character differences as well and that their counterpart, the male, is the appointed liberator for the female.
Seeing females like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Snow White take on the role of the heroine in Disney movies, makes their actions the focal point for their audience. Practically every princess struggles to overcome a problem and ultimately find happiness through marriage to a prince. The significance placed on the heroine's dependence on her prince to be happy creates a fairy tale world that does not translate into the real world we know. As a result, many females expect to easily triumph over the evil that prevails in their lives by having a male hero save them from it all. Stone's interviewee also said,

"I remember the feeling of being left out in fairy stories. Whatever the story was about, it wasn't about me. But this feeling didn't make me not interested in them-I knew there was something I was supposed to do to fit in but I didn't. So I thought there was something wrong with me, not with the fairy stories" (Stone 49).

Even though Disney certainly does not stand alone in providing these subservient female images in children's movies, fairy tales like those dating back to the Grimms' do not encompass the authority and overall influence that Disney has accumulated through the years. Disney's popularity is what causes such close attention to its characters. Unlike stories found in books, Disney's come to life on the screen, in figurines, clothing, costumes, dolls, and all sorts of other paraphernalia, not to mention entire theme parks all over the world resonating the negative messages presented in the original Disney princess movies. As synecdochal signs, Disney princesses represent the entire world of Disney so whether a child is familiar with one or all of the princesses, more than likely they know how a Disney princess behaves and in this way have already been integrated into Disney culture. In other words, Disney is everywhere, in your life and mine, and therefore unavoidable.

To view a close analysis of Cinderella and Ariel, click on the links below!
 
Making Sense of Cinderella's Passivity. Ariel and Psychoanalysis Under the Sea.
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