(This Mom Photographs)

Princesses as Role Models for Young Girls

By: Emily Rimmasch

1/08/20
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Statement of Topic

I decided to research how princesses affect young girls as they look up to them as role

models. The first written fairy tales are traced as far back to ancient Egypt around 1300 B.C.

They have been passed down from generation to generation, and princesses have played a crucial

role in most stories. When Walt Disney produced ​Snow White​ in 1937, princesses became very

popular and idolized by young girls. Over the past 82 years, Disney princesses have evolved to

more modern and powerful women, instead of needing to depend on their prince. Even with the

new and updated princesses, people still question whether or not they are good role models for

children.

Purpose

Being the youngest of four girls in my family, I have always loved princesses. Whether

that involves watching their movies, dressing up as them, or playing with their toys; I have never

really considered how princesses could have a negative impact on young girls until I started my

research. I have been impressed with how well Disney has adapted to make their princesses

more relatable to everyone. I have seen how princesses give hope to young girls and create a

positive role model for them. My hope is to show that even though some aspects can seem

unrealistic, Disney princesses work through their trials and persevere to get their “happily ever

after.” Princesses can instill a hard worth ethic in little girls in a fun and positive way.

Scope

I want to research both the positive and negative sides of praising princesses from such a

young age. Especially in this day and age where body shaming and women’s abilities are
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discussed so much, it will be interesting to see if princesses have anything to do with it. I will

also be researching how princesses (mostly Disney) have evolved over the past couple of

decades and how they have impacted society. I will be researching whether or not princesses are

good example for young girls. I will also be researching gender stereotypical roles. I will not

give much detail on the background of princesses and how they were created. I will not be

discussing other role models that children look up to these days and what parents prefer their

children to look up to these days.

Research Section

Viewpoint #1

Disney princesses, for almost a century, have served as role models for young girls.

Although they have songs and happy endings, some have argued that the women portraying the

princesses are unrealistic and put a negative stigma on body image. Many have gotten to the

point where they do not want little girls seeing these Disney princesses due to their thoughts on

how they can ruin their self-esteem. These people propose that we need to see a new generation

of Disney princesses, ones who don’t need saving from a strong prince, who portray body

images that more girls can relate to, and do not reinforce gender stereotypes. If there were to be

a princess that offered all of these qualities and changed to become more modern to today’s

standards, this would become their perfect princess role model for young girls.

One of the most iconic scenes in Disney princess movies is when the prince comes in and

saves the day for the struggling princess. We see this in movies such as ​Snow White, Sleeping

Beauty, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, e​ tc. Although the princesses have other great qualities

like kindness, cooking, and cleaning, they are not able to save themselves in the end. This shows
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young girls that they need to find a handsome young man to come and save them and support

them when they are in times of need. Kassidy McDonald says, “Psychologically, Disney links

being a princess with finding a man, being beautiful and expecting to be taken care of by Prince

Charming. The princesses use their natural beauty and sexuality to find true love and live happily

ever after. Disney does not teach young women to be driven, independent and focused on

working out their own problems by themselves” (McDonald). Disney has created role models

that make young girls think that they shouldn’t be capable of saving themselves from tough

situations. A positive role model should be one that encourages young girls that they do not need

a handsome young prince to get them out of trouble. They should teach them that they are fully

able to resist temptations and stand strong against “evil” or adversary. The new generation of

Disney princesses that some desire would not need to be saved by her prince charming.

Another issue with the current

Disney princesses is their inaccurate

depiction of body image. This is

probably the biggest controversy with

these girls. Young girls all over the

world are looking up to these

princesses, but how are they supposed

to feel about themselves when they see

perfect bodied girls representing beauty

(What Disney Taught Me)

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and everything they should aspire to be. Kassidy McDonald also says about body image,

“Children, little girls in particular, often long to look beautiful. They look up to older role models

for how to act. Often, the movies they watch, images they see and the things they are told shape

their future hopes and anxieties. Role models such as Disney's princesses help shape young girls'

aspirations in life and beliefs about how their bodies should look” (McDonald). By portraying

these unrealistic body images, young girls begin to believe that only by having that perfect body

shape can they be happy. It is not a healthy mindset for those young girls who could already be

feeling self-conscious about themselves. At their age, girls should not be worrying about these

things. In fact, no girl should ever have to feel that way. Another very serious issue is the fact

that most Disney princesses except a couple are all white. Micah Issitt states, “...women of color

are taught from a young age to measure themselves against an ideal of beauty based on European

models” (Issitt). This creates a devastating ideal for young girls who are not white, that they are

not beautiful due to their skin color. How are young girls supposed to thrive if they don’t feel

comfortable in their own skin? The new generation of Disney princesses should have more

relatable body images to make young girls feel more confident in their own.

One thing that Disney princesses seem to be teaching young girls is that they are limited

to certain gender roles in society. In most princess stories the princess cooks meals, makes

clothes, cleans the house, and performs other domestic duties. Although these are all great skills,

these are very gender specific and don’t encourage these little girls to be interested in other skills

like math, science, and engineering. In an article written by Sherri Lonon and Patch Staff they

say, “​Researchers found that increased princess interactions predicted higher female

gender-stereotyped behavior a year later...They're not as confident that they can do well in math
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and science. They don't like getting dirty, so they're less likely to try and experiment with things”

(Lonon and Staff). Those who want a new generation of Disney princesses believe that the older

generation is the reason that little girls don’t thrive in these certain activities, as opposed to boys.

Alisha Merritt says, “The most common feminine traits were being affectionate, being

troublesome, and being assertive...These gender roles are telling girls that they can’t be the hero

and that they need a boy to help them” (Merritt). Little kids who notice this wide gap in gender

roles for boys and girls think that they are limited to these opportunities or roles.

In closing, little girls need to see strong female role models who do not need saving from

a strong prince, have more realistic body images, and do not reinforce gender stereotypical roles.

If little girls were able to better relate to a princess, they would be able to have a better idea of

what they are capable of doing in their lives, rather than feeling bad that they do not have the

perfect body, or that they always are the ones that will make a mess and the man will come in

and save them. The world is evolving and so the new princesses need to move along with the

world and not stay behind.

Viewpoint #2

Most little girls grow up watching princess movies. They watch the shows, read their

books, dress up as them, and play with their figurines. Many dream of being like them when

they grow up. Princesses serve as positive role models for young girls because they portray

positive characteristics, they show young girls defying gender roles, and they have evolved over

the years to become more modern like the world. These princesses are what little girls need in

order to give them confidence to follow their dreams, try new things, and eventually find their
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own “prince.” If people were able to realize how positive princesses can be, they would be able

to gain these qualities for themselves.

Many princesses are leaders of their lands, so they portray positive attributes to set good

examples to the people that they govern. Many of the princesses go through hard trials, but

conquer them with grace and through hard-work. Princesses (also young girls themselves) show

attributes of optimism, faith, open-mindedness, compassion, adventure, self-loyalty,

righteousness, bravery, passion, trust, determination, and much more. Some princesses are not

royal by blood, but rather by their actions. Micah Issitt says,

...​A Little Princess​ [is] an early example of a positive use of the princess motif. The title

character, subject to the unpleasant realities of poverty, imagines herself as a princess in

an effort to maintain a sense of composure and dignity in the face of abuse and

hardship...girls playing princess is also about pretending to have a special destiny and

purpose that is not dependent on popularity. Princesses are sometimes portrayed as being

unpopular or controversial, but they are unique and special because of their identity.

(Issitt)

Princesses can be identified as anyone who portrays these qualities. If little girls grow up

watching these girls exemplify these traits, they will be more susceptible to practice those

positive attributes as well. Children pick up on what others do, that is why it is so important to

be careful about what you say or do around them. Princess movies and stories are an excellent

model for children.

Often times in princess stories, people argue that the princess is stuck portraying very

limited gender roles, but that is not the case. We see Tianna work hard for her dreams to own a
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restaurant. We see Belle gain an education for herself and become adventurous. We see Mulan

go out and fight for her country. We see Merida create her own destiny and there are so many

other examples of princesses defying gender role stereotypes. These examples can give little

girls the courage they need to follow their dreams and not let gender stigmas get in the way of

them. In a very interesting article by Cherry Wilson she says, “But behind the clichés, the

characters can also demonstrate determination, compassion, ambition - and fearlessness...The

Football Association (FA) has joined with Disney on a campaign that focuses on the character's

strong attributes - to encourage more young females into football” (Wilson). These women

playing football are defying traditional gender roles and they said that they have been inspired by

Disney princesses ever since they were young to do this. They have learned from their stories

that through hard work and determination you can do anything that you want to do. Princesses

help us realize what our potential is and how we can accomplish those things.

The world has changed over the past 82 years when the first princess movie was

released. Women have become more

modern and their roles and

opportunities have changed

immensely. Some say that the princess

movies are outdated, but that is not

true, they have most definitely kept up

(Disney Princesses as Strong)

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with the times. In ​Snow White and the Seven Dwarves​, Snow White cleans, cooks, and is saved

by a prince. The thing is though, that those were the social norms for what women did and

accepted doing in the 1930s. When feminism spiked again in the 1980s, ​The Little Mermaid​ was

released, showing a princess who was strong and rebellious and didn’t bend to her family’s will.

When the world and its ideals change, so does Disney. Gianna D’Ambrozio says, “...Ariel

redefined Disney gender roles. No longer was she a damsel like the other princesses, but a

strong, rebellious young woman who did not want to conform to the norm...Pocahontas, Mulan,

and Belle were new princesses after Ariel who chose their own paths and did not let someone

control them” (Ambrozio). You can learn from the positive attributes of the first Disney

princesses and see them even defy gender roles. All of them had to go through their own

personal traumas and troubles to get a better life. They had to do something about it. Even if a

man came into their life at the end, the princesses had to take the first step. There are princesses

nowadays who don’t even have a love interest like Moana, Elsa, or Merida. Princess movies do

not show weak girls; they show powerful women who work hard for what they want.

In conclusion, princesses are positive role models for little girls because they exemplify

positive characteristics that you should portray, they show girls who are also quite young

following their own destiny and defying gender stereotypical roles, and they too like the world

have evolved to become more modern over the last 82 years. Princesses teach young girls to be

kind and to help others, while also teaching them to be brave and adventurous and to find their

own sense of purpose. It is difficult to find anything else besides princess movies that teach

young girls all of these things, so this is why they are such great role models for everyone.
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Personal Perspective

As mentioned earlier, I have grown up my entire life watching and loving princess

movies. I have learned many valuable lessons from those stories that I have been able to use in

my everyday life, so I agree with viewpoint #2. Some lessons that I have learned from these

Disney movies is that we will all go through hard times in our life. Whether we are rich and

famous or poor and neglected, everyone has their own personal trials. I have learned from Belle

the importance of gaining an education and going on adventures. I have learned from Tianna the

value of hard-work and persistence. I have learned from Rapunzel the courage it takes to follow

our dreams and goals in life. I have learned from Elsa and Anna how important it is to create

relationships with your family and to stand up for one another. The list could go on and on about

what I have learned from all the princesses.

Researching the negative side of princesses was exciting to me because I had never really

considered many of those points before. At first when I read some of the articles on how

princesses limit girls with their gender stereotypical roles, I got sad thinking about how my

childhood role models could actually have had a negative influence. After more research though,

I was able to understand that princesses actually have changed! As mentioned earlier, Gianna D’

Ambrozio said, “​No longer was she a damsel like the other princesses, but a strong, rebellious

young woman who did not want to conform to the norm…” (Ambrozio). ​They truly have

evolved to become more modern and inspiring as the years have passed by. One of my most

favorite takeaways after researching everything, is that you can still learn important values from

the first princesses that were created. Although their values are different from contemporary
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female standards, they still show princess-like characteristics such as loyalty, courage, kindness,

and many others. There will always be people who will tear down princesses and what they

teach young girls. I believe that it is in that moment when we must provide evidence on how

princesses are actually positive role models for everyone.

Proposal of Action

I believe that there is so much power in our own communities. This is why for this

subject I would most likely organize a community gathering: a small two hour event where

people of all ages could come and learn about the benefits of princesses. This would also be a

kid friendly event so that we could get little kids excited to come and learn more about these

princess role models. The Mixed Use Community and Event Space located in Poplar Grove, Salt

Lake City, Utah would be the perfect space for this event. It also has a reasonably good price,

costing $109 per hour.

A fun idea could be to educate everyone for the first hour. To do this, we would really

focus on the positive viewpoint written in this paper. We would explain the benefits of young

kids making princesses their role models. To make the presentation more interesting to the kids

and to give evidence to the adults, it would be simple to make a video montage of different

princess movies. This would include short clips from various movies showing the princess

portraying a positive attribute or characteristic that adults want their own children to learn about.

Again, this way we are keeping the children more interested during the presentation, while

simultaneously showing evidence to parents and adults that princesses are amazing role models.

After the first hour presentation, we could have a dress-up princess come to the event.

The Princess Party Company offers a princess to come for an hourly rate of $199 and do special
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things like a dramatic entrance and greeting, signature storytime, princess picture time, magic

wishes, and interactive princess games. By doing this, it will help motivate people to come to

the event. Instead of having to travel to DisneyLand to meet a princess, they can stay close to

home in their own community.

It would be nice to have at least twenty volunteers to help out with the event. Some

volunteers would help to direct people, some would help with the presentation, and some would

help with the princess and the little kids during the second hour. I would be able to recruit

volunteers by posting in my NHS and PLT group chat explaining what the event was and that it

counted towards service hours which are needed in both clubs. From posting in both groups and

doing personal recruitment myself, there would for sure be at least twenty volunteers.

The event would take place March 14, 2020 (a Saturday) from 1-3 p.m. People would

just drive themselves there, as there is a large parking lot at the event center. Hopefully by the

time the event is over, parents would see the positives of allowing their children to have

princesses as role models. To advertise this event, we would take advantage of social media. I

would send it out to all of my contacts and ask them to spread it as well. I would post it all over

apps like Instagram and Facebook groups. I would email it out and announce it for about a

month before the event. I would announce it at church and other large gatherings. I believe that

there would be a large turnout due to an actual live princess coming for the second hour.

The event’s total cost would include renting the space for two hours ($218), plus renting

a princess for one hour ($199), making the total come to $417. For the actual event to help with

the final cost, I would charge each person $2 to come. That way if we had even two-hundred

people come, we would make $400 and I would just pay the other $17 to pay for the event. I
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believe that people would still come if they only had to pay $2 to come learn about the

importance of princesses and to interact with one themselves.

By creating this event, we will be able to better educate people about the importance of

allowing children to use princesses as role models for themselves. By using movie clips as

evidence, it will be hard for adults and parents to say otherwise. By bringing in a real live

princess, it will show adults how excited little kids get when their role models walk through the

door.

Conclusion

It is my hope that by properly educating people on the positive effects that princesses

have as role models they will be better accepted into our communities. Princesses can teach

young children important attributes that are needed to be successful in life. They can be

examples of young girls defying stereotypical gender roles. Princesses have evolved to become

more modern over the years as the world has changed, yet there are also values to be learned

from the earlier princesses. No one role model is perfect and everyone will always have their

own personal opinion on what the perfect role model for young children should look like and act.

However, the wide variety of princesses offers multiple perspectives of important values and

characteristics to look up to. Through a better understanding of what princesses truly are

teaching young children, most parents will most likely approve of them more.
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Works Cited

D'Ambrozio, Gianna. “Because Of Modern Feminism Disney Princess Gender Roles Are

Changing.” ​The Odyssey Online,​ The Odyssey Online, 15 Oct. 2019,

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-evolution-of-gender-roles-in-disney-princess-mov

ies​.

“Disney Princesses as Strong Women- This Is an Alternative View to What Ppl Were Trying to

Teach Us: Disney Princess, Disney, Princess.” ​Pinterest,​

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/59391288808914073/.

Issitt, Micah. “Counterpoint: Fantasies Involving Princesses Do Not Hamper the Development of

Women and Often Depict Feminine Power and Independence.” ​Points of View:

Princesses as Role Models for Young Girls,​ Mar. 2016, p. 3. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=95029401&site=pov-live.

Issitt, Micah. “Point: Fantasy Princess Role Models Teach Young Girls to Be Dependent and

Submissive and Help to Foster an Unhealthy Body Image.” ​Points of View: Princesses as

Role Models for Young Girls​, Mar. 2016, p. 4. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=95029402&site=pov-live.

Lonon, Sherri. “Are Disney Princesses Damaging Little Girls' Self-Esteem?” ​Across America,

US Patch​, Patch, 27 June 2016,

https://patch.com/us/across-america/s/fstua/are-disney-princesses-damaging-little-girls-se

lf-esteem​.

McDonald, Kassidy. “A Call for a New Generation of Disney Princesses.” ​The Arizona State

Press,​ 20 Feb. 2014,

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https://www.statepress.com/article/2014/02/a-call-for-a-new-generation-of-disney-prince

sses​.

Merritt, Alisha. “Disney Princess Movie: Gender Roles and Stereotypes.” ​Medium​, Medium, 27

June 2016,

https://medium.com/@alisha9193/disney-princess-movie-gender-roles-and-stereotypes-e

2122b0c83c6​.

“This Mom Photographs Little Girls as Athletic Princesses to Show That Girls Don't Have to

Choose Between Being Strong and Feminine.” ​BrightSide​, 21 June 2019,

https://brightside.me/creativity-photography/this-mom-photographs-little-girls-as-athletic

-princesses-to-show-that-girls-dont-have-to-choose-between-being-strong-and-feminine-

762460/​.

“What Disney Taught Me About Gender Roles.” ​ZackFord Blogs,​ 28 May 2010,

http://zackfordblogs.com/2010/05/what-disney-taught-me-about-gender-roles/.

Wilson, Cherry. “What Can Modern Girls Learn from Disney Princesses?” ​BBC News,​ BBC, 22

July 2017, ​https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40682933​.