An Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films

Jasmit Singh
213749361
Traditional and Popular Culture – 1900 9.0
Susan Niazi – Tutorial 6
Whether it’s the colours they wear, the activities they engage in or how they behave, men and women are known to play different roles in society. These established gender roles “are not innate or natural but a product of society”. Children, adolescents and adults all learn gender roles through the environment they’re surrendered by. One of the many huge influencers that help shape gender roles is media. Although “there has been a lot of change over the years in terms of what is considered appropriate societal roles for men and women, this change is not reflected in contemporary film”. The ideology of mainstream media continues to focus on the males being the heads of society, which in result, shows an unequal representation of the females. From an early age, media puts an image into young minds, informing them how males and females should think, act, behave and appear. In many television shows and films, one can easily see the distinct difference between the role of a male and a female. Often films are enforcing stereotypical gender roles where the male is seen to holds more importance in society than the female. Amongst many film producing companies, Walt Disney Pictures for decades have been enforcing stereotypical gender roles in their princess films.
Though it may not be outright obvious, Disney productions play a huge role in fostering gender roles through the 1930’s to now. Many child in developed countries have grown up watching Disney movies. At a young age they are exposed to beautiful princess depending on men to be their saviours, and handsome princes going through many obstacles to save them. Disney’s animation films are a prime example of how society’s traditional and stereotypical views on gender roles are displayed on television, which are shown excellently in Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty through the different appearances, personalities, vulnerabilities and social roles of men and women.
Cinderella is one of Disney’s older film, which was released in 1950. It’s a film that’s considered a classic. Looking into this film with a feminist eye, one can easily notice the stereotypical and traditional gender roles that it portrays. Social roles in the film are very stereotypical, where women sit at home, doing all the house work and taking care of the family and men are out hunting, working, and being adventurous.
In Cinderella, it is stressed that a women’s place is in the house. Society’s stereotypical ways assume that women should do all the “cooking, cleaning, laundering, sewing, meal planning, shopping” etc., that it there duty to ensure that all housework is taken care of. This stereotypical mindset is displayed in Cinderella. Throughout the movie Cinderella is seen doing many stereotypical female duties around the house. She is put to work cleaning the clothes, making dresses for her stepsisters, making sure dinner is cooked and ready. Cinderella alone manages the household, while her stepmother and stepsisters spend their days laying back and doing nothing. When Cinderella does not do her assigned work on time, there are consequences; her stepmother punishes her with more work. This suggests that it is in women’s best interest to do the work expected by her. Her dedication to her duties in the house makes her the better suited bride for the prince rather than her lazy sisters. In additional women “are seen as domestic, focused mainly on family and personal relationships”. Cinderella took care of her father (when he was alive), stepmother, and stepsisters; catering to them was high priority, whether she liked it or not. In Cinderella, women’s biggest role was in the house, whereas men played an important part outside the house.
The males in Cinderella, being the prince and Cinderella’s father, played a role that went beyond the household. Although Cinderella’s father did not play a major role in the film, his part was playing the stereotypical male. Society portrayed men as “having interests outside of the home, while still being the head of the household”. Cinderella father went to work as a merchant and provided for the family. He was the sole breadwinner for the whole family. In result Cinderella, her stepmother and stepsisters depended on the father for their financial support. This stereotype that the women count on men for financial support is one of the oldest in the book and Disney is excellent at portraying it. In the newly released version of Cinderella, when the father passes away, the Stepmother is heard saying “we’re ruined, where will we live? Since none of the women worked and had no means of supporting themselves financially, when Cinderella’s father passed, they were left vulnerable, with no source of income, with worry of losing the house. Along with men being considered the head of the household, they are also given “power and assertiveness”. Prince Charming was in a position that held a lot of power. He was to be the ruler of the kingdom as soon as he could find a suitable bride. Every women wanted to be with him as he held a lot of power, which was desired by all. Cinderella’s father was given power by being the sole breadwinner. Most of the characters that had power were males. In the modern Cinderella movie, all of the characters that worked in the Castle with the King, that were given authoritative positions were men; the grand duke; the captain; the gentlemen. With power came more freedom, men’s roles were usually more relaxed then women’s.
In regard to freedom, when comparing the different social roles, women’s roles are more restricting then men’s. There are pressured more to maintain a certain type of lifestyle. In the scene in the original Cinderella, where the mice are helping Cinderella get ready for the ball, the male mouse told the female mouse that “I can do the sewing”, she responded with “leave the sewing to the women”. In this scene the female herself is enforcing stereotypical gender roles; Disney is oppressing females through the use of an animal. On the other hand men are freer to explore and take up hobbies. For example in the modern Cinderella movie, Kit, the prince, is out hunting when he first meets Cinderella. Through these different social roles that Disney portrays, men in Cinderella are seen to hold all the power in society while the women do not hold much power in neither society nor in their marriages and family life. The women is Cinderella, the stepmother, stepsisters and Cinderella herself live off of her father’s income as said before. Due to this, her father has more power over the women because they have no other source of income and rely fully on the male to maintain their way of living. Because of the stereotypical portrayal of difference in power between males and females; women in Disney movies, such as Cinderella, try but “never succeed in being accepted as equals”.
Another classic princess movie produced by Disney in 1991 is Beauty and the Beast. Although it’s a great film with an even greater meaning, it has many sexist aspects in terms on the characters appearances and personalities. In this movie, there is a distinct different in the appearances and personalities of men and women that constricts women in many ways.
One of the main characters, Princess Belle, is introduced to the audience as a beautiful women. She has pale skin, and a beautiful thin body, with a small nose, and a tiny waist. This is society, is the ideal way a “female” should look, according to traditional gender stereotypes. Disney, in many movies, has always portrayed women, including Cinderella and Belle, in an unrealistic light; with the heroine [having] extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breasts. Beauty is seemed to hold a lot of power in Beauty and the Beast. Belle was desired by the Gaston, a man whom every girl in town wants to be with. His attraction towards Belle has to do a whole lot with her beauty and the way she looks, and not much to do with her personality. This show the “importance of female appearance above other qualities”. Belle is a sweet, innocent, native girl who has the desire to take care of the men in her life, first her father and then the Beast. She has most of the traditional stereotypical qualities; Affectionate, Nurturing, fearful, sensitive, emotional, physically weak and submissive and attractive. For example, even when she was being held captive by the scary and abusive beast, she still ends up caring for him and “encouraging the growth and development” of the beast. Belle is submitting to her natural instincts as a female to be the nurturer and care giver. Disney princess Belle was given very feminine characteristics, very different personalities from Disney’s Princes.
When Gaston, the desired bachelor is introduced, one can notice right away the different between the males and females in the movie. Gaston is the alpha male in the town. Mostly everyone loves him due to his appearances. He has a well-built body and a very handsome face. This again shows how Disney values outer beauty. Throughout the movie, Gaston acts superior to everyone because he is popular due to his dashing looks. He, in a sense, is able to mistreat women because he is attractive. The Beast mistreated and humiliated women again and again before he turn into a beast. These is an excellent example of how Disney shows inaccurate social construction. After turning into a Beast, the prince is seen to have a very aggressive and abusive personality. He is constantly hurting Belle and locks her up in a room with no food, yet she somehow starts to fall for the vicious beast. This enforces the message that it is okay to be abusive and aggressive towards women. This also enforces the stereotype that women are emotional, submissive and very nurturing people that allow men to dominate over them. The fact that Belle stays with the Beast displays women in a weak light, that women can be step on as they cannot defend themselves.
These stereotypical characteristics and appearance of both men and women hinder the freedom and growth of females in film. Through Gaston’s personality and behaviour, one can get insight on what the town people thinks is right and wrong in terms of gender roles. Gaston humiliates Belle when he throw the book she’s reading onto the muddy ground and says to Belle to stop wasting time on useless books and start thinking about marriage and her household duties. Gaston’s behaviour shows that the townspeople agree with him and do not think women should engage in in useless activities such as reading but instead focus on traditional stereotypical gender roles such as caring for her family and doing housework. This shows that “Men want girls [who are] calm, obedient, who work fast-paced, with good breeding”. Through scenes such as this one, Disney slows down the development and growth of females in film. Disney also portrays that Attractiveness is associated with goodness; Belle is beautiful and thus has a beautiful heart. Another example of this is in Cinderella, where her Stepsisters were not all that beautiful and in turn were no good, and considered evil at heart. In both situations “Physical appearance is moreover emphasised as well as valued over and above their intellect or abilities”. Through the two examples, one can see how beauty is related with goodness and how looks play a huge part in defining a person. This constricts women who are not the “ideal” version of beauty that Disney shows in their princess movies as they are stuck with being seen beneath those who have that “ideal image and beauty”; they then become more vulnerable. In many Disney princess movies, women are displayed to be much more vulnerable then the men. This stereotype has been present in most of the movies. This vulnerability leads to the women to entrap themselves in messy situation. The most vulnerability is shown in the more classical movies such Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Sleeping beauty can be considered the most vulnerable princess movie in the Disney Princess films. Aurora was a girl who made no decision for herself and had a very stereotypical feminine personality. She was pretty, kind hearted and very native. Her naiveté and vulnerability is the cause of her troubles. It leads her straight into a trap placed by the evil Maleficent, which causes her to fall asleep for the rest of her life, with the only hope of being awakened by her true love. She becomes helpless and cannot defend herself at all olds. Snow White is another movie where the lead female is brought down by her vulnerability. Snow white does not have a lot of courage and agency. She also, like Aurora, falls asleep by eating an apple that was poisoned by the queen. Both these women cannot do anything to help themselves. They are in very vulnerable positions that have entrapped themselves in due to their naiveté. These movies are a great example of the stereotype that women are weak and thus a victim; they are “subjected to torture by another, one who suffers severely in body or property through cruel or oppressive treatment”. Disney also portrays Snow White and Aurora as physically weak; not being able to defend themselves and “need help or else failing”. In both these movies, the get rescued by a male lead.
While the women are portrayed as helpless and weak in these movies, men are the amazing and incredible “hero’s”. In Sleeping Beauty, Prince Philip is given power and the upper hand as he is the one to rescue Aurora. He is portrayed as a brave and heroic. He is not even a little vulnerable, completely opposite from Aurora. He held all the power as he was the only one that could wake and thus save Aurora. Same concept applies in Snow White, where the Prince also awakens Snow White. The stereotype that women are weak and need to be rescued by men is very easy to see in both these movies. In the movies the male lead are given characterises that differ from the Female lead. Men “want to explore, are physically strong, assertive, independent, fearless, brave and leaders”. These traits have no place for vulnerability, in fact they are the perfect traits for the making of a perfect hero. Disney gives male leads more power than female through the use of different characteristics.
A characteristic that is considered feminine in Disney princess films is “collapses crying —the character puts his/her face down, such that it was no longer visible, and cries. Sitting and crying while showing the face did not count; the character must have thrown him/ herself on or against something in a statement of physical and mental helplessness”. This is seen in snow white when she runs to the forest, falls to the ground, covers her face and starts to cry due to her helplessness. This has never been seen in a male lead in any Disney princess movie because this characteristics has vulnerability all over it. The fact that Disney portrays women with such degrading characteristics, and not men, in this light is quiet horrifying, it sends a message that men are above women. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are two great examples of showing women as stupid, weak and helpless. With Disney portraying women with these characteristics, men are given the opportunity to sweep in and show just how much better they are then women.
In all the Disney movies discussed in this paper there is not one where the women is seen to have the upper hand or more power than the men. In Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, women are shown as “beautiful, fearful, sensitive, nurturing, vulnerable, submissive, powerless and emotional and physically weak”. Disney has repeatedly portrayed women as being unequal or under men. These films have had a great impact on fostering gender roles for a very long time. Although now Disney is coming up with more feminist movies such as Tangled, there is still traditional and stereotypical gender roles in them, there are just more difficult to identify.

Work Cited
Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
Cinderella. Dir. Kenneth Brangh. Prod. Simon Kinberg and David Barron. Perf. Lily James, Cate Blandchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard and Holliday Grainger. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015. Film.
Coca, Andreea. "A Reflection on the Development of Gender Construction in ‘classic’ Disney Films." Amsterdam Social Science 3.1 (2009). Print.
Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi. Buena Vista Distributions, 1959. DVD.
England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
Matyas, Venessa. "TALE AS OLD AS TIME: A Textual Analysis of Race and Gender in Disney Princess Films." Graduate Major Research Papers and Multimedia Projects (2010). Print.
Sawyer, Nicole (n.d). Feminist Outlooks at Disney Princess‘s, James Madison University
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand, William Cottrell, and Wilfred Jackson. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. DVD..

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[ 1 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 2 ]. Ibid
[ 3 ]. Matyas, Venessa. "TALE AS OLD AS TIME: A Textual Analysis of Race and Gender in Disney Princess Films." Graduate Major Research Papers and Multimedia Projects (2010). Print.
[ 4 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 5 ]. Ibid
[ 6 ]. Ibid
[ 7 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 8 ]. Ibid
[ 9 ]. Ibid
[ 10 ]. Ibid
[ 11 ]. Sawyer, Nicole (n.d). Feminist Outlooks at Disney Princess‘s, James Madison University
[ 12 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 13 ]. Ibid
[ 14 ]. Coca, Andreea. "A Reflection on the Development of Gender Construction in ‘classic’ Disney Films." Amsterdam Social Science 3.1 (2009). Print.
[ 15 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 16 ]. Ibid
[ 17 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 18 ]. Cinderella. Dir. Kenneth Brangh. Prod. Simon Kinberg and David Barron. Perf. Lily James, Cate Blandchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard and Holliday Grainger. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015. Film.
[ 19 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 20 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 21 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 22 ]. Ibid
[ 23 ]. Cinderella. Dir. Kenneth Brangh. Prod. Simon Kinberg and David Barron. Perf. Lily James, Cate Blandchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard and Holliday Grainger. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015. Film.
[ 24 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 25 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 26 ]. Cinderella. Dir. Kenneth Brangh. Prod. Simon Kinberg and David Barron. Perf. Lily James, Cate Blandchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard and Holliday Grainger. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015. Film.
[ 27 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 28 ]. Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
[ 29 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
[ 30 ]. Ibid
[ 31 ]. Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
[ 32 ]. Ibid
[ 33 ]. Coca, Andreea. "A Reflection on the Development of Gender Construction in ‘classic’ Disney Films." Amsterdam Social Science 3.1 (2009). Print.
[ 34 ]. Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
[ 35 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
[ 36 ]. Ibid
[ 37 ]. Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
[ 38 ]. Ibid
[ 39 ]. Ibid
[ 40 ]. Ibid
[ 41 ]. Ibid
[ 42 ]. Maity, Nandini. "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IORS Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19.10 (2014): 28-31. Print.
[ 43 ]. Ibid
[ 44 ]. Coca, Andreea. "A Reflection on the Development of Gender Construction in ‘classic’ Disney Films." Amsterdam Social Science 3.1 (2009). Print.
[ 45 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
[ 46 ]. Beauty and the Beast: Bonus Features. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Perf. Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, and Richard White. Disney, 1991. DVD.
[ 47 ]. Disney's Cinderella. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. Perf. IIene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton and Rhoda Williams. Disney, 1950. Videocassette.
[ 48 ]. Coca, Andreea. "A Reflection on the Development of Gender Construction in ‘classic’ Disney Films." Amsterdam Social Science 3.1 (2009). Print.
[ 49 ]. Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi. Buena Vista Distributions, 1959. DVD.
[ 50 ]. Ibid
[ 51 ]. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand, William Cottrell, and Wilfred Jackson. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. DVD.
[ 52 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
[ 53 ]. Ibid
[ 54 ]. Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Clyde Geronimi. Buena Vista Distributions, 1959. DVD.
[ 55 ]. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand, William Cottrell, and Wilfred Jackson. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. DVD.
[ 56 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
[ 57 ]. Ibid
[ 58 ]. Ibid
[ 59 ]. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand, William Cottrell, and Wilfred Jackson. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. DVD.
[ 60 ]. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-67. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.