The Princess Effect Analysis

“I find the question of whether gender differences are biologically determined or socially constructed to be deeply disturbing.” This quote, from Carol Gilligan, an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist makes an interesting inquiry in her quote. In my judgement, gender will continue to have a socially constructed role in our culture, while sex has remained biologically determined and perpetrated because social roles in our culture have evolved greatly over the past decades. These roles are neither positive nor negative, but simply an incorrect generalization of the male and female attributes. Especially in films, gender stereotypes have become more predominant as it becomes the norm in our culture. To illustrate, I analyzed the film …show more content…
She also wears a pendant around her neck, which gives her a more simplistic look. Even though her style has stayed as a popular growing trend in our society, the film portrays her look as grungy and unattractive. So, Bianca reaches out to her male friend Wesley for advice on what a man wants to see in a woman. He then becomes brutally honest and tells her “she dresses like Wreck-It Ralph and wears the wrong size bra giving her a “uniboob.” Sarah Kendzior states in her essay, “The Princess Effect,” “Women are not allowed to be ugly people… (205). Kendzior’s quote applies to the film because even Bianca realizes that women must remain oversexualized in order to look attractive. As women become more attractive they receive more attention, but then women who tend to look unfavorable don’t get any attention. This perception of beauty has continued to appear in magazines, films, and in Hollywood because of typical gender stereotypes for …show more content…
Actors can influence human behavior positively or negatively. In this film, Bianca instead took a personal stand later on and went against the hypocritical stereotypes of her peers and against typical roles actors play in films. A.O. Scott, in “The Death of Adulthood in American Culture,” says the symbolic people of our time are actors who perform and perpetuate separate anthropomorphic form to our stereotyping (243). Even though Scott goes on to illustrate how all actors influence stereotyping, I was pleased this film proved the opposite of what Scott believes. This film initially portrays a young women being influenced by gender stereotypes, but eventually discovers that she would rather find her self-worth and learn to love herself no matter her flaws. Bianca creates a positive image for her audience by not conforming to hypocritical gender stereotypes. This film will hopefully start a trend and more actors will take on this role and go against typical gender