Disney Princesses

Before this project, I had never really considered how Disney princesses were portrayed. I was always one of the little girls whose favorite Disney movies (or any movie for that matter) included a beautiful princess who was eventually rescued by her handsome prince. I was excited to look more closely at the Disney Princesses, and since I did not have time to watch all my favorite movies I headed straight to the “Official Disney Princess Website.” I was immediately greeted with a song that went right along with the Disney princess theme, the lyrics were something about how romance is so true and love will save the day. I then went to each of the Princess’ world to observe them more closely. Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle all are modestly dressed in a similar fashion. They wear dresses that fall to their toes and show their shoulders at most. Their articles of clothing are older fashioned, which coincide with their stories of living in castles and waiting for their princes. Mulan, Jasmine, Little Mermaid, and Pocahontas are all different as they have various backgrounds. Mulan dresses in armor, as a man, and goes off to fight in the war. Otherwise her outfit follows traditional styles for women at that time. Pocahontas is wearing a lower cut dress with only one shoulder strap; however, her dress also seems to be following the stereotypical fashion for women at that time and place. Jasmine and Little Mermaid (Ariel) are definitely more revealing in their clothing. Ariel is showing most of the upper half of her body through her typical mermaid outfit. Jasmine seems to be following the same trend with her short top that is very similar to Ariel’s bikini, but with the addition of sleeves on the side of her arms. The last few Disney Princesses I mentioned also follow different stories than the typical fairy tale romance. They seem to explore their independence more and want to get out and explore the world. However, they are all the same in that eventually, they win the handsome prince and “live happily ever after.”