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Tatyana Brown
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
March 30 2015
Beauty and the Beast: The Not So Wonderful World of Disney
The name Disney is as popular in modern day society as McDonalds, and depending on
who you ask, may or may not be just as problematic. If you were to visit their website, Disney
proudly states, For more than nine decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the
field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to
todays global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality
entertainment for every member of the family, across America and the world (The Walt Disney
Company). Naturally, with Disney being such a big company, they come across a lot of
opposition from parents and psychologists, more so in modern day society than in their
beginning years. Parents of young and preteen children have been and continue to be the most
outspoken in their opinions about Disney, some being very anti Disney, and others feeling that
Disney is getting better at teaching children good lessons. However, psychologists, and
researchers have strong opinions about the way Disney influences children as well.
The qualms most modern day parents, researchers, and journalists have with Disney stem
from the earliest Disney movies, such as Sleeping Beauty, and current Disney TV shows, such as
Jessie. Journalist Heidi Stevens is the mother of a stereotypical, carefree, seven year old who
used to never worry about her looks and preferred feeling free in all ways possible to play the
way children do. That was until she began watching TV shows like Shake It Up and Jessie

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that are apart of Disneys much criticized 2010s era of TV shows. Stevenss seven year old began
worrying about her hair and looks, which made her mother worry a lot. Stevens begins asking
some questions that many parents and others who oppose Disney are likely to have asked
themselves, Have the Disney gals' shiny cascades of thick, lovely tresses tangled themselves
around my daughter's psyche? Is she assigned to years of standing in front of the mirror feeling
defeated? Has she already equated beauty with popularity and popularity with power?
(Stevens).
Stevens would be right to question this. On the show Jessie, the main character is a
nanny named Jessie whos looks often goes under scrutiny by one of the children she watches.
This show emphasizes that you have to look a certain way, preferably like a runway model, in
order to be deemed beautiful. The same goes for Shake It Up. On the show Shake It Up,
CeCe and Rocky are teenaged girls who focus a lot on their looks in order to be accepted by their
peers. In both shows, the guys are free to wear almost whatever they want, dressing plain
compared to their female counterparts, and are still considered handsome. This is just one of the
many ways Disney subtly emphasizes what qualities should be important in each gender.
Disney has a way of assigning gender roles to children at an early age without children
noticing but many adults do. Paul Castillo is one of those adults who recognize as he states, We
view Disney as a family-friendly and wholly moral corporation, one that does not stand for
anything that could offend anyone. But are we looking deep enough? (Castillo). Castillo gives a
vast variety of examples in which Disney movies predating the 1990s put into perspective the
acceptable roles of how men and women should act and look. One example came from
Sleeping Beauty, released in 1959, in which sixteen year old Aurora, a beautiful good princess,
is awakened by a prince she was betrothed to at birth. Her prince who was almost forgettable.

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With the exception of his handsome looks and good singing voice, nothing much is known about
Prince Phillip, a name unknown by many because his character is so flat. This movie taught
children that in order to be important a girl must be beautiful, meek, and modest. It also showed
that young boys should be the rescuers of their women and not speak much. This can be said
also of the infamous movie Snow White (1937).
Castillo also sheds light on the fact that when female characters decide not to be meek
and modest, but instead take charge, they cause all of the trouble or are deemed villains. One
such example comes from The Little Mermaid, released in 1989, in which Ariel, the main
character, causes chaos by going against her fathers wishes and interacting with humans so that
she could be with Prince Eric the love of her life. Also in this movie, Ursula is a very powerful
witch that is said to be evil but if one takes a closer look, she could be good in the sense that she
makes deals with people to give them what they want. It could be suggested that the only reason
she is deemed a villain is because she is a female character with power who expresses sexuality
and not a typical old school Disney female who needs to be rescued by a prince and does not
have any power of her own. (Castillo)
Parents, researchers, and journalists who are in support of Disney often draw their
attention to Disney movies from the 1990s to the present as well as shows from the 1990s to the
early 2000s. That was Disneys era of embracing ones culture, strong women, and men who
were more than brutish supporting characters. Disney started making movies that were more than
the average all white cast of characters who were very similar to previous Disney movies. For
once Disney started becoming less static and there was finally variety and diversity in both
gender roles as well as ethnicity.

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In the past, the 1930s to 1980s roughly, Disney movies were the biggest reason parents
and other adults did not like Disney. Disney must have listened because their movies improved
drastically. Disney began giving male characters lead roles. An example of movies giving male
characters more than just flat supporting roles came about in Aladdin (1992) and Tarzan (1999)
where they are the main characters. The only issue is the main male characters still continuing
the idea of overly aggressiveness, impulsive thinking, and the stereotypical boys will be boys
mentality. However, Disney made at least one movie with a male character of depth and
substance, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). In many aspects he is the antithesis of the
stereotypical Disney princess. He is ugly and his love goes unrequited even in the movies end
but he is very kind and intellectual unlike almost every other Disney male.
Nani (2002), Tiana (2009), Rapunzel (2010), Merida (2012), and even a not so recent
Pocahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998) are excellent examples of strong female characters whose
assertiveness helps others as opposed to making chaos. Nani raised her sister without the help of
a man after her parents died. (Lilo and Stitch). Tiana was a female lead who worked hard and in
the end it paid off when she was able to open her own restaurant with very little help from the
man she marries at the end of the movie. She also was his rescuer instead of the other way
around. (Princess and the Frog). Rapunzel took charge when Flynn Rider entered her home and
although it is debatable, she essentially saved herself from the tower. She also saved Flynn at the
movies end another example of breaking Disneys gender role stereotypes. (Tangled).
Pocahontas and Mulan did the same as Tiana and Rapunzel by saving their love interests, with
Mulan going the extra mile and saving her entire population. (Pocahontas) (Mulan). Merida was
a movie praised by many feminists because she refused to even get a guy and just did her own
thing. (Brave).

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Sarah Coyne, a faculty member of School of Family Life at Brigham young University,
decided to look into Disney and gender roles, as she kept her three year old daughter in mind,
and did research on how modern Disney princesses affected gender stereotyping, body image,
pro-social behavior, and aggression in early childhood. Modern Disney princesses such as Tiana
(2009), Rapunzel (2010), and Merida (2012) most likely aided in the results that she and her
research team received. Along with those Disney princesses, a few of the girls were probably
exposed to the older Disney princesses such as Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959), so
there was a possibility that they might still show typical signs of what a womens gender role is
expected to be.
The overall results that Coyne and her research team gathered showed that girls exposed
to Disney princesses, any Disney princess from Snow White (1937) to Merida (2012), in general
had a better body image and more pro social behavior, meaning they are kinder children, than
other girls their age. With all that was found in her research studies, Coyne leaves this message
for other parents and adults, I would say watch princess shows in moderation like not more
than once a week. It is important that parents discuss the content with their daughters, and this
should also help mediate some of the negative effects (Bailey).
Disneys past movies and TV shows that went unnoticed by the generations who were the
first to grow up with it, is a lot to recover from as modern generations still have access to all of
these shows and movies thanks to modern technology. However, it is noticeable that Disney is
working hard, in movies at least, to right their past wrongs. Every time Disney introduces a
strong female lead in a movie they gain a very appreciative audience.
Just recently, I watched a movie by the name of Big Hero 6 (2014) that has received a lot
of praise for its representation of gender and its very diverse cast. Big Hero 6 is an Oscar

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nominated film. The film is about a fourteen-year-old science prodigy named Hiro who spends
his time developing fighting robots for underground competitions until his older brother
introduces him to his group of inventor friends that he met at his university. When Hiros brother
dies trying to save his professor, Hiro along with his brothers friends, and his healthcare
invention team up to fight the villain who stole Hiros invention and was responsible for the
death of Hiros brother. This movie featured strong female characters, not just in the sense of
physical strength but mental as well. It also had a lead male character who conveyed many
emotions and was not the stereotypically masculine flat Disney male. (Big Hero 6). This movie
was a step forward for Disney who has started showing small signs of better, more intelligent,
and well-rounded male characters.
Unfortunately, as far as TV shows are concerned, Disney has taken a step backwards in
its creation of TV shows, beginning in the 2010s. Predating the 2010s, Disney had wholesome
parent and researcher approved shows like Thats So Raven (2003-2007) and Lizzie
McGuire (2001-2004). Thats So Raven was about a girl named Raven Baxter who was a
psychic. Raven and her friends often got in harmless mischief but the show taught good lessons
like the importance of friendship, family, and self-worth. One notable episode was when Raven
designed an outfit for her to model in on a runway show but it was essentially given to a much
thinner and society deemed more beautiful model. Raven gives her famous speech stating,
because in case you havent noticed, people come in all shapes and sizes and theyre all
beautiful. (Thats So Raven).
Disney has since changed its ideals, at least in TV shows. In 2011, Disneys highly
viewed show Shake It Up came under fire when an episode aired where a thin model character
said Youre adorable! I could just eat you guys up. You know, if I ate to the lead female

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teenagers CeCe and Rocky. Demi Lovato, a former Disney star, was very outspoken in her anger
at the fact Disney poked fun at eating disorders especially taking into account that she herself
was recovering from one. With all of the criticism it received for showing negative body image,
particularly for young girls, Disney has since stopped airing that episode. (DailyMail).
Disney TV shows of the 2010s almost mirror Disney movies before the 1990s when it
comes to assigning of stereotypes and gender roles. The show Dog with a Blog, released in
2012, is full of examples of this. The mom of the show is a stay at home mother who needs
constant compliments to feel sure of herself. The father is the bread winner and gets very
offended when he is told he cannot do the tasks that manly men can do such as open jars. The
son is a handsome dimwitted popular boy. The middle child, a female, is not well liked by her
peers because she values intelligence over looks and sometimes boys. (Dog with a Blog). This
show reinforces that women should stay home and tend the house and leave the money earning
and handiwork to their men. It also shows that when women go outside these roles, such as
Avery the middle daughter who wants to someday be president, are not likely to be accepted by
their peers. In reference to male gender stereotyping it reinforces that men should be dumbed
down and good looking in order to gain the attention of their peers.
While Disney continues to stride forward with positive gender roles in their movies, they
continuously fall short in their television programs. Some might argue that Disney tries breaking
their negative stereotypes, but any time Disney tries enforcing positive gender roles in their TV
shows they are almost always on least liked characters or characters with small roles. Disneys
newest show Girl Meets World is an example of this. There is a very intelligent male character
named Farkle who is not at all like Disneys normal, all American boy male characters. Farkle
can be sensitive and kind and prefers science and math over sports and violence. While his

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character is more than static, he is often a source of ridicule by other characters, while his
handsome stereotypical Disney male peer is a source of admiration and desire by the female
characters of the show. (Girl Meets World).
Disney needs to do better at balancing its influence, whether intentional or not, on youths
across the world. It is good that Disney worked hard on improving gender roles and stereotypes
within its newer movies, but that is not enough. Disney should work harder on giving more
diversity and enforcing positive gender roles in its shows because these are being viewed daily
by children and young adults as opposed to their movies that last a few hours and may or may
not be ever viewed again. However, while it would be good if Disney could work on these things
since they do have so much worldwide impact on children and young adults, it is not solely their
responsibility to teach children and young adults their gender roles. Disney is merely for
entertainment and it is not exactly their fault if children look to them for guidance because that is
not what they claim to want on their official website.
Regardless of how anyone feels about Disney, it is ultimately up to the parents to make
the final call on what their children can and cannot watch. More often than not the parents are
sitting their children in front of the TV which allows Disney to have a chance to influence them.
Jon Stewart says it best, "You have an arrangement with the parents of America. Our job is to
make sure the children are sitting in front of the screen. Your job is to raise them right. If you
keep teaching them the wrong lessons, then we're going to have start doing it ourselves. And
that's not cool." (Stevens). Disney may not always be good for children, and should be held
partially accountable for influencing young children but it is up to the parents to raise them right
and steer them away from lessons about gender and other stereotypes that the do not want their
children learning about.

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Works Cited

Aladdin. Dir. Ron Clements. John Musker. Buena Vista Pictures, 1992. DVD.
Bailey, Kennedy. "Disney princesses have mixed effects on children." The Digital Universe
(2013).
Big Hero 6. Dir. Don Hall. Chris Williams. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2014. DVD
Brave. Dir. Mark Andrews. Brenda Chapman. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2012. DVD.
Castillo, Paul. "The negative effects of Disney on children." Sundial (2006).
Cinderella. Dir. Clyde Geronimi. Hamilton Luske. Wilfred Jackson. RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.,
1950.
"Girl Meets Boy" Girl Meets World. Disney Channel. 11 Jul. 2014. Television.
Hunchback of Notre Dame. Dir. Gary Trousdale. Kirk Wise. Buena Vista Pictures, 1996. DVD.
Johnson, Chris "Making fun of eating disorders is NOT a joke" Daily Mail (2011).
Lilo and Stitch. Dir. Dean DeBlois. Chris Sanders. Buena Vista Pictures, 2002. DVD.
Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft. Barry Cook. Buena Vista Pictures. June 19, 1998. DVD
"Party It Up" Shake It Up. Disney Channel. 12 Dec. 2010. Television.
Pocahontas. Dir. Mike Gabriel. Eric Goldberg. Buena Vista Pictures, 1995. DVD
Princess and the Frog. Dir. Ron Clements. John Musker. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,
2009. DVD

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Sleeping Beauty. Dir. Clyde Geronimi. Les Clark. Eric Larson. Wolfgang Reitherman. Buena
Vista Distribution, 1959.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand. William Cottrell. Wilfred Jackson. Larry
Morey. Perce Pearce. Ben Sharpsteen. RKO Radio Pictures, 1937.
Stevens, Heidi. "Brush with Disney can change a girl's priorities." Chicago Tribune (2013).
Tangled. Dir. Nathan Greno. Byron Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2010. DVD
Tarzan. Dir. Chris Buck. Kevin Lima. Buena Vista Pictures, 1999. DVD
"That's So Not Raven" That's So Raven. Disney Channel. 9 Apr. 2004. Television.
The Walt Disney Company. About Disney. n.d. 30 March 2015.
Varying Episodes. Dog with a Blog. Disney Channel. 2012-present. Television.
Varying Episodes. Jessie. Disney Channel. 2011-present. Television.
Varying Episodes. Lizzie McGuire. Disney Channel. 2001-2004. Television.