For the past seventy-eight years, Disney has been creating disney princess movies, a phenomenon that has swept the world, with worldwide gross of up to six hundred million dollars. Little girls from the age of two watch and enjoy these chauvinist movies, spending hundreds on outfits so that they can resemble their most idealized princess. The official disney princess line-up includes Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida.
While a single caucasian girl’s dream is blossoming, dreaming about the multiple princesses she could grow up to be, an african american girl’s is falling to pieces, with only a single idealized role model to chose from. While a child yearns for a prince to sweep her off her feet, just like every disney princess, another believes that there is something wrong with her for not desiring a life of luxury and sloth. The official disney princesses prove a detrimental influence on young girls, promoting light skin over dark and reliance on a man through explicit and implicit means in their allegedly inspirational movies.
Of all the eleven disney princesses, Walt Disney only created three heroines who are not white-skinned and five who are not caucasian. Many children desire to change their hair and skin color to match the disney princess demographic, as shown in an experiment performed by Dr. Sharon Hayes. She showed girls disney princess movies, then asked them what skin tone they wanted. More than 80% responded that they prefer white skin, and when asked why, many responded that they thought it would be easier to get a prince.
With more than half of the disney princesses having flawless pale skin, young girls who are at an influential age will easily see the implicit theme in disney movies: caucasian girls have a higher chance at becoming a princess. Admittedly, Walt Disney has created disney princesses that are ethnically diverse, including Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, and Merida. Many of these disney princesses explore and embrace their native culture, such as when Pocahontas displays the beauty of nature to John Smith in the song “Colors of the Wind”.
However, these princesses are not actively displayed as official disney princesses, with the exception of Jasmine. The classic disney princess line-up only presents Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella, with Jasmine’s copper skin lightened dramatically. When a dreaming child who loves Tiana looks up at a disney princess poster, but constantly fails to find her favorite princess, she could begin to believe that Tiana was not a true disney princess after all. Compared to all the other pale beauties, Tiana, with her chocolate skin, could not possibly be among them.
Recently, Disney has created a new disney princess poster, which usually features all eleven disney princesses. While this may seem a step in the right direction, all of the disney princesses have altered clothes that make them seem like objects, not humans to be admired. In Mulan’s case, she is dressed in an imperial kimono, with a bejeweled obi and flowing sparking skirt. She embodies a perfect chinese princess – exactly what she was not intended to be. Mulan centers around the titular character trying to empower women through casting aside traditional female roles.
The first scene and song “Reflections” entails how Mulan despises fancy dresses and arranged marriages. This new design overturns all her character development, showing that Mulan cannot be a princess without the proper princess attire. The new designers lighten Jasmine’s and Pocahontas’s skin, utilizing white highlights, making Tiana the only true dark skinned princess. Surrounded by light skinned princesses, a dark-skinned child would feel left out, her dream of being a princess far out of reach.
Despite the alleged growth in America’s policy toward diversity, Disney seems to have been left behind, still setting for the same explicit message of light over dark skin. Nevertheless, Disney still considers Tiana a princess. Surely, this one ray of hope to the poor child will allow her to continue her dreams. Perhaps, she could start her own restaurant, just like Tiana. However, there is a single flaw in that plan; the only reason Tiana was able to start a successful business was because of her rich husband, Prince Naveen.
As shown in the beginning of Princess and the Frog, Tiana works long and hard hours, trying to save up for a building to start a restaurant. Unfortunately, she never accomplishes this goal, and complains to the stars, when she meets her prince frog. While not explicitly shown as a damsel in distress, Tiana certainly is not the strong independant women that many people desired. A similar pattern runs through all the few seemingly powerful princesses. Pocahontas – the tall and rebellious native american – saves John Smith’s life from her thick father.
Yet, the way she throws herself upon John Smith, her hair draping over his back, creates such a soft weepy picture that it cannot be considered empowering. Chief Powhatan still had power ver Pocahontas, and had he been more resolute, the scene would not have ended well. Mulan saves her father from dying in the army by enlisting herself, a noble act, yet she must dress like a man to do so. People might argue that the chinese culture during that era is what forced Mulan to dress the way she did. If Disney desired to create a film set in a Chinese dynasty, Mulan must act the way she did.
This argument is valid, as the chinese gave very few rights to women as a rule. However, near the end of the movie, the emperor offered Mulan a place as his advisor, a position of significant power. Yet, she turns down that offer to go back to her family, because a woman’s place is always with her family, and a man, as Shang soon comes to visit her. Each of the disney princesses either wait to be rescued by a prince, like Cinderella and Sleeping beauty, or they work hard but cannot accomplish anything without a man.
Thus, impressionable girls not expect to have to go far in life, believing that as long as they catch the attention of a handsome rich man, their life will be taken care of. Unfortunately, with so few rich men, the women that were raised thinking that all they needed was a man will be in trouble. On the other side of the coin, girls who do not want to get married, those who want to work themselves will see the failures of independance as a women, and might lose confidence in themselves. If a princess, with looks, kindness, and intelligence could not succeed, then the poor girl should, by rights, have no chance.
Disney Weaves these messages into uplifting movies so completely, all the little child receives is the faint impression of anti-feminism. If the child constantly receives this same theme over and over again, the information will become engrained in an unconscious part of their mind, so when they desire to succeed, they must overcome their internal ideals first. Walt Disney impressed the singular beauty of white skin and the dependence on men in young children’s minds, slowly expanding their place through each movie, toy, and dress they create.
With Disney’s worldwide demographic, their movies are one of the most influential in the minds of children and young adults. However, Disney does seem to be moving as the world changes, introducing more diversity, such as the new Disney Princess Moana, even if their changes are surrounded by stagnant beliefs. Perhaps as the world evolves in its beliefs, so will the disney princesses. Nevertheless, for now, disney princesses remain one of the most conservative influences in modern day.