Gender Role Portrayal in Disney Princess Films
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Abstract
The renowned Disney Princess film franchise is currently made up of 12 films. The depiction of gender roles of male and female characters in the film was analyzed while emphasizing their climatic outcomes and behavioral traits throughout the movie. The results propose that the male and female characters are different in the mannerism of portraying traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine traits. Content coding was used to show that the films showed some gender stereotyping elements, including the popular movies, Brave and Moana. The findings suggest that males and females’ roles have changed over the years, although the male characters exhibit androgyny all over and are not receptive to portraying gender roles.
Introduction
The Walt Disney Company introduced its princess line early in 2001 as a marketing and advertising strategy befitting young girls (England et al., 20). Although this comes after the company released its first Disney Princess movie in 1837 (Chang, 1937), the advertising campaign was very robust that it reinvented the prominence of the Disney Princess line since then (England et al., 20). The marketing campaign aims to attract larger audiences of girls to encourage them to identify with the characters personally so that they buy the products associated with the characters in question (Do Rozario, 2004). The Disney Princess franchise currently contributes to about 26,000 different products to the Walt Disney Company’s overall profit haul. Since its inception, the franchise’s product sales increased from $300 million to three billion dollars within five years. Today, the franchise has contributed to four billion dollars in sales since 2009 (Setoodeh and Yabroff, 2007). The company’s princess spectacle is seen as a powerful inspiration for product consumerism and children media, propelling the introduction of the girlhood culture described by gender and consumption of related product and messages (McRobbie, 2008). Although the films follow an American trend with the American phenomenon depicted in every movie, the company enjoys a significant international presence with fans worldwide, contributing to the company’s marketing efforts. Therefore, the Disney Princess line and its portrayal of gender roles bear a significant impact on children’s media (Hubka et al., 2009).
The current study focuses on the 12 Disney princess films with three categories in mind; earlier films, later films, and contemporary films. The company released its first batch of Disney Princess films between 1937 and 1959 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), launching Cinderella’s franchise in 1950 and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Later films were produced between 1989 and 1998. These are The Little Mermaid in 1989, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, Aladdin in 1992, Pocahontas in 1995, and Mulan in 1998. Today, the company has released seven films to increase the Disney Princess franchise. These are The Princess and the Frog in 2009, Tangled (2012), Brave (2012), and Moana (2016). These three categories provide an option of exploring the Disney Princess line changes through the years.
Every Disney Princess film features a unique female protagonist who acts like a princess, and a male character acting as a love interest to the Princess (Buckingham, 1997). This study relies on a coded content analysis approach that examines the main characters’ mannerisms in gender portrayal to disclose the roles available in this film genre and analyze the change over the years. The term gender roles refer to the description of gender through social functions and assumed behaviors. Gender roles can either be neutral or stereotypical. It can also be counter-stereotypical to traditional gender roles (Durkin, 1985). The main areas of interest in this study are traditional femininity and traditional masculinity that the characters exhibit by their actions and behaviors. Another feature of the films that contribute to this study’s point of interest is the climactic rescue scenes in which each character’s role will be examined. The research will focus on this area on action mannerism. That is, who was rescued and who performed the action of saving. Cultivation theory and the constructivist approach propose that these gender role portrayals in the Disney films can influence how children view gender, social behavior, and other norms in society (Martin et al., 2002).
Gender Role Portrayal in Children Media
Several educational studies have been carried out to address how children’s media portrays gender role portrayals in children’s media. A recent study by Thompson and Zerbinos (1995) looked into 41 children cartoons, analyzing a total of 175 episodes on a TV station in the U.S. The researchers concluded that these cartoons had gender stereotype messages. The research also reported that although gender stereotyping occurred for female and male characters, children cartoons produced after 1980 showed little gender-stereotyped behavior than those screened before 1980. Variability comparison for male and female characters was made, and an analysis of changes through the years was performed. The study also brought the foundation of coding rescuing behavior as a useful resource of gendered messages. The current research continues the scope of this research by integrating similar behavior codes for gendered traits (e.g., sensitivity, affectionate, assertive), broadening the interest variables exhibited by the main characters, and investigating the characteristics portrayed by each gender (Thompson and Zerbinos, 1995). The present study also provides an insight into the changes in gendered content through the years within a specific context, because the films (early and late) are both still appreciated by present day’s audiences.
Method
The present study relied on a coded content analysis methodology to identify and record every gendered behavior or trait, as shown in Disney Princess films. A similar approach has been validated as useful in previous studies (Towbin et al. 2003). Coded content analysis allows a researcher to collect quantitative data on the behavioral types portrayed by the main male and female characters in the movies, the frequency of these behaviors, and how they are connected to the gender of the character. Table 1 below illustrates every film that lists each film examined, the year of release, and the number of codes within every film.
| Princess | Prince | ||||||
| Movie | Release | Masculine | Feminine | Total | Masculine | Feminine | Total |
| Earlier movies | |||||||
| Snow White and the seven dwarves | 1937 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Cinderella | 1950 | 12 | 42 | 54 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Sleeping Beauty | 1959 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 38 |
| Later movies | |||||||
| The little mermaid | 1989 | 54 | 62 | 116 | 31 | 22 | 53 |
| Beauty and the beast | 1991 | 37 | 41 | 78 | 28 | 17 | 45 |
| Aladdin | 1992 | 28 | 19 | 47 | 38 | 54 | 92 |
| Pocahontas | 1995 | 48 | 24 | 72 | 51 | 34 | 85 |
| Mulan | 1998 | 42 | 59 | 71 | 20 | 12 | 32 |
| Current movies | |||||||
| The princess and the frog | 2009 | 40 | 58 | 98 | 32 | 70 | 102 |
| Tangled | 2012 | 35 | 14 | 49 | 51 | 24 | 75 |
| Brave | 2012 | 47 | 8 | 55 | 61 | 16 | 77 |
| Moana | 2016 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 51 | 13 | 64 |
| TOTAL | 366 | 389 | 725 | 390 | 293 | 684 | |
Table 1 Coded traits for the 12 Disney Princess movies
The Coding Technique
The codes and coding procedure were based on a previous study on gender in animated films (Thompson and Zerbinos, 1995; Do Rozario, 2004; Dundes, 2001; Klein et al., 2000; Leaper et al., 2002). Coding behavior was also determined by the themes that occurred during the opening stages of viewing the films. The first process involved establishing coding characteristics and coding guidelines. Later, the princess and the prince were coded separately. The following two trends were used in assigning codes: whenever a character was seen to possess a particular character, he or she was given a point with relation to the gender which possesses the said character; and whenever a role showed a trait in behavior associated with the opposite gender. A new practice was coded whenever the figure showed a new tradition. Also, the scene-setting determined the coding of the new behavior even when the previous scenes had already demonstrated the behavior. The films’ duration ranged between 1 hour and 16 minutes up to 1 hour and 53 minutes. The length of each movie was very long. Therefore, only essential scenes were selected for analysis. Famous scenes here refer to the scenes where a character was engaged in an action that represented the central theme of the film.
Operational Definitions of Coding Traits
Coding relied on gendered traits of the main characters, rescue scenes, and romantic involvement of princes and princesses. Do Rozario (2004) identified the coding characteristics of gendered characteristics as traditional masculinity or traditionally femininity. Traditional masculinity involves the princesses behaving or performing actions deemed for males while traditional femininity involves princes acting in a way depicted by females. Every trait was assessed for princes and princesses. The operational definition for the codes on content analysis is shown in table 2.
| Masculine traits | |
| Trait | Indication |
| Desire to explore | Want to investigate the unknown |
| Physical strength | Hitting something, wielding extraordinary strength in performing activities |
| Assertiveness | Positively stated, declaring, insistence on something |
| Unemotional | Indifference to pain or pressure, repression of emotion |
| Independence | Self-governing, autonomous, independent of authority, surviving alone |
| Braveness | Intrepid, daring, courageous |
| Curiosity | Concerned about well being of the princess, caring for the princess |
| Heroic | Purposed to help solve a problem, rescue a victim |
| Feminine traits | |
| Conscious of looks | Adjusting physical appearance |
| Submissiveness | Yielding to power or authority, obedience, humble |
| Weakness | Unable to accomplish anything needing strength, receptive of help |
| Emotional | Positive and negatively display feeling |
| Affectionate | Warmth for love, care, fond |
| Nurturing | Caring for something to prosper, growth, development |
| Fearful | The dread of something evil, an instance of emotion |
| Ashamed | Guilt or dishonor leading to shame |
| Victim | Purposed to be rescued by a hero |
Table 2 Operational definition for the codes for content analysis
Results
Coding of the films was done in the order of a film’s initial release, starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and concluding with Moana (2016).
Hypothesis 1
The first hypothesis revolves around female main characters in Disney films whose actions revolve around men and their actions. In the analysis of the 12 films, I predicted that a princess would depict masculine characteristics as they are the primary characters in the movie. However, the princes exhibited more masculine traits than the female. The following table shows the t-test results for the exhibition of masculinity traits in the 12 Disney Princess films.
| Masculinity | Femininity | |||
| Princess | Princes | Princess | Princes | |
| Mean | 30.5 | 32.5 | 32.4 | 24.4 |
| Variance | 308.0909 | 356.6364 | 364.8106 | 375.5379 |
| Observations | 12 | |||
| Pearson Correlation | 0.53233 | 0.164293 | ||
| Hypothesized Mean Difference | 0 | |||
| df | 11 | |||
| t Stat | -0.39235 | 1.114117 | ||
| P(T<=t) one-tail | 0.351149 | 0.14449 | ||
| t Critical one-tail | 1.795885 | |||
| P(T<=t) two-tail | 0.702298 | 0.28898 | ||
| t Critical two-tail | 2.200985 | |||
Table 3 t-Test: Paired two sample for means of masculinity and femininity traits
The table shows that male characters illustrated many characteristics associated with their gender with a mean or 32.5, while females illustrated fewer masculine features with a mean of 30.5. The mean for femininity traits for the princesses was 32.4 while that of princes was 24.4. Princess displayed 389 traditional femininity traits and 366 traditional masculinity traits, while the princes displayed 390 masculinity traits and 293 traditional femininity traits. From these figures, the most common feature that could define the characters was analyzed in Table 2. The five elements that could explain the princesses were the tendency to be ashamed, tending to physical appearance, emotional, weakness, and falling victim. These traits are all traditionally feminine, while the princes exhibited historically masculine characteristics. The princes were defined as strong, heroic, brave, independent, and curious. However, both characters exhibited some behavior associated with the opposite gender, showing Disney’s use of gendered characteristics.
Hypothesis 2
The second hypothesis focused on the females’ weakness when they get in trouble in which the male character has to provide a solution. This hypothesis is presented in the films during climatic rescue scenes. The princess occasionally becomes victims with the princes acting as heroes who come and save them. In the movie, the female characters were rescued 23 times while they performed only 19 rescues. The characteristics who performed the rescues were exhibited feminine traits in the frequency of their savings, i.e., they made 19 rescues and were rescued 19 times. Although the princes illustrated few feminine characteristics, they still performed a higher number of rescues and being saved, implying that they contributed to more action in the film despite their infrequent involvement. Male characters also performed the climatic rescues of the movie except for Pocahontas, Mulan, Brave, and Moana. The female character was in a situation of power during the closing rescue scene. However, female rescues were only achieved with the help of a prince while the princes performed their rescues alone without any help.
Discussion
Concerning my hypothesis, the later Disney Princess films illustrated more gendered traits for both male and female characters. However, they did not employ traditional gender roles than the early movies. The current films, although showing many gendered attributes, do not depict any element of traditionality. i.e., the female characters are courageous, rebellious, and assertive to stand their ground in doing what their hearts tell them (Brave and Moana). This is in more excellent contrast with the princesses from the earlier movies who were tentative, fearful, and affectionate. First princesses were also described as pretty, reserved, obedient. When they displayed a masculine trait, the characteristic worked to communicate a gendered message. They were also submissive and could not defend themselves from those in authority. However, current movies have redefined this role with the princesses defending themselves from those in authority.
The princes in early movies also shown gendered traits. The prince is rarely shown in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, leaving very little detail to code. It was difficult to understand why the princess fell in love with him. In Sleeping Beauty, the prince is a picture of a traditional male, depicting masculinity elements like strength, braveness, and curiosity about the princess. However, the prince often won the love of the princess at the end of the film. The portrayal of romance contributes greatly to gendered messages in the film as it exposes a child to an idea that one can fall in love at first sight (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White), despite challenges (Princess and the Frog, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast), or both (Aladdin, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid). Despite the challenges involved, the princess rarely remained alone regardless of how clever and “rough” (Brave, Moana) she appeared to be. The two are romantically connected even when they are not together like in Moana. Romantic resolutions in the movies define the female characters as ideal feminine figures. They are beautiful, adorable, and affectionate. The princesses comply with the gendered system, which accorded them various awards many rewards through the resolution of the film, and the gendered messages help in reinforcing the appropriateness of traditional gender compliance.
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