I think the Disney Princesses have come a long way between 1937 and 2016. The first two films in

Era 1 “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty” both conform to society’s expectations about women.

Both princesses wear makeup and their bodies display the ideal feminine figure; pretty and skinny.

The princesses also sing about needing a man to come save them and when they meet their prince

they immediately fall in love which is very unrealistic. Also, in the final scene  of “Snow White” the

prince kisses her while she is sleeping which can be interpreted as not getting consent. In Era 2 the

princesses slowly begin to break out of their traditional feminine roles. The “Little Mermaid” still

conforms to traditional female roles. Her figure is still slim and she is very ignorant and naive.

However in “Aladdin” and “Mulan”, the princesses begin to become more independent. Jasmine does

not want to be in an arranged marriage and once she meets Aladdin she isn’t immediately in love with

him. Mulan dresses as a man to fight for her country and bring honor to her family. However, both of

these princesses still have a very slim figure and wear makeup. In Era 3 the princesses almost fully

break female expectations. In the movies “Frozen” and “Moana” the princesses take on a strong

independent role. The princess Anna chooses her sister over Kristoff. Elsa doesn’t ever depend on a

male character and in the song “Let It Go” she sings about being herself. Moana sings about finding

as well and is very strong-willed. Her figure is also slightly more realistic than the rest of the

princesses. Despite some of these princesses following female stereotypes, I would still show these

movies to my children. When I was 5 I was not able to see and understand the submissive and

stereotypical roles these princesses played, so I don’t believe my child would either. However, as they

age I will explain to them that women do not need to meet these expectations and they can be

whatever they want to be. I believe the Disney princesses have come a long way and are still evolving

to be strong female characters. 

Lilly