Impact on ChildrenChildren, and more specifically little girls, are the targeted audience of the Disney Princess line. For years, the company has sought to sell products that directly appeal to young girls, and it has done so be creating an entire pantheon of female characters who are specifically designed to appeal to this age group. In recent years, however, the impacts of these characters have been called into question.
One of the main criticisms of Disney's princess characters is the emphasis on romance and love to the exclusion of other goals. Every Disney girl in the Princess line has a man to love, and with the exception of Pocahontas, they all seem to achieve blissful happy endings together. However, where Disney has fallen short in the past is in portraying these relationships as a "love at first sight" type. The hurdles of love and dealing with relationship difficulties rarely if ever are addressed. This has given some girls an unrealistic view of love and marriage. They expect to meet someone who will immediately unconditionally love them, and the ensuing marriage will be free of problems because love easily overcomes all obstacles. Another problem with Disney is the sexualization of young girls. Snow White was only 14 in her film, and the other Disney princesses tend to only be 16 to 20 when they meet their prince and run off to get married. By depicting the heroines as beautiful, fully mature, slender girls and marketing them to young children, Disney has been conveying the message that girls must be beautiful and slim to successfully find romance and love. This has led to concerns over eating disorders in young girls who are trying to attain that idealized figure of their Disney idols. This does not mean that Disney films are wrong or that children should not see them. Rather, it requires balance. Parents are encouraged to help their children distinguish between the unrealistic romance of the Disney fairy tales and the realities of modern life. Disney films are highly enjoyable, but it is important to prevent impressionable young girls from acquiring too much of a worldview from their romanticized messages. |
"For 75 years, millions of little girls and their parents around the world have adored and embraced the diverse characters and rich stories featuring our Disney princesses…. [L]ittle girls experience the fantasy and imagination provided by these stories as a normal part of their childhood development." - Disney
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