The Negative Stereotypes Of Disney Princesses

Sweep and dust and afterward, clean some more. As Snow White would say, “Just whistle while you work… and as you sweep the room imagine that the broom is someone that you love.” This well-known song mirrors one of the many concepts involved in the negative stereotype associated with Disney princesses, distinctly outlined by Rachael Johnson, a writer for the Education Specialist: “Princesshood is bound with being weak, passive, subservient to males, dutiful, and incapable of living an independent life.” Disney princesses are said to be weak because of their tendency to be submissive to male figures as they wait to be saved by these men. For example, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are both put into death-like slumbers, forced to wait for their …show more content…
These women have proven themselves as being positive role models through their good deeds for others. But more specifically a focus will be drawn upon the good deeds princesses have done for the men in which they have been accused of constantly yielding to. Many examples show princesses saving men from life-threatening situations. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel reverses gender roles and saves her prince, Eric from drowning. Also, at the end of Tangled, Rapunzel cuts her hair in order to save Flynn (her lover) from dying. Her hair has magical powers in which she was willing to give away to preserve the well-being of another person (Johnson). Furthermore, the princess’ good deeds for men extend beyond their love life and branch out to their fathers. This can be seen when Belle from Beauty and the Beast sacrifices herself and becomes imprisoned to save her father from being captured by the Beast. To take sacrificing even a step further, Mulan disguises herself as a man so that she can serve in the army. She did this so that she could spare the safety of her ill father who would have had to serve if no other “man” in the family could (Lueke). Instead of getting saved by their princes, these examples highlight times in which the princesses saved their men. These deeds were not small, nor painless. The princesses each sacrificed differently to save these men from death. Rapunzel and Mulan sacrificed elements of beauty, whereas Ariel, Belle, and even Mulan put their lives at risk. By choosing to help others, they put themselves into situations that could have resulted in lethal consequences, which to many people is considered to be a valiant