False Advertising

Advertising companies are often accused of showing images of “the idealized woman”, which has been proven to have a somewhat negative affect on women’s self-esteem. These images consist of very thin models that seem to have no imperfections. The question may not be whether or not these statements are true, but whether they are the sole reason for problems with women’s self-image. It is the general consensus that if a beautiful woman is advertised with a product, the product is more appealing, and therefore gets more buyers. This is not only proven with consumers who are men, it is true of women as well. When a product is advertised using an attractive, thin woman, it is more desirable for all consumers (Wan, Ansons, Leboe).

This is an example of an advertisement that uses an attractive celebrity to sell a product.

The entire first ¾ of the commercial shows Paris Hilton washing a car in a skimpy swimsuit. The car has nothing to do with what the advertisement is for (a hamburger fast food restaurant).

Does Disney Affect Self-Esteem in Women?

It has been proven that the women most susceptible to lowered self-esteem based on advertising images are those who have “high body weight and pre-existing body dissatisfaction” (Roberts, Good). Teenagers are especially affected because they are in a state of change, constantly figuring out their identity. They are also still learning about their body, and discovering self-image. So, when teenage girls see products advertised with beautiful, ultra thin women, they are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of these images. There have been many studies proving that after watching certain TV shows and music videos, adolescent girls and boys are less satisfied with their own bodies (Sanders).

The link below harshly criticizes Disney in particular for fat shaming, further explaining that, “…a survey from 2009 found that a third of girls under the age of six admit to worrying about being fat, and when asked to select the "real princess" from a choice of ballerinas, 50% of the girls chose the thinnest one.” It seems as though Disney is somewhat contributing to the skinny obsession our world experiences.

Does Disney Fat Shame?

The "Idealized Woman"

Disney has also been accused of showing the “idealized woman”. Since the beginning of Disney, there have been criticisms of the idea of the princess, which is prominent in most Disney films. The first few Walt Disney films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Sleeping Beauty (1959), were set in highly patriarchal societies, and the princesses (Snow and Aurora) were beautiful, weak, helpless, and dependent on men. Snow White cooks and cleans for the seven dwarfs every day, something historically seen as “women’s work”. She is also portrayed as fairly unintelligent, as she takes food from a stranger with little to no suspicion.  In Sleeping Beauty, the princess Aurora falls in love with the first man she ever sees. She is also “asleep” for a good part of the film, under a trance because of Maleficent’s curse. The prince must kiss her to save her life, as in Snow White, again proving that women need men to survive.

“In early Disney films the princess was shown through a traditional fairy tale, the damsel-in-distress theme. The heroine needs rescuing by the nearby prince, meeting the standard of early-20^th century American ideals. Cinderella is a great example of this; she is left to stay in the same enforced servitude for the rest of her life until she escapes by marriage. Cinderella and many others were tales that drew on traditional legends that quickly lost favor when women right became a serious issue. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were all incapable of helping themselves and getting out of their own troubles” (Yerby, Baron, Lee). The pictures below are a slightly exaggerated description of a few of the princesses’ roles in Disney films. As you can see, they usually cannot do much by themselves, and must be saved my men. They also do many things that are stereotypically associated with women.

Even in The Lion King, where the main character is male, the female lionesses are shown as dependent and incapable of finding their own food without Simba. Many people have acknowledged that the Disney princess is usually a stereotype, but consumers seem to overlook this fact due to the popularity of the princess. “The princess is a fairytale staple and even in the world's republics, she continues to be re-drawn. She has remained a relevant anachronism over centuries, through revolutions, wars and globalization. Some have sought to reveal her beauty as stereotype, her good-nature as submissiveness, but still she prevails” (Rozario 34). Even with these negative stereotypes present, the films have remained popular for almost 100 years.