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Many children, especially young girls, love
Disney movies and have been encouraged through marketing programs to identify
with the various characters so they will purchase the products that are
associated with that Disney princesses line (Do Rozario, 2004). The Disney
Princesses line has been identified in past research as being a powerful
influence on a new “girlhood” that is primarily defined by gender and the
consumption of messaging and products that support gendered behaviors (England,
Descartes, & Collier-Meek 2011; Giroux, 1997; Lacroix, 2004; McRobbie,
2008; Orenstein, 2006). Therefore, it is important to understand how
gender-roles have been and are currently being portrayed in the Disney films.
This study replicated and expanded on the research conducted England and
colleagues (2011) that analyzed the gender role portrayals of Disney princess
movies from 1937-2009 (N=9). The current study expanded the breadth of gendered
behaviors that were coded and analyzed the whole series of Disney Princess movies,
including spinoffs and sequels (N = 21). Results revealed that princes and
princesses differed in their portrayal of gendered characteristics, and that
egalitarian gender roles were more common in more recent films, but didn’t
follow a linear pattern.