Judith Butler's Queer Theory

Earliest Disney Princesses

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If we divide Disney's portrayal of women into distinct eras, we find the earliest Disney Princess films do reinforce traditional gender norms compared to the latest films which challenge these norms. First came the Domestic Era, when female characters like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella were portrayed as homemakers, often cleaning and in need of rescue by a man. Researchers found that The Little Mermaid and the five subsequent films also show that the female characters start to speak less. Despite being the title characters, women speak just 32% of the time in The Little Mermaid, while they have just 24% of lines in Pocahontas and 23% in Mulan. In Aladdin, female characters have just 10% of the dialogue. Princes or male characters in these films were found to be twice as masculine as the female characters were. Their most common traits being physically strong, assertive, and athletic which are all typical masculine characteristics. The princesses or female characters were found to have feminine traits such as being affectionate, troublesome, and assertive. These gender roles are typically telling girls that they can't be a hero and they need a boy to help them.

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Latest Disney Princesses

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Newer Disney princess movies such as Pocahontas, Mulan, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Brave are actually female characters who show more masculine characteristics rather than female characteristics. Mulan was more masculine and was actually in the army with all men trying to prove herself as strong and a worthy soldier. The only problem was that she had to hide the fact she was a woman by pretending to be a man. It wasn't until the end that the men realized that women could be beneficial to them and could really help. Merida from Brave was also one strong, independent princess. She wanted to be out in the Wilderness and she refused to marry a boy who she doesn't like, she challenged all stereotypes of a typical princess - which is probably why she's my favourite. Tangled is also a movie that challenges gender roles since Rapunzel didn't really need Flynn to save her. In fact, she had to save him a couple of times throughout the movie. The Princess and the frog not only broke gender norms but was the first Disney Princess film that featured African-Americans. Tiana, a waitress and budding chef who dreams of owning a restaurant in hopes to make her father's dream come true. Disney obviously tried to create something original and break away from the certain white "pink princess" and perfect "prince charming" cliches.