For many people, Disney Princess movies radiate with the essence of infancy, and make up a disturbingly solid part of everyone’s childhood memories. I’m sure we all, as eager, wide-eyed five-year-olds, sang along to Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, our young minds delighting at the pretty women in exquisite ball-gowns having dainty adventures, each one returning home to a handsome prince and eternal love. At their core, these movies were created to celebrate friendship, royalty, and womanhood; fantastical stories meant to empower the small girls watching them. However, as we grow too old for the confides of these magical realms, we start to wonder, do the Disney Princess movies we all know and love empower or objectify women?
Many people may argue that, despite their good intentions, these movies and characters plant impossible beauty standards and false ideals of female goals and aspirations in small, impressionable minds. One of the key features of so many classic fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or Rapunzel) is the magical reviving powers of a prince’s kiss. Too many delicate princesses have been revived out of their cursed slumber thanks to a prince with debatable self-control and no beliefs of consent, who is then rewarded with marriage to said young girl, whom he only cares about because of her beauty. This not only encourages dependency on a man, but also vastly normalises the concept of a women being kissed without her mutual consent. Furthermore, it strongly suggests that the only value of a women lies in her looks and beauty, objectifying them, and that love should be based on shallow and temporary things rather than genuine care. The simple fact that every movie always results in a wedding makes it seem like the life’s purpose of a girl is to get married, drastically shifting the focus from all their other, more admirable qualities.
However, it’s not all bad. One of the many reasons we all enjoyed these movies when we were younger is that, when looked at simply, Disney Princess movies are about independent women fighting their way through problems. Sure, this is just scratching the surface, and yes, these independent women do end up being rather dependent on their soon-to-be-husbands, but there is still distinct evidence of ‘Girl-Power’ in each petticoated princess. What would happen if Snow White had given up and embraced her death in the forest, rather than finding the dwarves and settling into their strange lives? Or if Belle had refused to go live with a unknown beast and let her father suffer? A sparse but common thread in each of these movies is the skill of adaptability and perseverance- navigating the ups and downs and not giving up, and I think that this is a pretty good example for every young child to look up to.
Although many of the much-loved classics (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc) stick to this firm and slightly sexist agenda of a princess captured, cursed, murdered and then saved by a true love’s kiss, it is important to note that they have been getting better. Look at Moana rejecting her loyalty to follow her heart, or Anna getting the better of her psychotic almost-husband and leaving him for someone she actually dates before marrying. Despite those old-fashioned stories being an important part of the past, with time they have evolved into more modern, current tales focusing more on female empowerment and leaning away from stereotypical agendas. There is no need to feel obliged to stop watching Frozen, or refrain from singing Moana in the shower, it is just important to be aware of their flaws and keep in mind that they aren’t always an accurate representation of womanhood or a perfect source of female empowerment. Otherwise, you are never too old for a Disney Princess movie!