Gender Stereotypes On Children

What Orenstein fails to provide more is the effects of the pressure, and rigidness she's contributing to small girls that don't interpret the princess atmosphere as she does. Through the article she concentrates too much into what she believes can potentially affect her daughter due to the excessive princess image; but forgets to acknowledge her own stance more than it should. Unconsciously or not she is negatively impacting her own daughter’s life by the pressure to not be a princess. If a girl enjoys being girly and princess-like, what's the major concern? Additionally, she states that the markets attempt to mold girls’ lives, while the genuine intent is a tactful consumer attraction towards an easily targeted range of girls. Disney, as she describes, generates over “$400 million”, but in what? In princess and girlie-girl oriented products, and the target consumer: girls. Despite the fact that Disney, along with many other companies, target the girl culture, in their work it is not all subliminal. Take for instance Mulan, Pocahontas, or Meredith from Brave. Orenstein forms, bias throughout her writing because she only uses the submissive, delicate, and not so feminist princesses. She fails to acknowledge that Disney has progressed, and gradually has implemented more independent, strong female

The idea of a Disney princess is one I personally believe has changed over time. In Dawn England’s article “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princess,” we see an in depth look in how this change has occurred. England, in her research, relies on three different hypotheses: Gender roles of princess and princes would differ (Princesses more feminine and princes more masculine), princes would preform more rescues and be rescued less times then princesses, and over time, Disney films’ role portrays would change over time (princesses become more masculine and princes become more feminine). By using behavioral characteristics and the resolutions of the films, these hypotheses can be proven correct. In looking at the results, the films studied, and other Disney films, we can take a look at how strong England’s arguments are and the possibility of any criticisms that may rise into question.

Some quick things I have noticed in some of the Disney Princess films: In many of the films like Beauty and the Beast, there is a main female character, who is the princess and a male character who is romantically connected with the princess. There is also a portrayal of the social construction of gender. In Beauty and the Beast, while Belle is small, gentle, and kind, the Beast is portrayed as large and prone to angry outbursts. Even though the Beast was an actual beast, his personality compared to Belle’s infers that a person’s literal body size affects moods. This teaches children that people that “the social differences that define “woman” and “man” … individuals… act and react in expected ways”

In “Cinderella and Princess Culture,” Peggy Orenstein compares girls lives to princesses. Society is stereotyping girls as princesses negatively impacting girls well being. As a result, Orenstein claims society should stop stereotyping girls as princesses and have parents limit the girl's exposure to them. Orenstein proves her claim by stating playing with princesses lowers girls self-esteem and can harm their mental and physical health. Orenstein also states the word princess is such a broad meaning, that it is very misunderstood. For example, when one hears the word princess they can think of a girl wearing a fancy dress, or all the princess products. A lot of girls are being stereotyped as being a princess,

According to an article, “In fact, a 2009 experiment conducted by Professor Hayes and Professor Tantleff-Dunn revealed ‘that a third of girls under the age of six admit to worrying about being fat, and when asked to select the ‘real princess’ from a choice of ballerinas, 50% of the girls chose the thinnest one’.” (Body Image n.p.) Also, Disney films’ portrayal of the stereotypical body image negatively impacts young girls’ perception on their figure. This leads to them believing that the ideal woman is skinny-perfect, as shown by the Disney female characters; thus, their thinking becomes “[…] thin is the only acceptable type of beauty.” (Body Image n.p.). In another study, it said on how young girls wanted to change their skin color preferably lighter in order to become a princess (Mckinstry n.p.). There were also young girls who wanted to become a princess by dressing femininely. Disney have made a collaboration with Happy Skin to come p with a new lip collection in order for people to use and look like a Disney princess (Afinidad-Bernardo n.p.). According to a study, “Women are helpless and in need of protection.” (Towbin, et al 31) In Disney films, Snow White, Aurora and, Cinderella portrayed that they had to be saved by their male counterpart which gives off the message that women have to be saved by men (Johnson 15-16). Due to this portrayal

Disney strongly portrays gendered stereotypes using their eleven official princesses. Young children, specifically young girls in this case, are extremely susceptible to being influenced by the portrayal of these gendered stereotypes. Golden and Jacoby performed research regarding how preschool girls interpret the gendered stereotypes shown through Disney Princess media, through both the young girls’ pretend play behaviors and the discussion of the princesses. Golden and Jacoby performed this research project in order to examine the perception of young girls in relation to princesses and awareness of gender-role stereotypes, a different research study found that girls who lived and accepted gendered stereotypes, in believing that women

Because of Disney’s stereotyping of gender, that little girl grew up wanting to become a perfect princess. Princesses in Disney’s movies and films gives young girls unrealistic ideas of the real word. However, some may believe that Disney princesses are a good influence on young girls and are able to show a them how to act eloquently. Gender roles, eloquence, and the beauty of the princesses are all topics that influence young girls. Even though some might believe that princesses are good role models for their child, princesses show young girls how they should interact around boys and other girls never mind the girls own opinions. An article about Children’s Responses to Gender Roles in Fairy-Tales written by Ella Westland writes, “The girls

Gender stereotypes are everywhere. Even before we can understand what this means, people are constantly exposed to them through advertisements, toys, clothes, and the media including television shows and movies. To evaluate the prevalence of gender stereotypes in television programs targeted towards young children, I chose to watch four different shows called Phineas and Ferb, Little Einsteins, Horrid Henry, and Sofia the First. When picking what shows to watch, I intentionally selected at least one that looked targeted towards boys, another that appeared to be targeted towards girls, and finally one that seemed gender neutral. I also made sure to watch at least two episodes of each program to determine whether the themes I observed were

In the article “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture” there are several different approaches that Orenstein and Poniewozik take to get their points across. Over the course of both articles there is a common theme that is displayed. While both authors address the possibility that princess culture has an effect on girls, Poniewozik uses movies to emphasis his claim, and Orenstein uses the product that disney sells to emphasize her claim.

Authors James Poniewozik and Peggy Orenstein are both concerned with the increase of princess culture among young girls. Poniewozik’s article “The Princess Paradox” and Orenstein's article “Cinderella and Princess Culture” discuss similar aspects of princess culture that could be potentially harmful to it’s audience. Both Poniewozik and Orenstein take on a feminist perspective in their articles. Specifically, both authors discuss feminist themes in princess culture but Orenstein focuses on toddler to pre-teen aged girls while Poniewozik is more concerned with specifically teenagers.

Bartyzel’s wide array of evidence to support her claim that princess culture narrowly defines what femininity means to young consumers makes her argument compelling. She used Disney’s unfitting princess makeover of the character Merida from Brave - who desperately fought against princess ideals in the movie - as an example of how Disney has a habit of backtracking their own progress. Bartyzel also provided accounts from mothers who support her claim by expressing that their daughters’ behavior had been shaped by princess culture. Additionally, Disney routinely overshadows the darkness of traditional fairy tales with overly idealistic narratives and has a history of depicting harmful racial stereotypes, problematic female characterizations, and unrealistic storylines (Bartyzel, 2015). Bartyzel examined these stereotypes and problematic characterizations with the design alterations made to Disney princesses; specifically, princesses of color. Finally, Bartyzel reinforced her argument by conveying that women are diverse and to overlook these differences affects how young girls view themselves. Bartyzel’s professional presentation, the various forms of evidence, her counter-arguments, and her examination of the different issues tied to princess culture helped convey a strong argument.

What young girl does not dream of becoming a princess and living in a castle happily ever after? Virtually every young girl identifies with princesses and has watched at least one Disney Princess movie. From the first movies of Snow White and Cinderella, to the later movies of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, to the most current movie Moana, Disney Princess movies permeate not only the movie theaters, but also our culture. In fact, “becoming a princess is as easy as purchasing a tiara and hosting a princess-themed birthday party or buying a Halloween costume and playing pretend” (Garabedian, 2014, p. 23). Nonetheless, as declared by Princess Merida in the movie Brave, “there comes a day when I don’t have to be a princess. No rules, no expectations. A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate” (Andrews & Chapman, 2012). In other words, does the life of a princess measure up to the expectations of little girls everywhere? The Disney Princess brand has grown incredibly popular, especially with young girls. In spite of this, the franchise has also become extremely controversial due to potential gender stereotypes in the films. “Gender is one of the most discussed topics in today’s society…[it] represents and also reproduces certain attributes, expectations and roles which are associated with male and female…influencing the views and opinions of future generations” (Maity, 2014, p. 31). Yet, is the Disney Princess brand harmful to young children due to gender stereotypes? Two essays that contemplate the Disney Princess brand and gender stereotypes with opposite viewpoints on this controversial issue are “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by writer Monika Bartyzel and “In Defense of Princess Culture” by writer and mother Crystal Liechty. However, Liechty’s essay “In Defense of Princess Culture,” is the most effective article in convincing the audience of her point of view due to the claim, support, warrant, language, and vocabulary employed.

Disney is one of the most successful and largest companies in the world. They have their hand in nearly every form of entertainment as well as media, and broadcasting. Disney is best known for their animated films, unique cartoon characters, catchy musicals, and fairy tales that most of us were first introduced to as children. They are one of the few entertainment companies in the World whose primary demographic is children and teens. Nearly everybody is familiar with the Disney name and its brand, and its realistic to suggest that nearly everybody has experienced a Disney film and animated character at some point in their lives; which may have helped to influence them or their behaviors or even their

According to various articles, although the Disney Princesses seem to be an innocent form of entertainment for young girls, their overall messages serve as a negative influence on how they develop into adults. This is where the unrealistic Disney Princess aspect can potentially become detrimental.

Males and Females no matter the age face gender stereotypes everyday of their lives. As we are brought up we are taught to be our own individuals with our own ideas, but society tends to break that down. When we think about school, Gender Stereotyping doesn’t really come to mind, but if you think about it that’s where is all begins. In school, they have “dress code”, wear everyone falls under, meaning you can’t just wear whatever you want. Also, in schools when it comes to activities boys are pushed more to do outside activates compared to girls that do inside activities. Overall kids themselves start to separate themselves into two categories, boy with boys and girls with girls. Even though males and females are different, we should still take the time to teach kids that they aren’t put into two separate categories, but that they should be the person they want to be.