Topic Proposal: The Problem with being a Princess

Do you remember coming home from school, throwing you’re backpack on the floor and plopping on the couch with your favorite snack in hand to watch yet another episode of your favorite TV show? Whether it was Pokémon or The Power Puff girls, it was probably the best part of your “stressful” day as a ten-year old. It is clear that in society today, media is a vital part of life, especially for the coming generations as they are being born into the age of new technology. As I will show, children are susceptible to retaining new information and with the media of today, the rate of information retained continues to increase every day. With that, there is a growing concern among parents that their children are growing up too fast, and they often link this concern with the exposure their kids have with gender stereotyping in the media. Although the more recent media has been conforming to the new gender norms, there are still many TV shows and movies that still sexualize children at a young age and not everyone is aware of it.

 To focus on a specific issue that has been relevant for years, Disney has been making princess movies since 1937, with the initial making of the movie Snow White, and to this day children look up to Snow White as a role model, emulating the “Princess” traits. Also, just because new gender norms, for example, as illustrated by the progressive princesses in the films, Moana and Brave, portray more positive role models, this doesn’t negate the negative impact of the still circulating movies from the 50s and 60s. The solution is not to completely avoid showing these movies to our children but to incorporate more empowering material and to help children understand that it’s important to use their imagination but also to understand their limitations. Not only girls, but also boys are affected by Disney’s portrayals of women and even men in the media. Girls learn to act like a princess; boys learn to treat them that way. The effects on the children can include damaging their development and outlook on life, and a decrease in their self-esteem, as Stefanie Hanes argues (Hanes 313). This paper will argue that representations in media matter; that negative stereotypes can have real life effects on the children that view them. Claude Steele argues that we form our identity based on the world around us-through “identity contingences”-and that we internalize the negative aspects of those images, which can have a real world effect on us.

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Use of Sources and Works Cited

Coyne, Sarah M, et al. “Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement With Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem and Prosocial Behavior in Children.” 2016.

This article will support my claim that even though these Disney films and stories depict women and men to be a certain way, allowing children to believe that these portrayals are reality, it is ultimately their parents fault. The article gives good support regarding my argument that it all starts at home. Gender stereotypes begin with pink toys for girls and blue for boys. This begins very early in life and it is essentially the parents fault.

Golden, Julia C., and Jennifer Wallace Jacoby. “Playing Princess: Preschool Girls’ Interpretations of Gender Stereotypes in Disney Princess Media.” Sex Roles, vol. 79, no. 5-6, 22 Apr. 2017, pp. 299–313., doi:10.1007/s11199-017-0773-8.

            This article gives a good explanation on how Disney Princesses negatively affect children’s development into an adult. Throughout their childhood they watch these movies that depict women to stay at home and clean or cook while the men are depicted as strong, hardworking bread winners. They are forcing these girls to think that they can’t get a job as a police officer or occupy a position of authority when there are more women fighting against gender stereotypes more than ever.

Hanes, Stephanie. “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect.” Everything’s an Argument: with Readings, by Andrea A. Lunsford et al., Bedford/St Martin’s, 2019, pp. 509–516.

            This excerpt explains a woman’s theory that her child is “growing up too fast” because she let her become infatuated with the Disney princess stories that they were affecting her daughter’s innocence. She makes some good points about how the stories affect the children’s self-esteem and provides supporting statistics to help prove my point that there are many negative effects of the princesses on children today.

The counterargument will explain the other side of this argument which is that Disney has more positive repercussions than negative. And that these stories are essential to their childhood. Even though I agree with this statement to an extent, it doesn’t mean it is completely true. Points like, new media is conforming to the new gender norms so kids are learning about the LGBTQ community at an earlier age and are able to express themselves more freely. Also the parents need to know that they start the gender stereotyping in the home at the earliest age of life. So my other counter point will be that of arguing the parent’s claim that “it’s all Disney’s fault”.