The Evolution of Portrayal of Ideal Women in

Disney Films

Submitted towards partial completion of the Pre-Thesis Project and as part of research in
the field of Art, Design, and/or Technology
November 21, 2022 (indicate your date of completion)

By

Harini Kesavan
 DECLARATION FORM

Student Name: Harini Kesavan

University Registration Number: 19SBD057

Program: Creative Education

Semester: 7 (ODD) 2022-23

Unit: Term Paper (General Studies)

I, Harini Kesavan as per the admission records......, confirm that this submission is my
own work, is not copied from any other person's work (published or unpublished), and has not
previously been submitted for assessment, either at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and
Technology or elsewhere.

I confirm that I have read and understood the Institute's regulations on plagiarism on its
website. I hereby submit this Term Paper as a partial requirement towards the award of an
undergraduate degree by Bengaluru City University, Bengaluru.

Student’s Signature:

Date: 18 / 11 / 2022

Place: Bangalore

Term Paper Guide Name: Jyothsna Belliappa

Term Paper Guide Signature:

Harini 1

ABSTRACT

Children are believed to be greatly influenced by Disney films, which unmistakably depict
the loving lives of princesses. Every movie features a stunning princess who would have faced
danger except for a dashing prince who sprung into action. But when we look further, we can
find that Disney movies serve as vital gender testimonies. By the end of this essay, I hope to have
explored the specific gender stereotypes Disney movies present to the younger audience with
regard to femininity and how they create specific opinions about what is or is not desirable in
women.
Over the past 100 years, the definition of ideal feminity has seen a paradigm shift. What
it is a child should expect from himself and the environment is now being portrayed to allow a
realistic ambition. From the concept of love being portrayed beyond being romanticized to the
idea of women's power, these have become central themes in Disney films. As this paper goes
through a journey of understanding this changing content, there is focus also on how it has also
embraced a new journey of gender roles and a more realistic view of the world.

KEYWORDS: Disney films, ideal femininity, paradigm shift, Gender roles

Harini 2

The twenty-first century audience is highly moved and influenced by films. Disney is

amongst one of the most popular production houses in the world viewed and enjoyed by all age

groups around the world. Where films in general have not just entertained the audience, but have

also either taught them lessons or created a deep impact on their mind and behaviour. Disney

animation is seen to take up a considerable percentage of the storytelling industry. Today Disney

animation is watched by all groups of people in several languages thanks to the introduction of

Disney+ Hotstar Disney’s yearly profit for 2021 was around 22 billion USD. If this isn’t enough,

the films released between 2019 to 2021 broke the global box office earning over 7.67 billion

dollars with films like “Frozen II, Toy Story 4, Avengers: Endgames, etc.”. 1

Disney films have attracted users from all around the globe out of which 27% are under

the age of 18 years along with another 27 % are between 18 to 34 years of age. [Nina Bitkoska,

2022] Parents today, especially with the hit of the pandemic see to it that a child learns the

importance of understanding and reflecting on their emotions. With the speed at which we live

today, there comes with it a great number of expectations we set for ourselves. Being unable to

set ourselves up for those standards, leaves us to struggle with mental health issues. Research

shows that while a good percentage of parents had no issue with movies being shown by Disney,

there has also been a percentage, rather skeptical.

This comes from the content being presented to the audience. Disney movies have come

a long way with the stories being presented. While the movies released in the beginning are

extremely nostalgic, they carry with them content that may seem inappropriate. This traces back

to films that subconsciously set a standard of an “Ideal Individual”, be it a girl or boy. While

Disney movies do bring a smile to a child's face, it also tends to leave impressions in their naive

1
Bitkoska, Nina. “20 Disney Statistics and Facts to Amaze You in 2022.” WebsiteBuilder.org, 5
Sept. 2022,
Harini 3

mind. This is where adults feel the importance of discussions with their children on the concept

of ideals. This paper highlights the various notions associated with women.

Before getting into these notions, it is important to understand the meaning of idealism,

and how Disney's content evolved in the portrayal of idealism.

The dictionary meaning of idealism is given as “the unrealistic belief in or pursuit of perfection”.

Disney animated films, especially those released between the 1930s and early 2000s have shown

to be of major concern amongst adults. This paper highlights how Disney has particularly

influenced the outlook of the world by females, and how it has portrayed a womens’ life and

beauty to society. There have been a few argumentative points brought out of these movies that

troubled adults on their impact on children.

FEMALE POWER IS CENTRED AROUND BEAUTY OR BEING SEEN AS

SOMETHING TO BE AFRAID OF.

The prominence of the ladies shown in Disney films from 1940 to 1960, such as

Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, and many others, might open a child's eyes to the meaning and

purpose of their own life and the lives of others. Any youngster can wonder, "Why do people kill

and hate others because of the way they appear or act?" or "Why did my close friend, who was

just seven years old, pass away?"

These are not simply questions posed, these are the thoughts that revolve around a child’s

mind. Issues like fairness make a child question how they should live their lives and want to

know its rules. “Who am I and where do I belong?” are questions repeatedly asked. A child in

her adolescence begins to pose such overwhelming thoughts, for which finding answers become
Harini 4

difficult. Quite early in life, children develop the capacity to think - often before they even

develop the emotional tool to deal with it successfully.[James.T.Webb, 2016] This is where the

fear of a lot of parents comes around. Is this the kind of question a child should worry about?

Films in the 1940s and 1950s shown by Disney, majorly in the form of its princesses

were particularly disturbing. A very troubling aspect in all is the depiction of women. The

question that arises when watching films like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty is what is the

“Ideal feminine beauty”? Is that what attracts guys to them? What is the role of males in the life

of women? Is it just to save girls at the end for an always-existing “Happy Ending”?

NOTION OF THE FEMININE BEAUTY

Princesses of the 1900s and early 2000s are seen to have unnaturally small waists, large

breasts, fair skin, exaggerated eyes, and batting eyelashes. Their bodies have been stitched

unrealistically to fit frames represented in the animations. Disney films teach little girls they are

supposed to be complacent and frail if they want to be successful.2

The princesses' identities and

morals are frequently shaped by their

beauty and sexual allure because of this

oversimplified association between natural

beauty and ideas of righteousness. Beauty

is linked to femaleness and femininity,

which is linked to being a woman's key to

Pic 1: Belle from Beauty and the Beast

2
“Body Image – the Deconstruction of Disney Princesses.” Body Image – the Deconstruction of
Disney Princesses, sites.middlebury.edu/disneyprincesses/body-image. Accessed 7 Oct. 2022.
Harini 5

happiness. Almost as readily and naturally to them as their beauty, "happily ever after" arrives.

This results in a hidden beauty contest where the attractive win and the unattractive are doomed

to misery. There is a suggestion that women who do not meet the "natural" standard of beauty

should accept their lot and refrain from actively seeking beauty lest they succumb to vanity, a

bad trait linked to villainy in movies. Characteristics of princesses like grace and domesticity3

The issue with this representation, though, is that their naivete in particular has the effect

of sexualizing kids while the focus on their physical attractiveness has the opposite impact.

Therefore, the concept and conflict resolution depends heavily on the sexual allure of the

princesses. For instance, Snow White and Cinderella are treated poorly due to their beauty by

their envious stepmothers, yet they are also eventually saved from their circumstances by Princes

who are primarily drawn to their beauty.

In Ariel's instance, Ursula steals her voice and silences her, giving

her just three days to win over Prince Eric. Ursula's response to her question

about how she would manage without her voice is simply, "You have your

looks that overpower your talent. Do not underestimate the power of body

language!4

While this content took up a huge percentage of the storylines from

1937 to the 1990s, feature films made post-2016 [Moana, Encanto, Raya,

and Merida to name a few] allowed for women to be rather broad and not be

petite. Pic 2: Moana

3
D., Hairianto. “Representations of Females and Femininity in Disney Princess Films.” Medium,
12 Feb. 2014
4
D., Hairianto. “Representations of Females and Femininity in Disney Princess Films.” Medium,
12 Feb. 2014
Harini 6

Moana's physical type set her apart from Belle, Cinderella, and the rest of the gang,

according to the creative team behind the eagerly anticipated animated feature. It was an

intentional endeavour, partly driven by wanting her to be unusual. She was seen to be a

superhero who could take up action. It just seemed right for this character to have her look like

she could physically hold her own for the kind of stunts we wanted her to do and the physicality

of the role. In order for this to happen, a lot of inspiration was taken from people in the South

Pacific."

NOTION OF WOMEN’S WORK

Just as women's bodies and love were traditionally romanticized and unrealistic, women's

work was also implausibly portrayed. While initially from 1993 to 1998 princesses were shown

to be told only to serve evil “Step - parents” on go on to find love.

In the early twentieth century, it was most common for women to be seen involved only

in domestic work, for they can depend o their husbands for economic support. The major setback

for Disney productions in its early ages was the lack of female employees. The men did not

realize the overarching gender issues being portrayed in the process of creating films that

reflected society’s stereotypes.

Over the years, with female staff pouring in, there called for a change in

Disney’s rhetoric on gender.

The release of Mulan in 1998 and 2013’s Brave became the pioneers that

broke numerous stereotypes about gender. Both Mulan and Merida are

powerful young ladies who exhibit both physical prowess and intellectual

qualities. Furthermore, there are no princes in either of these films. In her

Pic 3: Mulan
Harini 7

family, Mulan takes on a stereotypically masculine role in order to protect her father and the

nation during a time of war. Throughout the movie, Merida defies princess conventions and lives

up to her true nature. She uses her brain and might to protect her mother from a grave curse.

Taking inspiration from this storyline, films like Moana and Encanto

[2016 and 2020 respectively] were also created. These films highlighted how women's strength,

power, and independence can change the family and society for good.5

Elsa and Anna, two young women who are portrayed as strong female protagonists in the

2013 film Frozen, are another example. The first female director of a Disney princess movie, the

film's influence may be seen in how gender roles are portrayed.

Elsa reigns as queen in a country where having a king was never

seen as necessary. Her younger sister, Anna, is intelligent and

spirited. Although Anna does have a love interest in the movie,

their connection is neither the movie's high point nor Anna's

primary focus. Anna wants to have a deeper relationship with her

sister by bringing her back to their ancestral village.6

Anna is battling to survive and avoid turning to solid ice in the

Pic 4: Elsa hugging Anna to save her in the film Frozen

movie's climactic moment after being struck by Elsa's magical ice powers. Anna required a

genuine gesture of love to redeem her from the curse. Similar to early Disney movies, it appeared

that a man would save Anna, but Anna sacrifices herself for her sister, and Elsa's true love for

Anna ultimately saves her. The focus of Frozen, on the other hand, is sisterly love rather than an

5
“Gender.” The Rhetoric of Disney, therhetoricofdisney.weebly.com/gender.html. Accessed 17
Nov. 2022.
6
“Gender.” The Rhetoric of Disney, therhetoricofdisney.weebly.com/gender.html. Accessed 17
Nov. 2022.
Harini 8

idolatrous obsession with a man, as it did in its predecessors (Lighezzolo 2014). In this movie,

the ladies save each other rather than needing a male to save them.In contrast to portraying fairly

passive roles, this movie shows the breadth of female characters' skills and abilities.

Disney has started to highlight strong, independent women in an effort to sustain its

reputation and please the audience.

EMPHASIS ON ROMANTIC LOVE IN EARLIER

FILMS TO SUPPORT OF STRUCTURES IN LATER

FILMS

Love in the Walt Disney world has seen a shift from

Cinderella to Moana (2016). There has been a paradigm

Pic 5: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
shift from heterosexual romance to a new ideal of family love. The change from the ideal happy

ending of a kiss has changed allowing for a sense of relief among adults. Today films have seen

endings ranging from siblings reconciling, as in

Frozen to a child reuniting with parents (as in

Finding Dory and Tangled), or a child reconciling

with her mother (as in Inside Out).

The romantic tales we see on the big screen

are more than just our emotions portrayed. They

Pic 6: Frozen
Harini 9

also influence how we envision love and how we wish to live up to those expectations.

A much-needed change is emerging at Disney, as seen in their more recent films, such as

the 2021 film Raya and the Last Dragon, in which a Southeast Asian lady plays the primary role

and is on a quest to rescue millions of people from her country. There are even undertones of a

gay relationship between the protagonist and the adversary in the film. One can undoubtedly see

the change that Disney is attempting to implement, and it is crucial that this change be

comprehensive and broad in scope because childhood is a period when a person begins to

comprehend how the social world functions.

Today, Disney encourages us to forgive our siblings or make amends with our parents

instead of expecting us to wait for a knight in shining armour. It has grown to allow a child to

fight their way through vulnerability and stand up against injustice. There has been a drastic

change in the perspective of the world in the eyes of a child and what they aspire for, both from

themselves and the world.

Over the past 100 years, the definition of ideal feminity has seen a shift. What it is a child

should expect from himself and the environment is now being portrayed to allow a realistic

ambition.
Harini 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Accessed 17 Nov. 2022.

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Harini 11

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