I Dont Want My Child Watching That
I Don’t Want my Child Watching That! “Disney princess fulfills every little girl’s dream of becoming a princess!”(Espia 2012). As this magazine tries to get more subscribers, it’s frightening that fairy tales dominate the imagination of young children. Fairy tales are stories that teach readers a message and are part of our daily lives. Fairy tales such as Disney princess movies teach children the negative stereotypes of girls, reinforce racism, and expose children to sexism. “More than 200 million people a year watch a Disney TV show ever week, 212 million listen to Disney music, records, or tapes,” (Giroux 19). Therefore, that means thousands of parents, librarians, and teachers buy and read these fairy tales to children. Fairy tales may be a bedtime story or teach children how to read and write but these stories are affecting children’s minds. In today’s society, we wonder if there is a stop to this feminist action of princesses. “As with most literary genres of children’s literature, the fairy tale was never told or written explicitly for children, nor is this the case today,” (Oxford University Press 2006). Fairy tales change over time because people don’t want to pervert or destroy children’s minds. For example, there are over 700 versions of Cinderella according to, Sheldon Cahdan, in The Witch Must Die. Walter Elias Disney or known as “Uncle Walt,” has changed these original fairy tales into racial stereotyping. Gary Gentile says that Disney is anti-Semitic and racist in New Disney Bio Focuses on His Genius. Disney wanted absolute control and he was disappointed with his studio’s animation. Since his top priority was his animation for the company. After 46 years later, Disney has improved in making women more independent, strong, and etc. These fairy tales for children have been read, censored, and approved for Disney. But Disney stories still have R images and the rating is still G. Disney princess sexism has been going on since 1937, when
Cited: ASNews. Graphic Design Degrees, 2009 Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Cashdan, Sheldon, “The Witch Must Die.” How Fairy Tales Shape Our Lives. New York: Basic Books, 1999. Espia, Leslie. “Disney Princesses.” The Philippines’ Leading Magazine 2012. Gentile, Gary. “New Disney Bio Focuses on His Genius.” AP Online (2006): Newspaper Sorce Plus. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Giroux, Henry A. “The Mouse that Roared.” Disney and the End of Innocence. Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 1999. Nusair, David. About.com. Hollywood Movies, 2012 . Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Oxford University Press. “Fairy Tales and Folk Tales.” Jack Zipes. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Oxford Reference: 2006. Current Online Version. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Tanner, Litsa Renee; Haddock, Shelley A.; Zimmerman, Toni Schindler; & Lund, Lori K. (2003). Images of couples and families in Disney feature-length animated films. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 31, 355-373.