Disney’s Improper Image Portrayal to Children
By: Nikki Mealey
Nearly every American child watched Disney movies, and became drawn in by the story lines starring beautiful men and women. Disney became very popular among children for their interesting stories that usually entailed a woman in distress who needs to be rescued by a masculine man. Disney portrays females as beautiful women with perfect hair and makeup and who are unreasonably small-waisted in suggestive poses, (Gender Roles in Disney Movies). “Males are portrayed as hyper-masculine and violent with bulging muscles and strong facial features” whose main goal is to win the love of a woman, (Gender Roles in Disney Movies). As children though, we never realized the level of sexism and improper gender roles that Disney portrays in its movies, especially Disney princess movies. This type of sexism is not good for the children in society, as the roles portrayed are not socially accepted, nor properly demonstrated.
To start off, most of Disney’s movies portray women with perfect hair and makeup, and in suggestive poses with unreasonably small waists as beautiful. Disney movies make children believe that this is how people are supposed to look in the real world. These indirect messages influence young girls and boys unintentionally, but definitely affect them mentally for years to come. For example, Jeffery Zaslow, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, interviewed 100 fourth-grade girls from Marie Murphy School in Wilmette, Illinois in January 1986 and asked them all the same question, “Are you on a diet?” (Zaslow). The results showed that more than half of the fourth-grade girls were dieting and 75% of the girls said they weighed too much - even the skinniest girls. Rozi Bhimani, one of the fourth-grade girls spoke saying, “Boys expect girls to be perfect and beautiful. And skinny,” (Zaslow). While one of the fourth-grade boys said, “Fat girls aren’t like regular girls. They aren’t attractive,” (Zaslow). Even in 1986, girls were forced into thinking that the social norm is to be skinny. Media, such as Disney princess movies, have been influencing young girls into thinking that they need to be skinny to be beautiful and liked by boys prior to 1986, continuing into recent times. Disney is also affecting how boys think of girls. By only showing the beautiful, skinny women in their movies, boys believe that is how girls are supposed to be; forcing girls to think that they need to be skinny to be liked by boys.
The same fourth-grade girls who were interviewed in 1986, were re-interviewed in 2009 at the ages of 32 and 33, and told Jeffery Zaslow that they still hadn’t escaped society’s obsession with body image. The women believe that society’s influence on body image for young girls has gotten worse since 1986, (Zaslow). This increase in demand for body image may be due, in part, to the creation of Disney movies produced since 1986. Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty were the only three Disney princess movies made before 1986; while, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan all came out later, starting in 1989, (Disney Princess Historical Timeline). There has been time since 1986 for Disney to promote their princess movies and indirectly submit improper female body images into the minds of children. Women do not need to be unreasonably skinny to be seen as beautiful.
Females are not the only ones being portrayed improperly, males in Disney movies are hyper-masculine and violent with strong facial features whose main goal is to win the love of a woman. This makes boys believe that they are supposed to look like the princes and men that appear in these Disney movies. Take Gaston from Beauty and the Beast for example, he is very “manly” in appearance. “With his cleft chin, broad shoulders, brawny chest, wavy hair, and towering height, Gaston fulfills the stereotyped image of male beauty,” (Jeffords 170). Gaston from Beauty and the Beast acts as the hyper-masculine male in the movie. All of the single women in the town dwell over him and wish to be with him, while “bullying [and] intimidating those who do not succumb to his beauty,” (Jeffords 170). Portraying the message that men are supposed to look like Gaston, and other Disney males such as, Hercules, John Smith, Prince Eric, and Aladdin, is simply wrong for the minds of children. Children should not be forced to think about somebocy’s looks in such a way, especially when the character’s looks are hard to obtain in a healthy setting. Portraying these images to children also makes boys believe that they are ugly or unattractive to girls if they do not have a “manly” appearance. Children should be taught that it doesn’t matter what someone looks like, but it’s how kind-hearted they are that really matters. Looks aren’t everything.
A trait that men, like Gaston, have is their main goal to win the love of a woman. Disney portrays the idea that women are less than men to its viewers. Men are supposed to be the providers of the home, while the women are supposed to be the home keepers and child bearers. The men believe that women will be better off with a man than alone. Gaston plays the role of the hyper-masculine male, deciding he wants to marry Belle without even asking her opinion. Gaston, like other men in Disney movies, expects Belle to take care of him and the children while doing all of the housework when they get married. Gaston describes “their wedded bliss [to Belle as]: ‘a rustic hunting lodge. My latest kill roasting on the fire. And my little wife massaging my feet while her little ones play on the floor–six or seven of them,’” (Jeffords 170). Gaston gives viewers the idea that handsome men, like him, are able to pick whichever woman they choose and that she will be willing to be his home keeper. This creates the idea that “women are passive” and “men are aggressive,” which is incorrect because that is not how all men and women are in the real world, (Gender Roles in Disney Movies-SOC 101). This passiveness of women is demonstrated in Sleeping Beauty as Aurora is passive and mostly in a dream throughout the movie. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast demonstrates the aggressiveness of males and that is acceptable to be aggressive, (Gender Roles in Disney Movies-SOC 101). As real people in the society, children should not be taught that men are aggressive and women are passive, as it is not true to most women or men. Think about the 2008 presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, she was not passive, nor allowed things to pass that she didn’t believe in; or think about the Indian civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, he was a very peaceful man that supported peace and independence of the people. These two political figures are only two examples of the millions across the globe that are not strained to the two main personalities, (passive and aggressive), given by several Disney movies.
Allowing children to watch and enjoy Disney movies creates subliminal messages in their minds about how one should look; boys, hyper-masculine and a great body, and girls, perfect and abnormally skinny. These messages are unfit for children, as they should know that hardly anyone in this world looks like, or even acts, like the men and women from Disney movies. People can still be beautiful and kind-hearted people even if they are bigger than the characters from these movies. The images that are set by Disney in these movies are not set correctly for people to follow and try to accomplish, as they are over-exaggerated images of men and women who look unhealthy because they are so skinny or muscular. Also, the personalities that are portrayed by characters subliminally to children are improper for today’s society because children are encouraged to express themselves in whichever way they choose, not by guidelines set from a movie or anyone else. Although Disney does not come right out and say in their movies that they believe these ways, these messages are definitely in most princess movies and can be noted when observing each movie. Next time when deciding to watch a Disney movie, look for small clues to improper image portrayal and personalities. Disney movies are not discouraged from watching, as they are part of nearly every childhood in America; but I would recommend parents to have conversations with their children about what they see in these movies. Be sure that children aren’t picking up on some of these subliminal messages Disney is unintentionally portraying. Children should not be basing themselves off of someone else they’ve seen in society or a movie, instead of being themselves.
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