INT 101: Disney Princesses and their Dynamic Roles

Men are dominant; women are submissive. Men are stoic; women are emotional. Men are
aggressive; women are passive. In my life, I have noticed these distinctions and perceptions of
men and women. Do you not see how there is an imbalance of power? How the male qualities
are associated with strength, and those of women are associated with weakness? Growing up in
my own household, women have always been perceived as weak and inferior to men. Most of
all, this perception was prominent in my childhood and in the cartoons and films I grew up
watching, especially with Disney, a mass media company that has been producing films since
1923. As a child, I adored Disneys princess films. A majority of its films followed the same plot
-- A charming, handsome man would save the woman from danger, or kiss her out of a spell. The
princesses were my role models, and I felt that they were excellent examples of what a woman
should be like. Additionally, they influenced one of my ultimate goals to pursue a prince
charming and fall in love. However, as societys views of women shifted, this shift has
surprisingly also been captured in Disney princess films, thus improving portrayals of women by
reducing the deeply rooted traditional gender roles.
Disneys Snow White (1938), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were a few
of my favorites growing up. The princesses modeled the perfect housewife: They cleaned,
cooked, and dressed up pretty. They were graceful, shy, and reserved. Show White and Sleeping
Beauty were both unconscious from a spell cast by a witch, and in order for them to awaken, a
man had to rescue them with a kiss. As for Cinderella, her prince charming had to save her from
her evil, verbally abusive stepmother against whom she could not defend herself. Each of these
films ended with the prince marrying the princess and living happily ever after. The issue here is

INT 101: Disney Princesses and their Dynamic Roles

that these princesses modeled what traditional society wanted a woman to be: dependent upon a
man and in the pursuit of marriage.
It was not until Disneys Mulan (1998) that a princess deviated from the traditional roles
of the previous Disney princesses. In this story, the Chinese army recruits a man from each
family for service, and because Mulan did not want her father to go due to his weakened state,
she took his place and went to war. At this time, China was ruled by a patriarchal regime, so she
had to disguise herself as a man in order to enter. She is eventually exposed as a female, but she
helps to save China from the invaders. She is scolded for her fraud, but is thanked by the Chinese
emperor for her bravery and service. This was a major improvement by Disney, because its
character, Mulan, shows how one does not have to be a man in order to have courage and take
risks to protect his or her family and fight for what is right.
Disney princesses continued to rise over the years, and we saw this in films like The
Princess and the Frog (2009). Princess Tiana is hardworking and ambitious, and her pursuit,
unlike finding true love, was to open a business. She aspired to own the finest restaurant in New
Orleans. In the end, she had a successful business without the help of a man. She gained a large
profit from it, and her restaurant became well known in the city of New Orleans. Around the time
this film was released, I was 12 years old and still thinking of what career I wanted. This film
encouraged me to dream big and go beyond societys expectations, believing that I can be the
best in my future occupation.
The deviation of effeminate roles continued with Disneys release of Brave (2012), which
follows Merida, a princess who is the daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. She loved
archery, getting dirty, and being outside, as opposed to the traditional Disney princesses who

INT 101: Disney Princesses and their Dynamic Roles

stayed in the house to cook or clean. In the film, her parents stress that she must be a princess
and tie back her curly hair, dress nicely, and have good manners in order to make a good
impression on a potential husband, but she was defiant to dolling up. The dress made her
uncomfortable, and she hated that she could not be herself around her suitors. Merida was
headstrong, fearless, and in no hurry to find a prince charming. The storys focus is not centered
on Merida finding true love. In fact, Merida was fine without finding it. Brave demonstrated how
women can be independent, and finding love is not always necessary.
Another example of Disneys progress in shifting traditional gender roles is exhibited in
its film Frozen (2014). Queen Elsa unknowingly froze her sister Annas heart. As a result, Anna
and her friend Kristoff went to seek help for her frozen heart. When they find help, they discover
that Annas only cure is true love. Seeing this scene, I assumed that it would be the same old
situation where she would have to get a true loves kiss from a man. Anna believed the same. She
assumed that it was Hans, prince of the Southern Isles, who would help her. However, she only
knew him for a day, and he only pursued Anna because of her familys wealth and reputation.
When Anna went to him, he dismissed her and left her alone to suffer. Feeling hopeless, she went
back to Elsa, but not quickly enough. Her entire body froze before she could reach her. When
Elsa saw this, she wept at Annas shoulders, and surprisingly Anna unfroze. It turns out that
sisterly love was the real cure for Annas frozen heart, not love from a man. This story shows that
womens roles in Disneys modern films are far from what they were in the 20th century. Frozen
taught us that women can be heroes too.

INT 101: Disney Princesses and their Dynamic Roles

While Disney is progressively shifting its attitudes on the roles of princesses in its films,
we have not seen many traditional roles in princesses since. Ever since Mulan, modern
princesses have possessed masculine-like traits that do not reflect those of their traditional
counterparts. Disney should not completely wipe away the traditional princess. It is
understandable that societys view of women is changing, but there should also be a balance,
because it is a reminder that women are diverse they have different personalities, ambitions,
and characteristics. Like modern Disney princesses described earlier, women can go to war, start
businesses, be independent, live without a partner, or be outspoken. However, just like the
modern Disney princesses, traditional Disney princesses represent a large number of women.
There are women who stay home and take care of their families, enjoy cleaning and cooking,
enjoy being feminine and dressing up, or desire marriage. There are women who are also shy and
reserved. The traditional Disney princess is not a bad model. It just should not be the only
representation of women.
Disneys shift in its attitude towards the roles of princesses has greatly improved. The
films Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty portrayed women as shy, graceful, and
reserved. Their ultimate goal was to be rescued by a handsome prince and soon fall in love with
him so that they could live happily ever after. However, the tables turned when Disney at last
deviated from the traditional roles and introduced characters like Mulan, who demonstrated that
women can be courageous and protect their family. Tiana shows that womens dreams and
ambitions can be as big as they would like, and they do not have to be confined by societys
standards. Merida, who was spunky, independent, and confident in voicing her opinions, showed
that a man does not always have to be in the picture for a woman to live happily ever after.

INT 101: Disney Princesses and their Dynamic Roles

Sisters Anna and Elsa demonstrated that women can be heroes, too, and men are not the only
ones capable of rescuing someone in times of trouble.
At the rate that Disney is going, I would say that they have done very well using the roles
of its modern princess to influence societys view of women. Disney should continue to create
princesses with roles that deviate from those of the traditional Disney princesses. Modern
princesses should emphasize to the world that a woman can be strong, independent, funny,
protective, ambitious, and adventurous. I am certain that there are other kids out there who are
like I was and who love Disney princesses and see them as role models. I believe that Disneys
modern princesses will encourage future generations to be ambitious and set higher standards, as
opposed to the traditional princesses that influenced me to pursue a man and fall in love. Disney
films should no longer send a message that women are obliged to be girly girls who simply stay
home and clean, nor should they send a message that women are weaker than and dependent
upon men. Through the roles of these modern princesses, Disneys message should be that
women have just as much power as a man does, and that it is okay to dare to be adventurous and
reach as high as they want.