The Disney Princesses Essay Sample

The media may portray princesses as wonderful protagonists, but their fairy tales are clearly the real villains. Disney’s princesses have been around since 1937, and all eleven of them have either an hourglass figure or one close to it. Stores marketed towards products that allow children to look and act like them may be dying out, but their influence is still present (Corhane 23). The young children that they affect should know however that those princesses were more likely to end up at a guillotine than the ideal fairy tale wedding (Johnson 34). How do the princesses’ fairy tales affect children’s body image and expectations? Fairy tales can be read in good faith to children, but over time it can spark an association with stereotypes. Avoiding children’s books that show the same repetitive ideas is very difficult though for most parents. Since Disney movies are used by parents to distract young people those stereotypes are integrated into children early on and have a higher probability of weighing the child down (Corhane 23). For instance, a link that is known by adolescents was introduced when Disney went a step too far, “giving the audience a visual ideal of beauty and introducing the association between violence and masculinity” (Neikirk 41). Girls affected by those stereotypes often feel as though they are restricted from certain tasks (Dovey). Even though when children are shown the Disney princesses movies with good intentions, repercussions may spark, like the ever-growing amount of stereotypes that they place on themselves and others. While any child that is acquainted with the Disney princess may be affected, those very young like kindergarteners are more likely to be influenced. They are already exposed to a lot of princess-related ideals and content by their age (Johnson 36). From being entertained with the tales when they have to be contained, to when parents need something to help put their children to sleep. Yet kindergarteners are in the early stages of forming gender expectations in life, so everything that young children see and hear will play a part in what assumptions they build(Johnson 36). Through a study where children under seven were read introductory sentences, it was found that if the main character had undergone victimization or repression, children would connect them to a female (Neikirk 40). Showing that ideas and relationships with genders are in children by the time of second grade. If children could “develop more naturally, rather than be steered from birth into conservative and reductive gender constructs” the number of stereotypes and anxieties in children would drop greatly (Corhane 23). By the time children are already kindergarteners, there are wide amounts of gender aspects influencing them that will be very difficult to break the longer they are not addressed. By not confronting the ideas and stereotypes from the Disney princess properly with children during their youth the number of expectations for their own beauty grows tremendously. It stems from the fact that until the end of the fairy tale there is an emphasis on the beauty of the princess (Neikirk 41). The expectations that females put on themselves to be special in some way can weigh them down during youth (Dovey). This in turn creates a growing idea that one’s looks are a priority and that a lot of effort should be put into looking a certain way. An obsession with beauty can cause young children without much money to try to consume cheap products that can be risky (Salyer). For example, most people do not mind getting little girls a princess makeup set, yet since they are so cheap dermatitis can be caused. Which is a redness, itch, and flaking of the skin and lips. The expectation to be or reach a certain standard should be stopped in children’s youth because the repercussions can affect their future greatly. There are some more severe thoughts and habits that are developed in young children too. Children consuming products to look better may seem cute, yet the obsession can cause them to develop depression (Salyer). The unattainable certain look that most children and even adults want can cause them to not find happiness in their life anymore. Girls who interacted and played with Disney princesses have shown worse self-esteem about their bodies as time passed (Dovey). Other than depression, eating disorders can also be onset with a fixation with being perfect or trying to obtain something that is thought to be beautiful (Dovey; Salyer). “According to the National Eating Disorder Association approximately 30 million Americans are struggling with an eating disorder,” and many of them are females and children (Dovey). It is something that the population struggles with as it is, so adding on the expectations and ideals from the Disney princesses is too much. There is an abundance of severe issues in the world and many of those ideas and habits are introduced during youth from things like the Disney princesses. Though the influences of Disney princesses are already integrated into Children’s minds, if those thoughts are challenged and shown to be negative in the future generations they may not go through the same struggles. The youth have been affected by beauty expectations that can lead to the development of severe thoughts and habits. Children as young as kindergarteners have shown an association with stereotypes that may affect them in one way or another for the rest of their lives. The princesses’ fairy tales have affected children’s childhood but it does not have to be that way in the future. With newer more diverse princesses coming to the scene and discussions with children about these issues, problems with body image and expectations can be a thing of the past.