‘Consuming’ Disney Princesses

‘Mass media represent a modern arena where important “battles” of meaning and gender roles take place; they are a powerful institution by which we build our personal and social identity’ (Globan and Vuković 2022: 72), and therefore are a site of feminist analysis. Throughout this book I have sought to discover how femininity is depicted within the Disney Princess Phenomenon through three facets: films, merchandising/marketing, and park experiences. I examined the film facet first, as this is where a princess’ mediation journey begins. I created a film analysis framework that allowed me to use the examination of speech, movement, plot lines, narratives, and treatment of characters to identify characteristics displayed by each princess. From there, I categorized princesses who displayed similar traits into five chronological ‘waves’ representing different models of femininity, developing a typology illustrating how depictions of femininity had changed over time through macro and micro changes. The term ‘models’ suggests two things. Models of femininity highlighted the differing ‘types’ of femininity across the phenomenon, suggesting they could be archetypes of femininity being presented to consumers. These models also produced an ‘ideal’ depiction of femininity through the policing and moderation of princess behaviour. I argue each princess was rewarded or punished based on her behaviour and attitude, whether by other characters or the plot itself. For example, while Pocahontas was the first princess in the phenomenon to demonstrate developed leadership skills, she remained with her people instead of going to England with John Smith. Although this could mean she was to continue leading her people, it also suggested that if she was a leader, she should not pursue a romantic relationship – she could not have both. In each chapter, I identified a model of femininity that captured the overarching characteristics displayed by the princesses.