Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Disney Princesses Deconstructed

The purpose of this blog was to deconstruct the 11 official Disney Princesses by examining their historical context and focus mainly on how each princess relates to the feminism movements. The Disney Princesses can be broken down into two different categories with the first group of princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora) deriving from a post World War culture and existing in a pre- Second Wave Feminism movement. The second group of princesses can be grouped into the post- Second Wave Feminism movement and even continue on the Third-Wave movement. After the Third Wave, the Disney Princess ideograph begins to break and Disney attempts to contextualize its princesses. With princesses like Pocahontas, Jasmine, and Tiana, I examine the successes and pitfalls of each attempt to represent women within different cultures.

With Disney being such a giant conglomerate, it is important to understanding the amount of influence that these cartoon women have on popular culture. By understanding the historical contexts in which these women were created, perhaps femininity may be viewed differently and can be created in a more progressive, positive light for admiring little girls...and boys.


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