Western Feminism and Disney Princesses

Something I found interesting from both Ms. Kobus’s presentation and the readings was the idea that as time went on, Disney began creating heroines who defied certain gender norms. While I certainly think that Disney movies have become more inclusive and empowering over time, I also think we should examine where we are giving them too much credit for their progressiveness. Particularly I feel that Mulan and Aladdin are not as progressive as might be suggested.

One thing I found interesting in the second article, “How Disney Princesses Influence Girls Around the World,” was the assertion by Rebecca Hains that “The U.S.—a country with no royalty—has colonized children’s imaginations of what a princess is…” Certainly, the princess movies promoted western beauty standards to an international audience. Part of snow white’s beauty, for instance, is literally her “skin as white as snow.” With the number of blonde, white Disney princesses, it’s no wonder that many girls view that as the standard for beauty.

This western bias in Disney movies is not only evident in the princess’s appearances, however. Probably the two most well-known princesses of color (out of only four total) are Mulan and Jasmine. Both of them fall in what we deemed in class Era II of Disney princesses, and both of them are to some degree less defined by regressive gender roles. In the movies, the princesses, Mulan and Jasmine respectively, fight against arranged marriages. This attitude does show a progression from films like Sleeping Beauty, in which the hero and love interest of Aurora is a boy who was betrothed to her at birth. However, I think it’s also to examine the context in which these arranged marriages occurred. Mulan takes place in China, while Aladdin is set in a fictional Middle Eastern country. In criticizing the idea of arranged marriage in these cultures, Disney is less criticizing their own emphasis on romance and the importance of finding a husband and more condemning these countries’ backward approaches to marriage. In Aladdin particularly Jasmine is still very fixated on romance, and the boy she meets in the marketplace. This romance is acceptable and necessary in the film. Thus, there is no real criticism of the sexist standards that Disney perpetuates: that women must be beautiful and must find a man to care for her. The moral is that a woman needs a husband to care for her and protect her, but she and her husband should also be in love for it to be acceptable. In this way, the films are still a step forward, but much less so than they are given credit for. 

More recent films, like Frozen and Moana, have worked to defy these stereotypes. But even the idea of princesses being the highest title a little girl could have is troubling. Even when they aren’t true princesses, the use of the term “princess” to describe any Disney heroine seems disempowering. Historically, princess is an inherited position, not an earned one. Media should teach girls that they can achieve things of their own merit, and not only by way of their father. Only by teaching little girls that they can be heroes and not princesses can we teach them the true power of their actions.