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Alex Kissel
WRT-150 Tues. Thurs. 3-5
Essay #3
19 November, 2014
How Disney Changed Feminism
The foundation of the United States of America is, and always will be freedom and
equality for all. However, like in George Orwells Animal Farm, some people are more equal
than others. People have been fighting for their rights since the founding of our great nation,
and this fight is still happening today. The racial minorities are fighting against discrimination
and the homosexual community is fighting for their right to legal marriage. There are people
everywhere who are in a battle for their basic right to equality, but one group often overlooked is
women. Their fight started long ago with their right to vote, but today, they still fight for equal
treatment with men. There are countless individuals, groups, and corporations who support the
feminist movement. One such business is the beloved Disney Corporation. Disney is very well
known for their Princess movies, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. While these earlier
films did not support the equality of men and women, they have redefined the concept of
Princess to show that women can do anything a man can, and then some. To start, Disneys
original princesses fell into the stereotype of waiting for their knight in shining armor to rescue
them. They are shown as helpless and unable to support themselves. However, in the not so
distant past, Disney has made a dramatic shift in the general image of the princesses that
advocates for feminism. In addition, children learn are learning different and new concepts of
women through observational learning. Finally, there is a correlation between this change and
the recent rise in feminism that supports Disneys impact on children. Therefore, despite popular

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belief, the Disney Corporation currently supports the feminist movement, and has helped make a
positive impact on feminism.
To start, during its earlier years, Disney did not have this obvious support for the feminist
movement, however, despite popular belief, they have changed their classic princess to a more
positive role model. When Disney first began producing films centered on the famous princesses,
the company portrayed them with stereotypical traits and behaviors. For example, in the movie
Sleeping Beauty the main female role is portrayed as incredibly helpless. She awaits the arrival
of her prince to save her, and that is it. This early film obviously does not advocate for strong,
independent women. Another example is Tarzan in which Jane, the daughter of a British
explorer, relies on the protection of Tarzan to survive while lost in the jungle. Whether it is at the
hands of the antagonist, Clayton, or an assortment of various jungle life, whenever Jane is in
danger, Tarzan swoops in to save the day. Tarzan once again depicts a helpless, lead, female role
model who can only survive by hiding behind a male character. There is no questioning that this
only adds to the stereotype of stay at home women, and domestic house wives.
However, Disney has made a dramatic shift in how they depict female characters to make
them more independent and forces to be reckoned with. Starting in the 1990s, Disney began
creating movies with lead female characters that ended up being the rescuers rather than the
rescued. For example, in the movie Mulan a young girl, Mulan, takes the place of her father in
the military draft and fights in his stead. Mulan is defying what her culture and family deemed as
acceptable and dared to be great. By the end of the movie, she defeats the general of the Hun
army and saves china. This is a very outstanding moment that sticks in the minds of children.
They see that they do not have to abide by the norms set by society to be complacent and
domestic laborers. Through Mulan they can see that they can be anything that they want, even

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something that is typically male dominant. Furthermore, one of Disneys most recent movies,
Frozen breaks away from their typical theme of finding true love. At the very beginning of the
movie, the main character, Elsa, immediately is swept up in romantic relationships. However, as
the story progresses, she comes to realize that her relationship with her sister is more important.
Instead of letting the men in her life force her to focus on their relationship, Elsa makes her own
choice. She realizes what is most important in her life, and rather than being shot down by the
male characters, sticks to her decision. She knows that no one can control what she does except
herself. Through her actions, she is displaying a theme of independence and strength similar to
that promoted by the feminist movement. This thought of not being trapped by the expectations
of gender stereotypes is passed to a new generation through a simple kids movie. Therefore,
although Disney did not always spread feminist concepts, they have totally reimagined the
concept of princess from helpless, to self-sufficient.
Addition, the kids to young adults who watched Disney movies in the 90s were learning
new behaviors through observational learning. As the name suggests, observational learning is
simply learning by observing the behavior of other people or models (Seigleman, Rider). In
this process, a persons behavior experiences a relatively permanent change in behavior by
watching how others act in certain situations. For example, famous psychologist Albert Bandura
conducted an experiment to prove the theory of observational learning. He placed children in a
room where they could observe an adult, or model, interact with a Bobo Doll. He would then
let the children interact with the doll, and he found that these kids imitated the actions of the
adults almost identically. When the children watched the models be aggressive or violent to the
doll, they responded in the same way. The same was true for more passive and positive actions
on the doll (Seigleman, Rider). This means that these children are very likely to pick up beliefs

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and behaviors from what they see. Therefore, it means that the children who watch Disney
movies are very likely to adopt beliefs displayed and actions displayed in them.
Finally, there is an obvious correlation between feminism and Disneys shift in how they
depict women. As the years have progressed, there has been a very recent rise in womens
involvement in feminism. In 1996, a survey was conducted to determine how women felt about
the importance of womens rights. The results of the survey showed that 71% of women between
the ages of 18 and 40 believed that the womens rights movement was important. On the other
hand, in the 60 years and older age group, only 59% of women believed in the importance of the
movement (Cooperstock). This clearly shows that there was an increase in feminism. Older
women did not believe that the fight for their rights was not as important as the new, upcoming
generations. This means that as these younger women mature, they are going to raise families
that share their views. This in turn, will cause an influx of people who identify themselves as
feminists. Furthermore, in 1996 only a total of 28.6% of women personally identified as
feminists (Cooperstock). 16 years later in 2012 another survey was conducted of women voters
that showed that a total of 55% of women Identified as a feminist ("The Feminist Factor). This
means that as the children who were born post-1990 were coming of age, there was an obvious
increase in voters who identified as feminists.
There are many possible explanations as to the cause of this dramatic increase in the civil
right movement, but one that is often forgotten is the beloved Disney Corporation. Disney first
developed animated movies featuring lead female characters in 1937 with Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs ("Disney Princess Movies."). However, it was not until 1989 that they began to
use characters who began to break social norms and expectations with The Little Mermaid
("Disney Princess Movies."). This trend remained constant with Disney releasing four more

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movies that had defiant female main characters ("Disney Princess Movies."). This correlates with
the relative time at which this new wave of feminism occurred. As previously stated, there
prevalent beginnings of a new pulse of feminism with women between the ages of 18 and 40;
those most likely to watch Disney movies, or have children who watched them. Thusly, there is a
very clear correlation between the wave of new feminists in 1996 and the beginning of Disneys
novel portrayal of womens roles in movies.
In conclusion, without a doubt, Disney has positively affected the feminist community
and helped spark a new wave of feminism. Despite their original characterization of women, they
have created a different interpretation of what it means to be a woman. These new age princesses
then help teach younger generations equality and acceptance through observational learning. As
a result, there is a clear correlation between the change in how women are represented in Disney
films and the recent increase in feminism. Disney is fighting for the right for everyone,
regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity to be equal. They are standing up for what they believe is
right to make America the true land of equal opportunity.

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Works Cited
Cooperstock, Alexandra. The F-word. Thesis. University of Michigan, 2010. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.
"Disney Princess." Disney Princess. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
"Disney Princess Movies." : Princess Movies : List of Disney Princess Films. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Dec. 2014.
"The Feminist Factor: More than Half of 2012 Women Voters Identify As Feminists." Ms
Magazine Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.
Sigelman, Carol K., and Elizabeth A. Rider. Life-span Human Development. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.