1. Running Head: PRIMES OF MY LIFE 1
COM 272 Primes of Your Life Assignment
Disney Movies Prime Gender Stereotypes
Emily Guerra
The College of New Jersey
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Introduction
As a little girl, like all little girls do, I watched every single disney princess movie
numerous times and dreamt about being just like them- beautiful, happy, and rescued by a strong
man. Walt Disney’s remarkable work was exposed in the Disney movies I watched on repeat as a
child, in the princess costumes I wore, and at the legendary Disney World that I frequently
vacationed to. Disney’s famous characters and fairy-tale stories have significantly affected my
life in the way I stereotype gender roles. The stimulus for the priming effect is all of the Disney
fantasy princess films from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Tangled (2010). This
specific media content is almost always consumed in a child’s most vulnerable priming age:
early childhood. Growing up, every girl has a princess “phase” where she is obsessed with one,
or more, of these fairytales and idolizes the rags to riches princess. Even though people call it a
phase, these gender stereotypes, primed at an early age, stay with us throughout our lives.
The Walt Disney Animation Studios, known as the premier American animation studio
founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, has produced 55 feature films. Ken Gillam
and Shannon Wooden (2008), authors of “Post Princess Models of Gender” explain the
widespread commodity that Disney’s work has become. Specifically, they found that 200 million
people a year watch Disney videos, 395 million people watch a Disney TV show, 3.8 million
people subscribe to the Disney Channel, and 810,000 people make a purchase at a Disney store. I
personally owned all of the movies on vhs and dvd and watched them over and over again. My
favorite was The Little Mermaid, I can still sing all of the songs because I watched the movie so
religiously. Disney movies can we watched on all kinds of devices including on tv, OTT services
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on computers, cell phones, and tablets. Even though some may be old, they are inevitably
timeless fairy tales that will continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
Disney’s Gender Stereotypes as a Priming Effect
At an early age, Disney’s mainstream media primed me to understand what was deemed
“socially appropriate” for my gender type. I was primed with images of princesses that wanted
me to believe the key to happiness was finding a prince to rescue me. For males, the lead
characters in Disney films are often seen with above average physical abilities, and think of
themselves as more intelligent than the women characters. These characters were my idols
growing up, and they embodied notable characteristics that I wanted more than anything as a
little girl. Unfortunately, growing up watching these fairytale romances set very poor examples
for young girls like myself to follow.
Looking back at this media content, researchers have analyzed the disturbing amount of
stereotypes in Disney films concerning both genders. The early Disney films were more
traditional fairy tales and they had the damsel-in-distress theme while the female role is a “happy
homemaker who wait for a man to give them a reason worth living” (Maio, 1998). Women in
these fairytales are stereotyped as domestic, helpless, likely to marry, and what they physically
look like is valued more than their thoughts and intellectual ability. While this is the stereotype
for the princesses and other females, overweight or “ugly” females are stereotyped as evil,
unpleasant, and unmarried.
Roskos-Ewoldsen and Roskos-Ewoldsen elaborate on research in the stereotype domain,
which indicates that the media can prime thoughts, judgments and behaviors. Therefore, despite
the light-hearted and creative nature of Disney films, I was primed from an early age to view
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gender roles in a specific stereotypical manner and my thoughts, judgments and behaviors show
this long lasting media priming effect. James Potter (2011) analyzes and defines four kinds of
effects media may exert on an audience. Concerning these Disney movies, the gender role
stereotypes fit with Potter’s long-term change type of effect, in which the messages from the
mass media gradually alter a person’s baseline effect, even if they never rise about the
manifestation level it is still an important media influence. Potter’s kinds of effects take the
element of change and build in the concept of time, the change in the baseline effect (stereotypes
of genders) for children who watch Disney fairy-tales is a long term upward slope. Glenn G.
Sparks (2013) reinforces Potter’s classification of the kind of media effect Disney’s stereotypical
movies have presented by explaining that “the cultivation process is gradual and cumulative” (p.
179). Therefore this media priming effect relates to the cultivation effect, where over time a
person is more likely to believe the given stereotype in mass media. As outlined by Sparks, the
theory of media cultivation is all about the cultivation of attitudes, or in other words, attitude
change. Sparks explains George Gerbner’s theory of media cultivation “does not use the term
persuade to describe the impact of media, and his theory is often treated in the context of
discussions of media violence or media stereotypes” (p.179). In accordance with this
explanation, media cultivation theory shows “systematic distortions [which] communicate a
strong message about [which sex] has power in the culture” (p. 257).
Concerning the outcomes of the effects that stereotypical Disney movies employ, my
attitudes and beliefs towards specific gender roles were mostly affected. Potter (2011) elucidates,
“attitudes show up in public opinion polls as evaluations of public figures and issues, and beliefs
show up as aggregate public beliefs” (p. 904). I was primed to categorize genders into specific
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roles with specific traits, and consequently my attitude gradually changed after exposure to
stereotypical Disney movies. In reference to the theory of media cultivation in which these
effects are based, Sparks explains that even though there is no particular intent on the part of the
creators of the media messages (in this case, Disney) to change our attitudes or beliefs, over
time, the heavy viewer will begin to believe that the real world resembles the world presented in
the media (Disney movies). Additionally, Sparks elaborates, that these lessons “are likely to
become the basis for a broader world view” which shows how priming effects are extremely
influential and important in our lives.
The priming effect that Disney movies have had on me, in terms of Potter’s definition,
presents a significant and worthwhile concern. Sparks attests to the negative consequences of
holding a stereotype, even if it is accurate. He clarifies that it may reinforce the status quo and
unfairly control the diversity of social roles that individuals might hold. Specifically, Sparks
outlines two fundamental issues that will further be addressed in regards to Disney’s gender role
stereotype that has primed my attitudes and beliefs towards specific male and female gender
roles. Moreover, Sparks encourages a discussion about media and stereotypes to focus on the
particular role expectations that the media encourage and whether these depictions actually affect
the role expectations that media consumers have for those same people.
E. Tory Higgins, John A. Bargh, and Wendy Lombardi explore the models in which our
brain is naturally setup to categorize in their article titled “Nature of Priming Effects on
Categorization” (1985). Specifically, the studies found that “subjects tend to characterize the
target person information in terms of the construct that has been previously primed” (p. 59).
However, Higgins et al. explain that the likelihood of categorizing will decrease at the delay
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between priming and stimulus presentation increases. This claim further supports the dangers of
being exposed to Disney’s stereotypical media content frequently, and at such a young, critical
learning stage. I began to make specific male and female gender role associations as a child after
being exposed to Disney’s media content.
However, this effect was not entirely Disney’s fault, as Travis Dixon and Keith Maddox
(2005) explain “individual differences in attitudes towards blacks contribute to the effects of
priming on subsequent evaluations and judgments” (p. 1558). Although this article focuses on
racial stereotypes as opposed to gender stereotypes, it is still important to acknowledge that other
factors, such as preexisting attitudes or beliefs, may have influenced my attitudes and beliefs
towards categorizing gender roles. Additionally, Sparks (2013) confirms the claim by Dixon and
Maddox (2005) that other elements besides Disney movies may have manipulated my attitudes
and beliefs on gender role stereotypes. He explains that in regards to more males than females
being presented on TV, “the mere presence of a stereotype does not constitute to the evidence for
an effect” (p. 237).
According to Rosko-Ewoldsen and Rosko-Ewoldsen (2009), there are three
characteristics of priming effects which will help determine a theoretical mechanism for how
Disney movies prime young children’s gender stereotypes (p. 179). The first is the concept of
recency which is “the time lag between the prime and the target”, so this would refer to the time,
for example, a little girl watches a Disney princess movie and then sees a man or woman
reinforcing or deviating from his or her gender role. (p. 179) Since this is a kind of “social
judgement or social evaluation of a social stimulus” it was found that the priming effect could
last up to one hour (Rosko-Ewoldsen, et al., 2007).
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The second characteristic is the strength of the prime which is “manipulated by either the
frequency of the priming event” (like seeing numerous and repetitive gender stereotypes
throughout the movie) or “the duration of the priming event” (p. 179). I think this stereotype
priming effect in the Disney movies is very strong because the stereotype that women cook,
clean, sing, and wait for a man to give them purpose is overarching theme that is reinforced
throughout the princess movies. These movies are typically an hour and half long which is a
significant duration since the stereotypes are portrayed, albeit discreetly at times, during the
whole film. After watching these movies repeatedly, the gender stereotypes were integrated into
my view of the world in part because of strong they are.
The third concept of a priming effect is that “primes tend to have stronger effects on
situations that are ambiguous” which is definitely proven true with the reinforcement of
stereotypes for females and males in our society. Analyzing and observing gender roles in
situations can be very ambiguous, especially for children. The belief of the stereotype that the
most important thing a girl has to be is beautiful is seen later in life in very ambiguous situations.
At the same time, it is easier to see the effects in children because they are so brutally honest.
After watching Cinderella, I remember I begged my mom to buy me the dress so I could look
just like Cinderella. These Disney classics suggest that when it comes to finding true love, the
only thing that matters is a woman’s outward appearance, and that attractiveness is synonymous
with happiness. Concurrent with the notion that conspicuous beauty is most important, the
movies also stereotype an ideal body image. For example, the protagonists in most Disney films
are depicted as thin, whereas most of the villains are shown with a larger, “less perfect,” body.
An important thing to note is that since I haven’t watched these movies in so long, the effect is
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no longer seen (even though it might still be ingrained in our society). As I got older, I realized
that these stereotypes can and should be broken.
Roskos-Ewoldsen and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2009) state that “the media implicitly prime
stereotypes, which directly influence thoughts, beliefs, and judgements” which is why the
princess effect seems to be such a dangerous and important priming effect in young girls. The
media (classic princess movies) was not produced to explicitly reference these gender
stereotypes.
In accordance with the cultivation theory, and the idea that “the world of media and
entertainment presents a particular view of social reality” it is clear that as children we adopt this
fairy tale view of the world, along with the gender stereotypes that accompany it. (p. 179) We are
directly exposed to these films frequently and for a substantial amount of time which makes the
priming effect stronger. Over time, these movies construct the stereotype that women are
domestic and helpless while men are strong and independent. Sparks explains the theory of
media cultivation as a person gradually becoming “cultivated” into the television view of social
reality. After being consistently exposed to Disney’s predominant gender role stereotypes, I was
primed to believe they were actuality, a prime example of what Sparks refers to as a
“construction of social reality” (p. 239).
Conclusion
In conclusion, stereotypes in media targeted for children can definitely “play a role in
whether people use gender or ethnic stereotypes when making judgments of people”
(Roskos-Ewoldsen and Roskos-Ewoldson, 2009, p. 188). Priming plays a significant role in how
we view and stereotype genders in our society. Although we must consider all the other
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influential factors such as previous individual attitudes or beliefs, and perhaps news
consumption, the themes presented in Disney’s films have significantly primed my life
concerning gender stereotypes. Even if the influence never reached a point of noticeable
manifestation, the stereotypes enforced in these movies have influenced my beliefs about myself,
others, and each gender’s purpose in society.
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References
Dixon, T., & Maddox, K. (2005). Skin Tone, Crime News, and Social Reality Judgments:
Priming the Stereotype of the Dark and Dangerous Black Criminal. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 1555-1570.
Gillam, K., & Wooden, S. R. (2008). Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in
Disney/Pixar. Journal Of Popular Film & Television, 36(1), 2-8.
Higgins, T., Bargh, J., & Lombardi, W. (1985). Nature of Priming Effects on
Categorization. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 11(1), 59-69.
Juergen, M. (2014, April 25). 9 Harmful Stereotypes We Never Realized Our Favorite
Disney Movies Taught Us. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://mic.com/articles/88167/9-harmful-stereotypes-we-never-realized-our-favorite-disn
ey-movies-taught-us#.84WyVTuj8
Maio, K. (1998). Disney’s Dolls. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://newint.org/features/1998/12/05/dolls/
Potter, J. (2011). Conceptualizing Mass Media Effect. Journal of Communication, 896-915.
Roskos-Ewoldsen, D., & Roskos-Ewoldsen, B. (2009). Current Research in Media Priming.
In Media Priming(Vol. Bryan and Oliver).
Sparks, G. (2013). Media Effects Research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
