Why Defend Princesses?

The Start

I recently had a rather lengthy discussion with a friend of mine on Disney princesses as role models for today’s young women. I believe the films are a positive influence on young women and that the heroines are, largely, strong women who have very admirable qualities; she believes the princesses are mainly a negative influence that reinforce negative stereotypes and are defined mainly by the men of the films (this is a summation of the discussion; we both acknowledge the films have good and bad points, but overall I am pro-Disney and she is con-Disney). I grew up with Disney films. I spent my summers watching them over and over again. I actually watched Beauty and the Beast in slow motion and memorized every frame. Disney characters were a major part of my life and most likely influenced, to some extent, the person that I am today.

So who am I?

I think I turned out pretty well. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from my university and went on to get a Master’s degree in English with a 4.0 average. I taught English at the University of Central Florida, one of the largest universities in America. I am a published author. I have a great marriage. I currently work as a writer and English teacher in China. I’m a (god)mother to the smartest and sweetest child a parent could ever ask for and my husband and I are in the process of formally adopting a daughter of our own. I ballroom dance; I’m a nerd; I’m interested in politics and dinosaurs and volunteer when I can. I pride myself on being well-educated, well-informed, and interesting. I believe I am a strong, independent woman. I’m not saying all this to toot my own horn (and I know I am far from perfect), but it ruffles my feathers for people to tear down Disney movies and Disney heroines when I watched them, and I turned out pretty great.

 The Goal

Of course the experience of one person, who was also influenced by a myriad of other sources (parents, friends, religion, teachers, society, etc.), cannot be counted as typical. The purpose of this blog isn’t to recount my personal reasons why Disney movies and Disney characters are a positive influence on today’s young ladies. Instead, I am going to attempt a systematic examination of each film with a critical eye of why each film’s females are either a positive or negative influence on today’s generation of young ladies. I am going to go through each film (from Snow White to Brave) and write a critical essay on each one. Also, along the way, I will look at other contemporary essays and critiques of the films that currently make the rounds in the news to keep the conversation current. I invite everyone who reads this blog to join in the conversation.

Why just females?

There are several reasons why this blog will focus on the females of Disney films and their effects on young females only. Mainly, it is because it is always the females who take the brunt of the criticism in Disney films. While people may criticize Ariel for giving up her voice for Eric, no one ever criticizes Eric over choosing a woman who he cannot communicate with. It is the women who need to be defended. Also, I’m a woman and have a daughter and am in the process of adopting another one. I feel a personal connection to the women of these films. They are what I want to focus on. Finally, the role of women has changed dramatically since the first Disney film was released in 1937. The shift from subordinate, second-class citizens, to independent people equal to men is a completely modern construct. Men have always been the strong leader in family and society. History is filled with positive, fictional role-models for men, from Hector of Troy to Eddard Stark. For a new generation of women who are family-heads, bread-winners, and CEOs, many people claim that they have had few women from stories to give them strength and encouragement. My position is that Disney has always provided strong female role models and we don’t need to tear those models down.

Don’t I have anything better to do than talk about fictional princesses?

It even surprised me how passionate I got about this topic when I was talking about it with my friend. But it really got me thinking about all the films and what I love about them. I’m a busy person with irons in a lot of fires, but this is going to be my fun blog. It is a creative outlet for me that will allow me to do research and critical analyses that I haven’t had a lot of time for since I finished grad school. I’m really looking forward to this project and I hope people will enjoy discussing this topic with me.

The Process

It all begins with Snow White. Since the release of Snow White in 1937, there have been, officially, 51 full-length animated features. However, not all of these movies feature female characters. Movies like Brother Bear, Fantasia, and The Three Caballeros most likely will not get a featured article. Also, the Pixar collaborations are not included in this list. This will exclude movies like Toy Story and Cars. I’m not boxing myself in to say these movies will be completely left out, but I am not planning critical examinations of these films. Of course, this also leaves out the full-length live-action films like Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, and Newsies. The main difference for me is the live-action films are “family” films, while the animated features are “children’s” films. Much of the criticism of Disney heroines is the effect they have on young children, so I am going to focus on the 51 full-length animated children’s features.

I will organize the essays into several categories. The first one will be “The Princesses” since this is where much of the criticism lies. Snow White, Aurora, Merdia, and others will be counted here. The second category will be the “Average Ladies.” This is where the non-princess women like Mulan, Jane, and Esmeralda will be. Next will be the “Animal Women.” I think a lot of people forget about the female heroines of the animal world Disney has created. Lady, Nala, Perdita, and Miss Bianca fit in this category (and possibly Maid Marian. I’m debating if she is an animal woman or a princess or an average lady because she kind of fits all three). There will also be essays focusing on “Secondary Female Characters.” Disney films have a wide range of supporting females often giving a guiding voice to the female leads. Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Grandmother Willow, Grandmother Fa, Queen Eleanor, and Nani are only a sampling of the myriad of women also provide strength, encouragement, and guidance for the main characters and viewers. Finally, the last, but not least, category will be “The Villainesses.” Disney villains have a special place in my heart. Maleficent is one of the most fabulous creations by the Disney Company ever. The Evil Queen, Ursula, Cruella deVille, Yzma – they are all so interesting and multifaceted that they couldn’t be lumped into essays about princesses. They will each be getting their own essays and we will probably have some interesting discussions about what makes women “evil” in contemporary and historical societies.

I’m really excited to start this project! So come on in, pull up a chair, and let’s talk about princesses!

~Love,
The Lost Princess