Children gain an understanding of the concept of sex and gender from a very young age, as early as eighteen months. It is a process learned through the cognitive recognition of the permanence of the character of boy or girl – called gender concept. These learned concepts can influence the sexist behaviors we exhibit throughout our development. The 21st century sees us challenging all stereotypes as we strive to become a more tolerant and inclusive society. This essay explores some of the messages about gender roles presented to children through the Disney Princess franchise. By examining the feminine values ​​represented by Disney, this essay will review the discourse on gender socialization in relation to the Disney Princess brand. These feminine values ​​relate to how Disney portrays the feminine qualities of their princesses and this essay will reveal some of the hidden messages that are prevalent in some Disney films. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essay The genre was first touted by sociologists West and Zimmerman (1987) as a "success story"; the product of everyday social practices and behaviors that code us as male or female. Sociologists would say that gender is not a trait but something that is accomplished or “done,” hence the term “doing gender.” They believe that gender is something we learn from our environment from a young age. Psychologist Vivien Burr (1998) argued that “socialization refers to the processes by which people come to engage in behaviors deemed appropriate in their culture.” Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, proved in a study that different cultures around the world are known to have divisions based on a person's gender. In 1935, Mead conducted research demonstrating that three very different cultures each had a different view of the role of women. In Western culture, men and women often have personality traits that set them apart. Masculinity is equated with aggression and femininity is associated with a caring and caring personality. To differentiate between gender and sex, researchers call them “gender roles.” Sex concerns the biological characteristics of a man or woman and gender concerns social roles and behaviors. It is claimed that we are taught to be masculine or feminine. Once a child's biological makeup is revealed, it is believed that there are preconceived ideas about how they should behave socially. This shows how children are born sexed but learn gender. While Bandura's (1999) theory agreed with the concept that gender is something we learn through social processes, Kohlberg would argue the opposite. Kohlberg believed in the constancy of the sexes; that once children are aware of their own gender identity, they recognize that superficial characteristics will not change their sex. Kohlberg defined constancy as “…the awareness that sex is a permanent attribute linked to underlying biological properties and does not depend on superficial characteristics such as hair length…”. According to Kohlberg's theory, children develop an understanding of gender in three stages. Gender labeling, stability and consistency. Gender labeling involves recognizing, from an early age, that a child is a boy or a girl based on their outward appearance. Gender stability is the recognition that gender isconstant over time but is not consistent in all situations. Finally, we consider that there is gender coherence when children understand that gender is constant over time and in situations. Sandra Bem (1981) also introduced a theory to attempt to explain how individuals become gendered in society. Through testing, Bem argued that once a person has constructed a gender schema through past experiences, they are more likely to rely on that already existing gender stereotype, thereby enforcing what that no one learned in childhood. Information becomes almost encoded in long-term memory through repetition, organization and elaboration. An example of repetition would be a child repeatedly verbalizing information such as song lyrics from Disney movies. Organizing is the grouping of information in our minds, and elaboration is the cognitive process that involves expanding or adding material to make it more memorable. An example of this when it comes to Disney princesses is how princesses act in movies. By repeatedly watching the same film or even Disney princess films on the same theme, this information will become anchored in their long-term memory. In popular culture, social constructions of gender and femininity are often emphasized. It is mainly women who are subject to social constraints linked to their gender. Mass media play a vital role in the images they convey of women and their gender roles. They systematically expose girls to a one-dimensional image of femininity. This problem is prevalent when watching Disney Princess media. The eleven official Disney princesses, including Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine from Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana from The Princess and the Princess frog, Rapunzel from Tangled, and Merida from Brave, represent much more than just animated film characters. They represent the ideals of childhood and are cultural icons for many. The Disney franchise covers a wide range of products such as toys, makeup, clothing, household items, as well as their animated films. Disney products themselves will include themes that may be biased and sometimes unhealthy. Before the advent of cinema and animation, parents engaged their children through storytelling and reading. Very often these are legends and fairy tales. Disney took this concept and built its empire on telling stories through another medium, where heroes and heroines come to life in glorious animated technicolor. Some would say that at the age of three to five, "the target market age is a time when the line between reality and fantasy is blurred." The main theme of Disney Princess traits always seems to be that of an "innocent, selfless ingenue whose happy ending depends on her one true love." This reinforces the stereotype that women have a rigid set of defined roles of femininity. Disney targets young girls with its wide range of toys, clothing and household items. Their collection of more than 40,000 princess products earned Disney more than $2.64 billion in 2015, despite undisguised gender stereotypes. The popularity of media about Disney princesses is raising concerns about how the gender stereotypes they depict will affect young children's perceptions. According to Wohlwend (2012), young girls see Disney princesses as more than just a fictional character; they idolize the characters andconsidered role models, Disney amplifies the discourse on femininity by focusing on the beauty of princesses and canceling out any variation in personality or power to control their own destiny. Although Disney has tried in recent years to refrain from traditional gender roles, for example the heroine Merida from Brave, the majority of Disney princesses are still portrayed as passive or weak. A study of Disney films between 1937 and 1995, looking at 16 of the most beloved princesses, found that women were more likely than men to do housework. In contrast, men were six times more likely to be portrayed as authoritative figures. An analysis of Disney princesses described gender inequality by revealing that on average, there were about nine more male characters than female characters, and that female characters spoke 20% less than male characters. It's also a worrying statistic to discover that Tiana from The Princess and the Frog is the only Disney princess who was employed as something other than a princess, as she owns her own restaurant at the end of the film. Despite recent pleas to show that more heroine characters are independent, these results reveal that male characters are still dominant. Baker-Sperrry (2007) conducted a study which indicated that girls are aware of the gender stereotypes portrayed by Disney. The research found that children who were interested in literature about a Disney princess were able to recognize gender stereotypes and reinforce them when discussing the story. This could suggest that girls accept these traditional gender stereotypes and the feminized image of Disney princesses. Holden (2003) draws attention to an interesting finding regarding the design of boys' and girls' clothing. Holden explains how the design of girls' clothing is "traditionally designed to constrain women." Girls' clothes are designed to "impress", while boys' clothes are designed for action. The Disney Princess line follows the same theme as girls' clothing lines include ball gowns, slippers, and tiaras that don't prepare girls for adventure. Although there is little evidence that playing with a princess has any links to girls' aspirations or self-esteem, there is evidence to suggest that exposure to certain gender stereotypes may have a negative impact on the mental health of girls and young women. This view was supported by Lamb and Brown (2006), who believed that feeling pressured to conform to standards that are unrealistic would undoubtedly have detrimental consequences for young girls' mental health. A worrying survey of 1,059 girls found that many girls have still accepted and internalized traditional gender stereotypes, even in the 21st century. Believing these traditional stereotypes can cause problems such as anxiety, as girls may feel pressured to look and act a certain way, such as to be beautiful and thin, just like Disney princesses. A study directly linked to the media of Disney princesses showed three- and four-year-old child characters, who were asked to choose from six photos of women dressed as princesses, identifying the thinner adult characters as the "real" ones. » princesses. The perception of being equally calm and submissive also adds weight to the argument, revealed by one study, that girls who accept sexist behavioral characteristics, such as those of Disney,would consider more feminine and therefore more likely to lapse into gendered behavior. depression later in life. A more recent study examined how powerful and consistent messages regarding gender norms and roles were delivered across the eleven Disney Princesses. Thirty-one girls aged three to five years were included. Four themes were identified by observing children playing princess. These emphasized clothing, beauty, the exclusion of boys and body movement. The results of this study suggest that educators and parents should pay attention to the images that the media may convey about gender and think about the effects they might have on their children. The study suggests they may want to reconsider the amount of media they provide to children. The APA Task Force (2007) on the Sexualization of Girls was formed in response to public concerns. He has a long history of reporting on issues involving children and media content. Studies have shown that women, more often than men, are portrayed in a sexual manner. Additionally, the media seemed to place great emphasis on the beauty standards portrayed. The APA concluded that those with high exposure to mainstream media place physical attractiveness and physical appearance at the core of their values. The APA was able to link this mass media exposure and skewed views of female beauty to the symptoms of eating disorders. There is concern that the target market for these products and Disney media are at an age where the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. Although between the ages of three and ten children become more aware and able to distinguish between what is real and what is fantasy on television, some children still believe that everything they see on television is real. , as shown by research by Howard (1998) which suggests that children at the age of four still believed that a fictional character such as Bugs Bunny was real. These studies show that there are links between Disney princess media and sexist behavior. However, due to small sample sizes, it is difficult to generalize the results with certainty. the gender roles they observe help them feel powerful, happy and desirable. Although with maturation a person's ideas about gender may change, the early years are the most important years for children's development, as they begin to understand themselves and the world around them. surrounded. Ramsey (1998) explains that this understanding of gender differentiation and dominant gender stereotypes concerns children who are beginning to construct their gender. Children are limited to certain types of clothing, toys, games, and friends because of the expectation of certain sexist behaviors. Compared to other types of media models, which some parents view as highly sexualized, Orenstein (2011) noted that parents generally like Disney princesses. and consider them “safe”. Others, such as Ehrenreich (2007), would argue about the feeling of security of the Disney Princess brand and worry about the potential negative impacts it could have on young girls growing up. Certain key themes seem to recur in the Disney Princess films. , where the princesses' goals and aspirations are not those of career and independence, but those of domestic life and the idea of ​​romance with their one true love. One of the first films released by Disney, and still a family favorite today, is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Snow White is described as the “perfect housewife” (Haynes, 2010) who cooks, cleans, and cares for the seven hard-working male dwarfs every day. Zipes discusses the recurring domestication of Disney princesses and describes them as "helpless ornaments in need of protection, and when it comes to the action of the film, they are omitted." Similar themes continue in the film Beauty and the Beast. Belle is depicted as intelligent at the beginning of the film when she is seen reading a book, but when she chats with the baker about the book, she is ignored and seen as an outsider. This makes it seem like being intellectual is unnatural for women and builds on the stereotype that men are the intellectuals who go to work and women should stay home to take care of the house and children. Maoi (1998) explains how young women are seen as “happy, born housewives who remain in a state of suspended animation until a man gives them life.” Eventually, in Beauty and the Beast, Belle abandons her adventure ambitions to settle down and get married like many Disney Princess characters. A Disney film released in 1995 challenged the typical Disney Princess story and portrayed a more ambitious and adventurous character, Pocahontas. Pocahontas was a woman who stood up for her beliefs and "she continues to stand out as one of the few female protagonists whose story does not end in marriage." Even in this movie, Pocahontas still follows her love until the end and leaves her home country for the man she loves. In addition to Disney princesses, it is important to discuss the roles and characteristics of villains in Disney media. In most Disney films, the villains normally possess the qualities that women believe are neither attractive nor desired by men. For example, in the movie The Little Mermaid, Ursula's physical appearance was a complete contrast to Ariel's. Ursula had a larger-than-life personality, was outspoken, and a much taller figure. Ursula is never desired by men when she is seen with an "ugly, overweight figure", but when she transforms into her petite figure, she manages to attract the attention of men and distract from her. 'Eric of Ariel. This sends yet another negative message to girls that women are not desirable by men unless they have a slim figure and good looks. Beauty and the Beast delivers an alarming message to children about how the Beast interacts with Belle. Belle constantly lives in fear of the man she supposedly loves, as Beast emotionally abuses her and locks her in his room. Belle is seen as responsible for controlling the Beast's anger in the film which drives home the message that women can stop abuse if they are "pretty and gentle enough". Much like Disney movies, television viewing as a whole could impact gender stereotypes in children because the media is responsible for these stereotypes. In the 21st century, most children have grown up with multiple televisions at home and hence television viewing is high among children. Neale (1973) and Davidson (2008) estimate that children born in the early 1970s, by the time they reach the age of eighteen, in addition to sleeping, will have spent more time watching television than at any time. other activity. Not only do television programs conform to stereotypical gender roles, but advertisements also contribute greatly to the way women and men are portrayed. Recent reports from the Advertising Standards Authority.”