Young Girls Perception of Beauty in Disney Princess Movies

Nor Jijidiana Azmi (), Radzuwan Ab. Rashid () and Zanirah Wahab ()

International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2018, vol. 8, issue 9, 686-693

Abstract: Disney princesses are an icon for young girls. Their admiration towards the princesses can be seen through their familiarity with the characters in each film. Disney animated films are always associated with beauty which leads to stereotyping. The protagonists in the movies are always associated with beauty and positive qualities while the antagonists possess all the negative traits. This study was conducted to examine how Malaysian young girls define beauty in Disney princess movies and to explore whether the definition of beauty influences the way they reflect on themselves as a beautiful being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants aged 4 to 6 years old in a kindergarten in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. Analysis of the interview data reveals that the young girls define beauty in terms of physical appearance and positive traits. However, they do not consider beauty as the most important quality a person should have. They are also aware that the Disney princesses are just an animated character, hence their beauty cannot be translated into the real life. This paper concludes that the Disney movies, to some extent, have shaped the children’s conceptualization of beauty, but the children are aware that they should not imitate the characters in their attempt to be a beautiful girl.

Keywords: Disney movies; Beauty; Young girls; Children entertainment; Popular culture; Media. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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