Help with disney research paper!!! :)

[Kaitlyn27]

Hi Everyone,
I am a graduate student writing a research paper regarding Disney. I need your help!! For the past three months I have been researching and reading journal articles the smash Disney Princesses for teaching young girls about sexuality, ideal femininity and the importance of the female worth. Critics and worried parents criticize Disney for imposing these ideas onto their young daughters. HOWEVER, I believe that Disney is not the one to point fingers at, it's modern society, with the fashion industry, beauty industry, media and advertisements, taking away our young daughters childhood and fantasy. I believe that Disney is a positive and should be preserved, not criticized, society is turning young girls into adults at a young age. Let kids be kids, and let girls dress up like their favorite princess.

What are your thoughts regarding media/modern hyper-sexualized society affecting young girls, rather then Disney per say?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

 

[NaLisa]

Hi Everyone,
I am a graduate student writing a research paper regarding Disney. I need your help!! For the past three months I have been researching and reading journal articles the smash Disney Princesses for teaching young girls about sexuality, ideal femininity and the importance of the female worth. Critics and worried parents criticize Disney for imposing these ideas onto their young daughters. HOWEVER, I believe that Disney is not the one to point fingers at, it's modern society, with the fashion industry, beauty industry, media and advertisements, taking away our young daughters childhood and fantasy. I believe that Disney is a positive and should be preserved, not criticized, society is turning young girls into adults at a young age. Let kids be kids, and let girls dress up like their favorite princess.

What are your thoughts regarding media/modern hyper-sexualized society affecting young girls, rather then Disney per say?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?

 

[Uncle Remus]

Hi Everyone,
I am a graduate student writing a research paper regarding Disney. I need your help!! For the past three months I have been researching and reading journal articles the smash Disney Princesses for teaching young girls about sexuality, ideal femininity and the importance of the female worth. Critics and worried parents criticize Disney for imposing these ideas onto their young daughters. HOWEVER, I believe that Disney is not the one to point fingers at, it's modern society, with the fashion industry, beauty industry, media and advertisements, taking away our young daughters childhood and fantasy. I believe that Disney is a positive and should be preserved, not criticized, society is turning young girls into adults at a young age. Let kids be kids, and let girls dress up like their favorite princess.

What are your thoughts regarding media/modern hyper-sexualized society affecting young girls, rather then Disney per say?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

Do you favor young girls emulatin' Britney Spears?

 

[Goofyluver]

It's our job as parents to use media messages (whether that be a Disney movie, a TV show, a news article, etc.) as teaching tools for our own moral messages that we would like to instill in our children.

Every princess doesn't need to marry a prince. (some princesses marry princesses) Not every girl needs to be a size 2 princess. (princesses come in many sizes) Life isn't a fairytale. (unless you make it so yourself) And blah, blah, blah...

In the real world, parents need to use every opportunity to teach kids about the real world and send messages to their children accordingly. Conversations based on things we see in the media can teach many things more than hiding them from seeing anything we disagree with in the first place. Disney ain't the devil. Oftentimes, it's the parents.

 

[Magic Mom]

DIsney is media.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

It's our job as parents to use media messages (whether that be a Disney movie, a TV show, a news article, etc.) as teaching tools for our own moral messages that we would like to instill in our children.

It's our job as parents to teach our children to critically listen to media messages and find their own way in life in accordance with our family beliefs.

 

[castmember19]

The Disney princesses and heroines at least have good personalities and there's always a moral to the story. As for the media, the fashion industry, celebrities, and all that... They don't have anything good to offer a lot of the time. There are very few role models in the media... we have people like Kesha (singing about getting drunk 90 percent of the time), Lindsay Lohan (in and out of jail and rehab) and Miley Cyrus (well, she is 18 but...).

The classic Disney characters are at least smart (Belle) and hard-working (Tiana, Cinderella). I could go on but I'm on a time limit right now.

That being said, Disney may have gone a little downhill with the Disney channel over the years. The girls on the shows are snarky brats a lot of the time.

Sorry, that's all I can think of right now. I know it sounds like a jumble of thoughts, but I'm trying to pull myself away from the DIS and to work. No time to make it sound educated. Good luck!

 

[Acklander]

I don't think that Disney Princess' cause young girls to focus on femininity but instead that girls who focus on femininity are drawn to the princesses. When I was a child, I never would have been drawn to the princess life style as much preferred the super hero life style. It doesn't matter how many princesses you threw at me, it wasn't going to happen. Currently, I have a 6 year old niece who's ALWAYS been a girly, girl - from the second she was able to choose, she always chose the frilly, the pink, the princesses, the play make up, the tall shoes. I consider the princesses to be an outlet for all those who enjoy that kind of thing. Some girls just dabble in it and then retreat, but those who get sucked up into it, were heading that way anyways. It's in their nature, and to deny a girly girl the princess life would be just as damaging as forcing the princess life on a tom-boy. How about letting kids just enjoy what they enjoy and accept them for who they are.

 

[Ceila]

To be honest, I think that for graduate level work your professor would prefer you to find journal articles supporting your viewpoint, not anonymous Disney-loving posters on the internet. I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you want legitimate opinions, you should set up interviews or seek out written statements from people you can identify. I would imagine your university can assist you with that. Since people can make up anything they want on here, there really isn't any credibility of sources. You might as well use Wikipedia.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I have never, ever equated Disney princesses with sexuality. Ever.

 

[Uncle Remus]

To be honest, I think that for graduate level work your professor would prefer you to find journal articles supporting your viewpoint, not anonymous Disney-loving posters on the internet. I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you want legitimate opinions, you should set up interviews or seek out written statements from people you can identify. I would imagine your university can assist you with that. Since people can make up anything they want on here, there really isn't any credibility of sources. You might as well use Wikipedia.

To be honest, I didn't really believe this:

Hi Everyone,
I am a graduate student writing a research paper regarding Disney. I need your help!! For the past three months I have been researching and reading journal articles the smash Disney Princesses for teaching young girls about sexuality, ideal femininity and the importance of the female worth. Critics and worried parents criticize Disney for imposing these ideas onto their young daughters. HOWEVER, I believe that Disney is not the one to point fingers at, it's modern society, with the fashion industry, beauty industry, media and advertisements, taking away our young daughters childhood and fantasy. I believe that Disney is a positive and should be preserved, not criticized, society is turning young girls into adults at a young age. Let kids be kids, and let girls dress up like their favorite princess.

What are your thoughts regarding media/modern hyper-sexualized society affecting young girls, rather then Disney per say?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

 

[Ceila]

To be honest, I didn't really believe this:

True, true. I think it's either a troll or a student wanting others to write her paper for her.

 

[Uncle Remus]

True, true. I think it's either a troll or a student wanting others to write her paper for her.

That "paper" has been written way too many times already.

 

[Swan4Me]

Hi Everyone,
I am a graduate student writing a research paper regarding Disney.!

Sure you are.
Exactly what is the Master's degree you are studying?

 

[Buckalew11]

I don't think that Disney Princess' cause young girls to focus on femininity but instead that girls who focus on femininity are drawn to the princesses. When I was a child, I never would have been drawn to the princess life style as much preferred the super hero life style. It doesn't matter how many princesses you threw at me, it wasn't going to happen. Currently, I have a 6 year old niece who's ALWAYS been a girly, girl - from the second she was able to choose, she always chose the frilly, the pink, the princesses, the play make up, the tall shoes. I consider the princesses to be an outlet for all those who enjoy that kind of thing. Some girls just dabble in it and then retreat, but those who get sucked up into it, were heading that way anyways. It's in their nature, and to deny a girly girl the princess life would be just as damaging as forcing the princess life on a tom-boy. How about letting kids just enjoy what they enjoy and accept them for who they are.

I agree with you. I have a DD who has been going to WDW since she was 6. She never enjoyed the princess part of Disney and she never chose to do a princess character meal either. I just think some girls are drawn to it and some aren't.

I will say I saw a 20/20 (or something) on this topic several years back. They asked little girls what was "sexy" and of course, the little girls really did not understand the word "sexy" but many said you could be sexy if you wore your shirts showing your shoulders like all the Disney princesses. That was what "sexy" was to them.

 

[emma'smom]

If you want a good, valid source about this topic, read "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" by Peggy Orenstein. She is a very-well respected ethnographer who has written a number of scholarly books about adolescent female identity. Her latest book explores gender identity in the toddler to tween set.

My personal take:

If watching a few princess movies can skew my daughter's developing gender identity, then I'm not doing a very good job as a parent role model.

 

[CurlyGirl]

The classic Disney characters are at least smart (Belle) and hard-working (Tiana, Cinderella). I could go on but I'm on a time limit right now.

Cinderella was hard working? Didn't she make all the forest creatures do her work!?

 

[Uncle Remus]

Cinderella was hard working? Didn't she make all the forest creatures do her work!?

I thought that was Snow White 'n she made 'em whistle too.

 

[brdlyleon]

This is actually really interesting because I took a disney class this last semester and based my final research paper on the disney films and how sometimes they are judged to harshly based on the content of what others think is portrayed in them. I personally believe that the people who based their reviews on the films and how the Princesses sexuality is the one to blame for modern day girls is completly crazy. Disney films have been relevant since the 40s, does that mean that little girls have been dressing the way they do because if disney? No, its just modern day society. Also some of the things that may be portrayed as scandolous in the films is only a fabric of the imagination of the people viewing them, who may be in fact just looking for something to blame. Its a very interesting topic and I wish I could had written more on my own paper but I literally had less than 12 hours to write and I was just exhausted. Best of luck!

 

[diznygirl]

Cinderella was hard working? Didn't she make all the forest creatures do her work!?

I thought that was Snow White 'n she made 'em whistle too.

Yes, that was Snow White.

Cinderella did work hard. And she wasn't a big complainer about it either. I do use the princesses as a role model for my daughter, otherwise she would grow up thinking belching and farting in public was okay!