Focus group

As part of my research, I organised a focus group to discuss people’s opinions of Disney

princesses. I asked a number of questions which brought up a discussion. I showed my
group some images of different Disney princesses. The first question I asked was what do
you first think of the Disney princesses when I show these images. Some of the responses I
have received were that they could name all of the Disney princesses that I showed to them
and that they had an instant opinion on each princess. Some of their opinions were:
Rapunzel has amazing hair and she is also pretty, Elsa is seen as a snob, Ariel is a fish and
Anna is brave. They also said that all Disney Princesses wear long flowy dresses and are all
strong willed. Elsa is an ice queen and also is presented as selfish and magical.

The second question that I asked them to discuss was what characteristics are shown in
these Disney princesses whilst showing them the images. The first Disney princess we
discussed was Cinderella, they said that she has characteristics such as: she is strong
willed, kind, optimistic and caring. The second Disney princess we discussed was Snow
white. They said she has characteristics such as: she is determined, brave and also seems
to be gullible. The next Disney princess we discussed was Rapunzel as she became self
conscious when she got her hair cut. The fourth princess we discussed was Ariel as she is
talented, brave and friendly. The fifth princess we discussed was Elsa as she is strong
willed, selfish and independent. The sixth princess we discussed was Anna.They said that
she isn’t independent as she relies on her sister and that she is strong because she helps
her sister.

The third question I asked was do you think disney princesses have an impact on your
mental health both positively and negatively. They said yes it does have a positive impact as
it shows good characteristics that you need for life, it also shows that you can be brave in
whatever you chose to do in life and they are showing you to be independent. They also said
that most endings of films are a happy ending and this can happen in real life. During the
discussion, they also said that it can have a negative impact on your mental health as it
shows that you should be a certain body type and you're perceived to be something that you
shouldn’t and having perfect hair and outfits every day isn’t real life.

The last question I asked: do you think Disney princesses dress appropriately, they don’t
think they do as in real life you don’t go out every day in a flowy dress.