„You can’t marry a man you just met.” An diesen Rat von Elsa, der Königin im letzten Disney Film „Frozen“, haben sich nur wenige Prinzessinnen in Disney Filmen gehalten. In den letzten Jahrzehnten gibt es vermehrt Kritik am Frauenbild, das durch die Darstellung der Prinzessinnen verbreitet wird. Frauen müssen hübsch aussehen, schön singen und brav darauf warten, von ihrem Prinzen gerettet zu werden. Auf der anderen Seite stellt Disney aber global eine der einflussreichsten Kräfte in Kinder- und Familienunterhaltung dar. Lässt sich die Kritik, die nicht nur von feministischer Seite geäußert wird, mit dem Stellenwert Disneys vereinbaren? Sind die Prinzessinnen ‚von heute‘ überhaupt noch so wie früher? Diesen und anderen Fragen wird der Vortrag nachgehen unter der Prämisse: „You can’t gender a Disney princess you just met.“

1. You can‘t gender a Disney
Princess you‘ve just met! –
Gendertheoretische
Beobachtungen zu
Disneys Prinzessinnen
DieKleineMy im Hasi

2. 2

3. Disney Princess Leia
3
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRMFH7
1fDIE

4. Inhalt
1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?
2. Die Omis – Schneewittchen, Cinderella,
Aurora
3. Eilonwy?
4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen – Arielle,
Belle, Jasmin, Pocahontas, Mulan
5. Eilonwy Teil 2 – Kida
6. Tiana und die Intersektionalität
4

5. Inhalt
7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Rapunzel, Merida,
Vanellope, Anna und Elsa
8. Das Monster Merchandise
9. „Mir hat das ja auch nicht geschadet!“ – Was
machen die Kinder?
10. Gender Bending und Drag
11. Ausblick
12. Quellen
5

6. 1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu
tun?
• Disney ist eine der dominierenden Kräfte in der
Kinder- und Familienunterhaltung der westlichen
Gesellschaft (Wasko, Understanding Disney, 2)
• „[…] in their representation of feminity, Disney
films reflected the attitudes of the wider society
from which they emerged, and […] their enduring
popularity is evidence that the depictions they
contain would continue to resonate as the films
were re-released in later decades.“ (Davis, Good Girls and
Wicked Witches, 1)
6

7. 1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu
tun?
• In den Filmen: Natur und Frauen werden bei
Disney “objectified for the benefit of the male
subject” (Murphy, “The Whole Wide World Was Scrubbed Clean. The
Androcentric Animation of Denatured Disney”, 126)
• Bei der Produktion: Frauen durften bei Disney
nur die Zelluloid-Bilder ‘ausmalen’ -> “tedious,
repetitive, labour-intense housework” (Bell,
“Somatexts at the Disney Shop. Constructing the Pentimentos of Women’s
Animated Bodies.”, 107)
7

8. • Rejection letter
Absageschreiben
von 1938
8

9. 1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu
tun?
Rotoskopie
9

10. 1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu
tun?
• Märchenadaptationen als Hauptaugenmerk;
Märchen arbeiten mit Archetypen (Whitley, The Idea
of Nature in Disney Animation, S. 14)
• Typus der Disney Prinzessin: sucht Erfüllung in
romantische Beziehungen, lebt in einer
männlich dominierten Welt, hat ein (sexuell)
attraktives Äußeres (Wasko, 116)
10

11. The Evil Queen orders the Huntsman…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgZcqlc
9ak
11

12. 2. Die Omis – Schneewittchen
• „Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs“,
1937
• „The stereotypical roles that are used to
dramatize conflict in Disney‘s film, it is
argued, potently reproduce those limited
and distorted images within patriarchal
discourse that position women as either
innocent angels or destructive demons.“
(Whitley, 23)
12

13. 13

14. 2. Die Omis – Cinderella
• „Cinderella“, 1950
• „Cinderella is forced to work as a maid in her
own home by her step-mother and seems to
accept this role with a sursprising amount of
equanimity.“ (Davis, 101)
14

15. Cinderella‘s stepsisters spoil her dress
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6SdCDpv
Tnw
15

16. 16

17. 2. Die Omis – Aurora
• „Sleeping Beauty“, 1959
• „While the characterizations of Disney
heroines adhere to the fairy-tale templates of
passivity and victimage, their bodies are
portraits of strength, discipline, and control,
performing the dancing roles of princesses.“
(Bell, „Somatexts at the Disney Shop“, 112)
17

18. Once Upon A Dream
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpk7bccu
Y9s
18

19. Well, and what are you three dears up
to?
Berries?
But I picked berries yesterday.
Goodbye!
I wonder,
I wonder,
I wonder why each little bird
Has a someone to sing to
Sweet things to
A gay little love melody.
I wonder,
I wonder,
If my heart keeps singing
Will my song go wing-ing
To someone
Who'll find me
And bring back a love song
To me!
Oh dear, why do they still treat me
like a child.
Why, Flora and Fauna and
Merryweather. They never want
me to meet anyone. But you
know something? I fooled 'em. I
have met someone!
Oh, a prince. Well, he's tall and
handsome and ... and so
romantic. Oh we walked
together, and talked together,
and just before we say goodbye,
he takes me in his arms, and then
... I wake up.
Yes, it's only in my dreams. But they
say if you dream a thing more
than once, It's sure to come true.
And I've seen him so many times!
Oh, why, it's my dream prince! Your
highness! No, I'm really not
supposed to speak to strangers.
But we've met before!
I know you
I walked with you
Once upon a dream
I know you
The gleam in your eyes
Is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true
That visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did
Once upon a dream
But if I know you
I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
Oh? Oh!
Oh it wasn't that. It's just that you're
a, a ...
Hmm-hmm.
We, we have?
Hmm? Oh, my name. Why, it's, it's ...
Oh no, no, I can't, I ... Goodbye!
Oh never, never!
Well, maybe someday.
Oh no, this evening.
At the cottage, in the glen.
And Flora,
And Flora, Fauna, Merryweather!
Where is everybody?
Oh you darlings, this is the happiest
day of my life. Everything's so
wonderful, just wait till you meet
him
Oh he's not a stranger, we've met
before.
Once upon a dream!
I know you
I walked with you
Once upon a dream ...
Why? After all, I am sixteen.
Betrothed?
But that's impossible! How could I
marry a prince, I'd have to be ...
But, but I can't! He's coming here
tonight, I promised to meet him.
Oh, no, no! I can't believe it. No, no!
-> 28
Textzeilen
19

20. 20

21. Taran meets Eilonwy
21
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB0uJT
Mf1kQ

22. 3. Eilonwy?
• „The Black Cauldron“, 1985
• „Eilonwy […] is […] very much a departure
from previous Disney Heroines (Disney
princesses in particular) in that she has
motivations other than romance and love, and
that she has enough spirit and self-confidence
to argue and to stand up for herself and her
perceived rights.“ (Davis, 159)
22

23. 23

24. Part of Your World
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK4HNN
hQ0e4
24

25. 4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –
Arielle
• „The Little Mermaid“, 1989
• „Admittedly, the film is a problematic text for
a feminist resistant reading, because it
teaches us that we can achieve access and
mobility in the white male system if we
remain silent, and if we sacrifice our
connection to „the feminine“.“ (Sells, „Where do
Mermaids Stand?“, 181)
25

26. 26

27. 4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –
Belle
• „The Beauty and the Beast“, 1991
• „ In other words, the film‘s final message
seems to be that an unselfish act by a man
improves nothing, but an unselfish act by a
woman can transform the world.“ (Davis, 194)
27

28. Library Scene
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fM7q3g
8kjc
28

29. 29

30. 4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –
Jasmine
• „Aladdin“, 1992
• „[…] Jasmine, who as a princess has been
placed on a pedestal all her life, shows the
dangers and difficulties inherent in this
idealisation of women, since it robs them of
their freedom and keeps them from […] the
public sphere.“ (Davis, 183)
30

31. Jasmine kisses Jafar
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFlnhQK
24-Q
31

32. 32

33. 4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –
Pocahontas
• „Pocahontas“, 1994
• „She is both a child of nature, a ‚free spirit‘
who embodies the joys of belonging to an
enchanted and uncommodified world; and
she is a fashion icon, created from images of
the exotic creatures who stalk the catwalks, a
supermodel designed for the film to compete
for the audience‘s attention […].“ (Whitley, 88)
33

34. Colors of the Wind
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk33dTV
HreQ
34

35. 35

36. 4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –
Mulan
• “Mulan”, 1998
• “American as well as international teenagers
are able to identify with Mulan’s
adventurous journey away from home in the
sense that it mirrors their quest for
adolescent self-realization.” (Dong, 165)
36

37. Mulan - Ending
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA3OW4
0-qaQ
37

38. 38

39. Kida meets Milo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7kRobp
W_No
39

40. 5. Eilonwy Teil 2 – Kida
• „Atlantis“, 2001
• „The fact is however, that this story could have
been written without including a female
character – let alone a princess – at all, but
one was included nonetheless. Also, rather
than portraying her as simply a token woman
or an object, she is a highly active central
character.“ (Davis, 189)
40

41. 41

42. 6. Tiana und die Intersektionalität
• „The Princess and the Frog“, 2009
• “While this narrative twist of having both the
princess and the prince be frogs romping
through the bayou swamp may add humor
and intrigue, this animalization of Tiana’s
black female body is mired in dehumanizing
and even desexing in historical
representations. Indeed, several African
Americans saw this human to animal and back
to human transformation as socially and
politically problematic […].” (Lester, “Disney’s The Princess
and the Frog: The Pride, the Pressure, and the Politics of Being a First”, 302)
42

43. At the Ball
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJsUVXf
eDw
43

44. 44

45. 7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Rapunzel
• „Tangled“, 2012
• “Despite the title, Rapunzel's hair stays as
lustrous and untroubled as something from a
shampoo ad; extreme girliness is of course the
order of the day, but those great big doe eyes
really are verging on the absurd.” (Bradshaw, “Tangled
– review”)
45

46. Rapunzel and Flynn
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-
DQLg_R_PE
46

47. 47

48. 7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Merida
• „Brave“, 2012
• “Merida is strong, capable and courageous.
But depressingly, she’s a princess, the most
traditional role for female characters in
children’s fictions. She’s a rebellious tomboy,
but her concerns are still limited to those of a
princess, the biggest of which remains, as
ever, marriage.” (Pols, “Why Pixar’s Brave Is a Failure of Female
Empowerment“)
48

49. Merida wins her own hand
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbxhKT
bTkA
49

50. 50

51. 7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Vanellope
• „Wreck-it-Ralph“, 2012
• “Ralph and Vanellope are the two main leads,
but explicitly do NOT have a romance. At any
rate, he’s more than twice her age, so that’d
be really gross. What they have is a platonic
friendship that has a big brother-little sister
dynamic. Hey, a platonic friendship between a
male and a female, imagine that!” (Waldron, “‘Wreck-
It Ralph’ Is Flawed, But Still Pretty Feminist”)
51

52. Vanellope‘s Transfomation
52
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5WBfO
K5syA

53. 53

54. 7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit –
Anna und Elsa
• „Frozen“, 2013
• “In a recent interview, Lino DiSalvo, the film's
head of animation, said: “Historically
speaking, animating female characters is
really, really difficult, because they have to go
through these range of emotions, but … you
have to keep them pretty.“” (Smith, “Frozen in time:
when will Disney's heroines reflect real body shapes?“)
54

55. Let It Go
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz
13bU
55

56. 56

57. 8. Das Monster Merchandise
• Umsatz von fast 50 Milliarden Dollar in 2014
57

58. 9. „Mir hat das ja auch nicht
geschadet!“ – Was machen die Kinder?
• Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through
Disney Princess Play.”
58

59. 10. Gender Bending und Drag
59

60. 10. Gender Bending und Drag
60

61. 11. Ausblick
61

62. 11. Ausblick
62

63. 11. Ausblick
• Petition gegen Darstellung von Merida
• Verhandlung in Populärkultur, Subversion
• Generell kritischere Rezeption
• Schneewittchen: „What do you do when
things go wrong? Oh, you sing a song!“
63

64. Frozen – A Musical
64
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtyOC6a
yKoU

65. 12. Quellen
Bell, Elizabeth. “Somatexts at the Disney Shop. Constructing the Pentimentos of Women’s Animated Bodies.” From
Mouse to Mermaid. The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 107-24. Print.
Bradshaw, Peter. “Tangled – review.” The Guardian. 27 January 2011. Web.
Davis, Amy. Good Girls and Wicked Witches. Women in Disney‘s Feature Animation. New Barnet: John Libbey
Publishing. Print.
Dong, Lan. “Mulan: Disney’s Hybrid Heroine.” Beyond Adaptation. Essays on Radical Transformations of Original
Works. Ed. Frus, Phyllis; Williams, Christy. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. 2010. Print.
Lester, Neal A. “Disney’s The Princess and the Frog: The Pride, the Pressure, and the Politics of Being a First.” The
Journal of American Culture. Volume 33, Number 4. 2010. 294-308. Print.
Murphy, Patrick D. “The Whole Wide World Was Scrubbed Clean. The Androcentric Animation of Denatured Disney”
From Mouse to Mermaid. The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 125- 36. Print.
Pols, Mary. “Why Pixar’s Brave Is a Failure of Female Empowerment.“ TIME. 22 June 2012. Web.
Sells, Laura. „Where Do the Mermaids Stand? Voice And Body in The Little Mermaid.” From Mouse to Mermaid. The
Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press. 1995. 175-92. Print.
Smith, Anna. “Frozen in time: when will Disney's heroines reflect real body shapes?“ The Guardian. 28 November
2013. Web.
Waldron, Myrna. “‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Is Flawed, But Still Pretty Feminist.” btchflcks.com. 8 November 2012. Web.
Wasko, Janet. Understanding Disney. The Manufacture of Fantasy. Cambridge: Polity. 2001. Print.
Whitley, David. The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation. From Snow White to WALL-E. Farnham: Ashgate. 2012.
Print.
Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess
Play.” Reading Research Quaterly. Volume 44, Number 1. 2009. 57-83. Print.
65