As the popularity of Elsa and Anna from "Frozen" will attest, kids are always fascinated by Disney princesses. Animations with a Disney princess as the main character are usually seen as feel-good, family-friendly positive films.
However, a new study suggests that this might be hurting a preschooler's development as a Disney theme centering on the princess culture promotes certain stereotypes. In the long run, what do kids actually get from their Disney princess role models?
Disney Princesses' Influence In Girls Different Than In Boys
The study, "Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement With Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children," published in the journal Child Development, cites that female gender stereotypes in Disney princesses heavily influence a young girl's belief that life opportunities are different for women. From Disney princesses, little girls think that they can't possibly be expected to do certain things because of their gender, such as love math or tinker like engineers.
The study also cites how Disney princesses affects body image and perceptions because the animated characters are usually slim. These images are compounded in children early on, at ages 3 or 4. However, the influence of Disney media is different in young boys because the princess culture shows male characters as helpful to others.
Disney princesses: Good for boys, bad for girls: https://t.co/DIeEjmsAcN pic.twitter.com/1JoXUcBDrn
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) June 21, 2016
Disney Princesses Heavily Favored By Girls Than Boys
Science Daily reports that 198 preschoolers were assessed in the study. They were given various Disney toys and were also asked to watch different Disney movies. They were asked to rank these according to preference.
Among the girls, 96 percent chose Disney princesses as their top picks, with 67 percent playing with the princess toys regularly. Among the boys, 87 percent only chose Disney princess movies and only 4 percent chose to play with the toys.
Too Much Of Disney Princesses Not Safe For Kids
Lead researcher Sarah M. Coyne believes that parents generally assume Disney princesses are safe for kids. But she cautions the adults to "consider the long-term impact of the princess culture," per Phys.Org. Coyne also recommends moderation in letting kids digest the Disney princess culture. "Have your kids involved in all sorts of activities, and just have princesses be one of many, many things that they like to do and engage with," she said.
Coyne is not the first to study the effects of Disney princesses in kids. Experts from Rutgers University also did a research on this subject, which was published in the Rutgers' journal. It also came to the same conclusions as Coyne regarding stereotypes.
