If you’ve spent any time in the feminist blogosphere, you may have gotten the impression that many feminists don’t really care for Disney princesses or Twilight. You’ve heard the reasons: they promote physical beauty over character, they encourage objectification of women, they send dangerous messages about romantic relationships, they put women into victimized positions where they need to be rescued by men, and they romanticize abuse. When exposed to these stories, girls will internalize these messages and it will negatively affect the way they view themselves and their future romantic relationships.
After reading one of these posts, the image of Helen Lovejoy from The Simpsons popped into my head, and she wailed her catchphrase: “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!”
I’ve read studies about the effect of media on our brains, I’ve recognized how some of my own perceptions were partially formed by the stories I consumed as a child, and I know that people can easily internalize messages from the media they consume without even realizing they’re internalizing them. But sometimes, I feel like these criticisms cross a line and presume that girls are slaves to media influences and can’t discern the difference between fantasy and reality.
Now it’s possible that I take these criticisms a little personally because of my own viewing history. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I have viewed The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast at least a thousand times over the course of my life (that’s what you get when you have an autistic sibling with obsessive-compulsive disorder). If anyone was going to internalize negative messages from these Disney movies, it was going to be me.
But I didn’t watch The Little Mermaid a thousand times and walk away from it thinking that I have to change my body to please a man I like, or that I should leave my family to be with someone I barely knew. I walked away singing “Part of Your World” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and had fantasies about a prince falling in love with me – after I saved his life, of course.
I didn’t watch Beauty and the Beast a thousand times and walk away from it thinking that I need to give a jerk a chance until he changes his ways and start being nice to me. I walked away from it learning that character is more important than physical beauty, and that a man who gives you a library is much better than a man who tells you not to read.
(And seriously, how does one get the “be patient and wait for a jerk to change his ways” message from Beauty and the Beast? Belle isn’t patient with him. She doesn’t give him an inch or make allowances for him at all. He starts being nicer and then she starts warming up to him. If anything, the message is, “If a man is mean to you, don’t take any of his crap, ever. He might change, like the Beast, or he might stay a jerk, like Gaston. Either way, stand up for yourself.”)
As for the other Disney princesses – well, my brother didn’t watch any Disney movie as frequently as he watched The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast, but I still saw those movies often enough to have opinions about them. I remembered thinking that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was beautiful to look at but all the characters were annoying or boring. I didn’t care one whit about the princesses in Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella; for me, those movies were all about the side characters – the fairies and Maleficent, and the mice and the Evil Stepmother. Likewise, in Aladdin, I was too caught up in the Genie’s antics to care much about Aladdin or Jasmine. I thought Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and Megara were all too sexy and/or skinny, and Mulan was really cool.
Yes, somehow I absorbed a lot of Disney movies – over and over and over and over again – without developing an eating disorder, becoming obsessed with my appearance, or marrying a guy who’s mean to me.
Am I that special that I managed to escape internalizing these damaging messages? I don’t think so. I’ve mentioned my teaching experience in this blog before, and I happened to teach middle school during the time when Twilight became super popular. Most of my female students devoured Twilight and gushed over Edward and Bella and Jacob. Some of the boys also read it and liked it, while other boys started to read it but thought it was stupid (and so did some of the girls).
It just so happened that some of the biggest Twilight fans in my classes were also the smartest, most accomplished girls in the eighth grade – passing standardized tests with flying colors, writing brilliant essays for English and kicking butt in the science fair. These were the girls who dominated the conversations in class discussions while the boys sometimes had to fight to get in a word edgewise. They disagreed with each other – and with boys – loudly and emphatically.
They also read Twilight and fell in love with Edward. They thought he was so romantic, so sweet for always wanting to protect Bella, and the best boyfriend that anyone could ever have.
I suppose I could worry that these girls would turn into Bellas and sacrifice all of their goals whenever their Edwards came along, but I saw them a year after they graduated, and they were all kicking butt in ninth grade, excelling in all of their classes in some of the best high schools in New York. They’re probably going to be fine.
I’m the last person to say that we shouldn’t be talking about the disturbing and/or antifeminist subtext of popular stories. We absolutely should. But when the conversation shifts to talk about how these stories will affect young women, it takes a turn that makes me uncomfortable.
Maybe girls will watch Disney movies and become obsessed with princesses and never break out of that mold. Maybe they’ll watch Cinderella and find it completely boring, and find Lilo and Stitch more entertaining. Maybe they’ll indulge themselves in pink and pretty when they’re little girls and then grow out of that phase when they get older.
Maybe a girl will read Twilight and internalize negative messages about relationships. Or maybe she’ll love Edward, but think a real-life boyfriend who tries to prevent her from seeing her friends is a jerk and she’ll break up with him – because she knows that fantasy and reality are not the same thing.
The point (after over 1000 words) is this: when we talk about how stories and characters will affect girls, we shouldn’t leave the girls themselves out of the conversation. We should ask them what they think about these stories instead of assuming they’ll react a certain way.
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Great post!
I think you highlight some great points! In addition, I would like to mention that we too-often put the blame solely on one brand or outlet or media form. Disney and Twilight (which, okay, I really don’t care for) aren’t the only cultural capital that children consume and build upon. Growing up, I watched Disney movies (not repetitively since buying movies was low on the list of priorities in my house) but I also saw glossy magazine ads, and heard my older cousins (who were struggling to with body image, gender norms, and all that) talking, and saw TV shows that featured images of heteronormative mainstream beauty.
Did I internalize a lot of terrible messages? Probably. And I can say, in all honesty, that I have struggled with issues with body image, issues around beauty, relationship expectations, and so on. It’s also led me to be more interested in learning about these topics, discussing them, educating myself and others, pursuing an occupation in social justice, and being more aware of these sensitive and contentious issues in society and individuals.
Oddly enough, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan are two of my favourite Disney movies that I’ve seen (bear in mind, I haven’t seen much past Lilo and Stitch) and they’re polar opposites in many respects. As an adult woman, I can see the problematic feminist issues around Sleeping Beauty but that doesn’t necessarily stop me from appreciating the storytelling or art.
Speaking of – how do you think/feel about enjoying media products that may have explicitly feminist concerns, like Sleeping Beauty? Where the acknowledgement, if not propagation, of feminist issues like slut shaming are present?
Probably. And I can say, in all honesty, that I have struggled with issues with body image, issues around beauty, relationship expectations, and so on. It’s also led me to be more interested in learning about these topics, discussing them, educating myself and others, pursuing an occupation in social justice, and being more aware of these sensitive and contentious issues in society and individuals.
Well said. And I certainly don’t mean to imply that I never had issues about my body or beauty or relationship expectations. I definitely did. But I think women’s and teen magazines had a bigger effect on those issues than Disney did.
As an adult woman, I can see the problematic feminist issues around Sleeping Beauty but that doesn’t necessarily stop me from appreciating the storytelling or art.
It’s a pretty interesting story from a feminist perspective. On the one hand, she’s more of an object than a real character, moreso than any of the other Disney princesses – at least we get a bigger glimpse into Snow White’s personality before she bites the apple. On the other hand, the most important characters in the movie are the three fairies – middle-aged women saving the day! How often do we see that?
And yes, the music and art are simply gorgeous.
Speaking of – how do you think/feel about enjoying media products that may have explicitly feminist concerns, like Sleeping Beauty? Where the acknowledgement, if not propagation, of feminist issues like slut shaming are present?
I’m confused – are you implying that the film has slut shaming issues, or just using that as an example of a feminist issue that MIGHT occur in a text?
And I certainly don’t mean to imply that I never had issues about my body or beauty or relationship expectations. I definitely did.
I didn’t think you were implying that, by any means. I was just elaborating on my personal motivations!
I’m confused – are you implying that the film has slut shaming issues, or just using that as an example of a feminist issue that MIGHT occur in a text?
I knew when typing the question that it was unclear – I blame it on writing papers and desperately needing sleep. I didn’t mean that Sleeping Beauty has slut shaming but as an example. For a more contextually relevant example, pornography that explicitly (as its focus) degrades women. I don’t meant to open a debate about pornography, I’m just curious about how you think/feel about engaging (and potentially) enjoying media products that have well-founded feminist concerns?
(So, just to further clarify, can someone enjoy a product like that without being a misogynist? Do you think it’s possible to use these as teaching or learning tools, as you’ve described Disney movies?)
To answer your question – yes, I think so, with the caveat that I don’t think even the “best” feminists (for lack of a better term) are 100% misogyny-free, since we live in this world and are bound to internalize assumptions, some of which we’re not going to be aware of. They can definitely be used as teaching tools, but I also think that certain texts can fall into the “guilty pleasure” zone without having too much of an adverse affect on people. If a person enjoys porn that kind of porn I’d say yeah, there are probably some misogynistic impulses there, but I wouldn’t be comfortable labeling that person a misogynist full-stop without seeing how s/he interacts with real life women. Lots of women have rape fantasies but it doesn’t mean they actually want to be raped, so maybe watching porn falls into the same area?
I have to think about this.
I think that it’s not a matter of *a* movie, or even a set of movies (or books), having the power to turn a girl into a vapid, directionless shell of her former potential. I think that those books/movies combined with an oversaturated culture of recurring and similar messages do.
I think about my cousin as a fairly dramatic example- she grew up in an abusive household run by a misogynistic monster, and she internalized those princesses as what is *good* about women- in the context of all that she was learning was *bad* about women. So, she’s constantly obsessed with pink, stays in an unhappy marriage, and constantly censors herself in order to keep her husband happy. And she is happy, because she believes that she’s getting the absolute best that she could in life.
As I said, extreme example. But the point is the need for OTHER role models. I let my kids watch those Disney movies I hate, but when they watch they get my running commentary. And on top of that, their lives are full of examples of women who have healthy feminist ideals, lifestyles, and goals.
I saw a comic the other day that summed it up, in the first frame a little girl is asked what color she wants, between red, blue, pink, orange, etc. And she chooses pink. In the next, she’s asked what color she wants between fushia, magenta, rose, salmon…
And that’s the problem- no options but sexist ones.
It’s getting better, but the heroines I don’t find asinine at best are still the vast minority. And I’d love to see a much more level playing field when it comes to gender stereotyping for my kids’ entertainment. One can only watch “Free To Be You And Me” and “The Secret of Nimh” so many times.
I think that it’s not a matter of *a* movie, or even a set of movies (or books), having the power to turn a girl into a vapid, directionless shell of her former potential. I think that those books/movies combined with an oversaturated culture of recurring and similar messages do.
Yes, absolutely.
And I don’t mean to dismiss very valid concerns about the kind of messages these texts can send (though I realize it seems that way, heh). I have a counterpoint to my own post that I’ll probably write in a few days.
Trust me, I don’t envy mothers trying to raise girls in this world. In some ways, I think girls today have it worse than we did when we were kids. The whole concept of the Disney Princess didn’t even exist when we were young; the movies were marketed as movies. Now the princess merchandising becomes popular before the kids even see the movies. I didn’t have the princess thing shoved down my throat when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere. So in some ways, I think girls have fewer options today.
I agree with you for the most part, but I don’t think that you can tell from a girl’s school grades if she’s gonna be fine _in life_, choose the “right men” etc. I mean, the “good girls” who study hard are often the same girls that get eating disorders, right? The self-controlled ones?
I wanted to write more, but I can’t come up with the right English words today, sorry.
Sure, and I don’t think I was clear enough in my post. The girls’ grades by themselves weren’t what made me think, “Oh, they’ll be fine.” They had a sense of composure and confidence about them that made me hopeful for their futures.
As for eating disorders, those are certainly possibilities, but from what I’ve read, eating disorders tend to be much less prevalent among black girls than among white girls. One of the studies I read indicated that 70% of black and Hispanic girls reported a positive body image as opposed to 10-30% among white girls.
I loved this post and as a feminist I’m getting really tired of other “feminists” who give Disney such a hard time. I honestly don’t understand how people can have a problem with movies who portray heroines as sweet, caring, brave patient and selfless (and I will defend each Disney heroine from Snow White to Mulan as having those characteristics). Sure, some of the early Disney Princesses were more helpless in their situations or naiive, but to me that just means create more heroines who are a little more strong and aware without slamming the ones that already exist.
As far as the extreme outer beauty of the heroines, I understand people’s complaints, but the focus on the characters has never been beauty (except perhaps in the case of Snow White).
I consider myself a huge feminist, own my own home, never needed a guy, train karate 4 nights a week for the past 8 years, travel by myself a lot etc. but I think this “tough girl” attitude we force kids to learn can be misconstrued and can actually lead to girls being mean and vindictive to one another. Maybe if parents emphasized the kindness and selflessness of these heroines to their children at a young age we would have less girl on girl bullying.
(I’m kind of getting off topic but I’m trying to say I think the gentle, kindness of the Disney Princesses is just as essential to instill in young girls as the “kickass, tough girl” image.
As far as the “unrealistic expectations of Prince Charming” I think it is equally important for young girls to have a standard for who they should date. Of course no man is going to be perfect, but there is nothing wrong in turning a few losers down because there is something better out there and I wish I could show more girls that. I think a lot of girls get into bad relationships because they have no standards or expectations and they think this is as good as it gets.
Finally, as someone who loves Disney but hates Twilight (I’m trying to not make myself a hypocrite here for defending one while slamming the other) the reason I see Bella as so different from Disney is her character traits are anything but sweet, caring of others feelings, selfless and brave some people may see similarities in the situations but to me Disney/Twilight are too glaringly different because of the character traits of the heroines.
Twilight is probably not anymore capable of damaging the way sweet, smart girls see the world than Disney Princesses are of changing the mindset of a girl who vindictively bullies and hurts her female peers but I’m still going to choose to show the more positive models to my own daughters simply for the fact that while I can’t think of any singer, movie character etc. who made me see myself in a negative light or give me a twisted perception of the world, I definitely can think of one who made me have a brighter worldview and influenced me in a positive light….Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I consider myself a huge feminist, own my own home, never needed a guy, train karate 4 nights a week for the past 8 years, travel by myself a lot etc. but I think this “tough girl” attitude we force kids to learn can be misconstrued and can actually lead to girls being mean and vindictive to one another. Maybe if parents emphasized the kindness and selflessness of these heroines to their children at a young age we would have less girl on girl bullying.
I think one of the biggest problems about gender stereotyping is not that girls are taught to be sensitive and selfless, but that boys aren’t.
I definitely can think of one who made me have a brighter worldview and influenced me in a positive light….Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
You know, it’s funny. I love that show, and I love it for giving not one, but several, interesting, strong, female characters…but the one I always related to the most was Xander. Go figure.