All of these three princesses dream of their prince, and need a man to save them. Cinderella needs the prince to find her so she can stop being the family slave. Aurora needs to be woken from a deep sleep, and so does Snow White. All of these women, who are role models to young girls who watch Disney Princess movies, send a message out to their viewers that a girls need prince to save them. All of these women are depicted as weak, and unable to help themselves. They all need a man to come to their aid. And all through out the film, all the princess ever dreams of is finding a prince. It puts the idea out that there is nothing more to a women's life than waiting, and singing about a man. And while waiting for a man, the right thing to do is clean and be beautiful. These women have no independence, and are unhealthy idols for young girls. In modern society, women have a lot more rights than they ever used to. Women can now vote, and do typically thought male jobs, but a strong gender stereotype is still present about how the right women should behave. The main thing that women are viewed as are sex symbols. Only items to men, women where once described in ancient times as for "the ploughing of legitimate children". These Disney films enforce these stereotypes in a subtle way. By showing women as weak, and always longing for men, Disney is showing young girls that as women, wishing for a prince should occupy a large part of your life. If you don't have a prince, then you are not really going to do much with your life. In modern culture, it is now socially acceptable to take a partner from the same sex as you. Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and even A-sexual people are part of our culture now. The message that Disney movies are sending out to young girls is that they need a man to be happy, and a member of the same sex wont do. It represents women as unable to be independent, and only able to find happiness with a man.
I find it interesting, how Disney has not reversed the roles of the hero and heroin. In all of the Disney Princess films, the Prince always comes to the rescue of the girl. We never see the Princess coming to the aid of a man, and if we do, it is only a small rescue mission. The main focus of the film is based around the male hero saving the beautiful girl. Would Disney ever consider creating a strong lead female character, that saves the weak, and helpless man. Imagine if Cinderella had to look through the whole kingdom for the Prince, who was trapped at home cleaning and singing. Most would find that unusual, as the stereotype of the hero saving the heroin is deeply carved into our beliefs of what is right, and what is wrong. These fairy tales set an expectation for young girls, that they should wait around for a man, only caring about there appearance and being lady like in the mean time. Does Disney want girls never to make an impact on society? Is the love of a man the most important thing in life? What about family? All of the Princesses willingly leave there family without a moments notice, just to run away with a handsome Prince they hardly know. The main purpose of a Disney Princess movie is to entertain, but they all set a standard to there viewers about how a women should behave, and the main thing under that, is to wait for a man to change your life.
