Kayla Flaig

Communications 102 Podcast: Informative

Disney and Gender Stereotypes

Specific purpose: To inform how Disney gender stereotypes have influenced society.
Central Idea: Disney has influenced how people see themselves and help them form theories
about how people are suppose to behave.

Introduction
1.

2.

(Attention Getter) Almost everyone has seen at least one of the 55 Disney films that have
been produced. Whether it be the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from 1937 or the very
popular Frozen.
(Adaptation) Did you know that Disney has had a huge impact on society?

3.

(Purpose) The purpose of my podcast is to bring up some information on how Disney

gender stereotypes have influenced society.

4.

(Preview) My name is Kayla Flaig and I am here to talk about how Disney has done three
things.

A. First, well discuss the mediums that are used to display Disney (movie, toys, clothing).
B. Next, well discuss how Disney movies have influenced body image ideals.
C. Finally, we will discuss how Disney gender stereotypes have affected peoples attitudes about
themselves and others.
Transition: Now, lets get into it by discussing how Disney is spread throughout society.

Part One: Disney Mediums (movies, toys, clothing)

I. Disney seems to be everywhere you look these days whether it be at movies you own or see in
theaters, the toys that kids by, or clothing that children wear.
A. Childrens toys and clothing have been categorized into boys and girls for a long time.
According to the article Sweeping Away Gender-Specific Toys and Labels by Hiroko
Tabuchi, The most significant shifts in gender categorizing- and certainly the most debatedhave been in childrens merchandise. Their are dolls that look like the princes and princesses
in these Disney movies. These dolls are normally in the girls section because they are the
ones expected to want those dolls. This can be the same for boys toys that are put
specifically in the boys section because they are the ones expected to play with those toys.
B. Clothing can also be seen to show the Disney gender stereotypes. For girls the clothing are
normally dresses, tiaras, and shirts that show the princesses on them. For the boys they have the
shirts with the animals or heroes along with the toy swords. According to Liz Dwyer, a writer for

Takepart.com, found a 2012 study that found that every toy on the U.S Disney Story website
was segregate as being for either boys or girls. Dwyer also showed after this that Disney is now
coming up with more general neutral costumes and clothing merchandise.
C. Disney is most common in movie form. Since 1937 when Snow White came out, to now
Disney has been producing movies that show gender stereotypes. In these movies the men are
normally the heroes who must save the princess because she needs to be rescued. The princesses
are portrayed as weak, fragile women whos job is to cook, clean, and be beautiful. Disney has
been improving these stereotypes in more recent movies like Mulan, which shows the female
fighting among the men, and Frozen which shows the strength of two sisters and their ability to
run a kingdom.
Transition: Now that we have looked at how Disney is portrayed in society, we will look at the
impact that gender stereotypes can have.

Part 2: Disneys influence of body image

I.In Disney movies, the men are tough, handsome, and brave while the women are beautiful,
weak, and innocent. The ideal body image in a fairytale play a huge role in how children want
to look. They strive to look like characters in fairytales.
A. Young girls strive to look like their favorite princesses because they think that in order to be
beautiful or get the man, they must fit that ideal. In a study of girls that author Sharon Hayes
found, Nearly one-third of the participants would change something about their physical
appearance and nearly half of the girls worried about being fat. Increased exposure to media
and fairytales relate to childrens preference to be thin as they get older which is making it
more common for girls to identify the thinner person as a real princess. This relates a lot to
media because the more dissatisfied a child is with their body, the higher chance they have of
changing their body or suffering from an eating disorder. Many of the ideals that are
portrayed in Disney movies cause unrealistic views of body image for children.
B. The same can be said for boys because Disney movies and toys are typically tough and
handsome men. These images also encourage young men to strive for that image because they
think that society will expect them to be like the heroes in Disney movie. The images that these
movies portray are unrealistic because people dont really look like them. These images change
how people perceive body image and this can influence how children perceive the perfect
body.
Transition: Next, we will look at how these gender stereotypes can affect peoples attitudes
towards themselves and others.

Part 3: Disney gender stereotypes impact on attitudes

A. Children who are exposed to fairytales tend to base their self-esteem on how well they match
the prince or princess ideals. Because women are normally portrayed as submissive and less
successful than the man, young girls might not put importance on having a high self-esteem.

According to Leslee Farish, author of We Said Feminist Fairy Tales, Not Fractured Fairy
Tales, Fairytales offer children an exposure to gender identity and how the characters
should act. People want to be like the characters in fairytales. While there are strong
characters, many are powerless to change events in their lives which do not influence a good
self-esteem for children. Children with higher self esteem are more open to interacting with
others and sharing their thoughts and opinions with others. Children who have higher self
esteem are more likely to work towards their goals, build relationships with others, have more
confidence, and are more likely to be successful. If more Disney characters had more
confidence and were portrayed with more power, children might gain higher self esteem.
B. Similarly, the lack of independence that Disney shows in its female characters can lead to a
lower independence for the young girls who strive to be like their favorite princess. In many of
these stories or movies, the women go from an unhappy or lonely life to one of riches after
meeting the prince or male character. According to Sarah Boesvled, a writer for the National
Post, The women become a follower of men because according to most fairytales the man is
key to happiness. This point relates a great deal to communication and the media because when
people are dependent on one another, they feel like they are apart of something. When people are
more independent, they are more likely to take initiative and start a conversation with someone
while someone who is more dependent might wait for people to go up and talk to them.
Summary: Now that we learned some about Disney and gender stereotypes lets go over what we
have addressed. We talked about the many different ways that people can find Disney in the
media and in society whether it be form movies to the toy aisle in stores. In addition, we also
looked at peoples perception of body image could be altered by the appearances of Disney
characters. Finally, we looked at the affects that Disney gender stereotypes can have on a person
attitude towards themselves and others. Now I am not saying that Disney has a bad influence on
people, I am saying that their are gender stereotypes that people can look out for and

Conclusion
We have now reached to end of my podcast! Thank you so much for joining me and I hope that
you have learned some about Disney gender stereotypes. I encourage you to think about some of
these points next time you watch a Disney movie or walk down the girls toy aisle.
Closing: My name is Kayla Flaig, and I hope you have a great day!
Work Cited
Boesveld, Sarah. "Young Children Already Buy into Gender Stereotypes to Explain Behaviour in
Fairy Tales: Study." National Post. Postmedia Network, 27 May 2014. Web. 30 May.
2016.
Dwyer, Liz. "8-Year-Old Star Wars Fan Gets Disney to Ditch Gender Labels." TakePart.
Participant Media, 09 July 2015. Web. 02 June 2016.

Hayes, Sharon, and Stacey TantIeff-Dunn. "Am I Too Fat To Be A Princess? Examining The
Effects Of Popular Children's Media On Young Girls' Body Image." British
Journal Of
Developmental Psychology 28.2 (2010): 413-426. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
Tabuchi, Hiroko. "Sweeping Away Gender-Specific Toys and Labels." N.p., 27 Oct. 2015. Web.
29 May 2016.