jhinote

This is a paper that I wrote in college. Maybe it will be helpful to someone.

The Disney Princess Versus the Ideal Body Image
The Ideal body image is an opinion, isn’t it? Or, is there a common theme that we are being taught by the media. Today’s society is, unarguably, media driven. Many children find themselves spending at least 6 hours in front of the television each day. They scour the Internet with unlimited access to websites, blogs, and video streaming. But, I think we have reason to worry that our kids are getting false images from a media source that is commonly viewed and accepted as innocent. All little girls in America know the Disney princess. What girl didn’t want to be a princess or have fantasies of a knight riding up on his white stallion and sweeping her off her feet? What girls still don’t want that? The problem we face here is that the princess that so many girls look up to and dream of becoming, is not a real woman. There is a vast difference between the first princess, Snow White, and the princesses that are produced today. I fear the negative body images that children are getting at such a young age.
Snow White was the first Walt Disney creation. It is considered one of the greatest movies of all time for its innovation in animation. But, why when we look at Snow White, the first princess, is she so different from all the rest. I believe time is quite telling in this situation. Snow White was completed on December 21, 1937. The media had not begun shaping what women should look like. Now, many consider the first princess to be the “ugly one.” She has more rounded features, a thick face, and a flat chest. Why would anyone call her ugly though? She is supposed to be 14.
Contrast this 14 year old to another popular 14-year-old princess, Ariel. Ariel was created for the 1989 classic The Little Mermaid. She is supposed to be 14, but wears nothing but two seashells to hide her cleavage that most women will never even have without plastic surgery. She has noticeably thin arms and legs and has a certain sexy and flirtatious attitude. How is this the 14-year-old girl that the movie tries to portray? But, don’t be concerned yet until we look at the trends since Ariel’s seashell bra debut.
Belle, Princess Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan are the next line of princesses to hit the big screen. All of these princesses are written to be about 14- 17 years old. They all show cleavage, have inhumanly thin waists, and mature bodies. Why would Disney, who markets to pre-teen girls, have to display the antagonists as ideal body types. No 14-year-old girl has ever looked like Jasmine and none ever will.
So why is all this imaging a problem for our kids? More and more kids, even under the age of ten, are suffering from anorexia. They see TV commercials promoting diet products and the fear their parents have about being overweight. Youth Cultures of Eating shows that 18 percent of girls in 2006 claimed to starve themselves for at least two days in order to lose wait. This is nearly double what it was in 2000. No, Disney characters aren’t the only reason girls are wanting to hurt their bodies in order to meet ideal body standards, but Disney is a good representation of the mass media because of it’s incredible influence on the industry and that it is one of the top media organizations in the world.
In a world where we are driven by the media, it’s easy to see how someone can be so affected by what they see on the television, movie screen, or Internet. When supermodels depict all the pictures of women, you begin to think that girls should look that way in general. What we have gotten away from is the realization that genetics basically determine our body type. No matter how hard you work against gaining weight, if you are supposed to be a naturally heavy set person, then you will eventually become the body type that is in your family. Graham Hitman, of Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry London University states that, “Improving lifestyle is still the key to reducing the obesity epidemic but some people will find it harder because of their genes.” (1)
Hitman isn’t the only one who sees a strong connection between genetics and weight gain. In William Saletan’s article Fat Chance, on obesity, genetics, and responsibility, he quotes a wire story that claims, “nature tops nurture in childhood obesity… Diet and lifestyle play a far smaller roll than genetic factors in determining whether a child becomes overweight.” (3) This just goes to show the importance of companies like Disney promoting a healthy lifestyle over a supernatural body type. No girl will ever look like Jasmine, from Aladdin, and they need to at least be taught this.
My favorite picture in Everything’s an Argument, a book I was assigned to read in my college writing class, is called Orchard Beach by Toby Old. (2) It is of two heavier set, “real” looking, women standing in the ocean watching their kids. The woman on the right of the picture has her hands on her hips and is holding two Barbie dolls. This is out there to show the irony of women giving their kids a doll to play with that I supposedly the ideal body type for a woman. She is tall, slender, with large breasts. It is hilarious that a Barbie doll is so disproportionate that it cant even stand. If a human could actually be shaped like a Barbie, she would have to walk on all fours because her body couldn’t support her weight. What does this say about our society? It shows that parents must be aware of what their children are seeing about body image and being comfortable to talk about the reality of our body. Parents must preach pride in your body as it is and the amazing things it is capable of doing. While it’s ok to play with Barbie’s or watch Cinderella parents must be responsible for teaching about real body types and being proud of whom you are on the inside and out.

Bibliography
1. "Body Image and You, For teens and Younger Girls." SeekWellness. 4 April 2008
2. Lunsford, Andrea A.. Everything's an Argument. 4th. Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martin's, 2007.
3. Saletan, William. "Fat Chance- Obesity, genetics, and responsibility." Human Nature: Science, Technology, and Life. 15 Feb 2008. Slate. 4 April 2008

Lissa

I think body image education is very important, especially for little girls.

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he.loves.her

Hmmm. Tonight is just filled with shocking realizations for me. Realizing that Lyr will want to know her background sooner or later, and that in this day and age my daughter runs a high risk of obesity...
But now I've realized that I'm a single father who's going to have to help protect my daughter's body image/ protect her from all of the unrealistic "perfections" that inhabit todays society and keep her healthy not only physically, but mentally as well. I'm beginning to gain the knowledge that being a male raising a daughter alone, is probably going to be harder than I innitially thought. And I innitially thought it would be a challenge.

Music-dad

I totally agree.

MrsE

I think this is a very good post. I myself have recovered from an eating disorder, and I want to be a positive role model to my future kids as well as "preach pride" about our bodies, as you say, so that they grow up happy and w/ a positive body image.

1dayatatime

I did not read the super long original post but I agree body image is a HUGE deal. My DD has a complexe about being "fat". She's FOUR. There's no reason she should even think about something like that. I asked her one day after she remarked that I looked like I was gonna have another baby, if it was nice to call people fat? She said no. I asked her do you think your fat? She said no, but seemed unsure. I said I dont think your fat either I think you look great. Body image is just one of the reasons I am not a fan of the "princesses". I'm trying to get through to DD that having a pretty face will only get you so far then there better be some content to back it up. A "princess" has no power, now the queen on the other hand.....


Also, I think single dads are fully capable of handling female body image issues. I doubt many issues will come up before they should like they may from a mom. Many women obess about their looks and kids see that. I think my DH does some of the oddest things. He'll take DD to do "boy" things, he'll dress her, put a ponytail in, and off they go. No matching shoes to the outfit or hair tie to the outfit, they just go have fun.

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Common sense is not so common. -Voltaire
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anthing.

Lissa

How sad that she is already so insecure at such a young age. My anorexia started quite early...back as early as age 8 or 9. Be extremely cautious of her attitude and self esteem. Not only assure her that her body is perfect the way it is, but more importantly that it's what's inside that makes a person beautiful.

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FooserX

So...just out of curiousity...do you think constantly calling your kid, or others, beautiful or handsome teaches them that beauty is skin deep?

musicmom

I tell my kids that all the time but I ask them what is most important about yourself and what "makes" you beautiful and they will tell you "our heart"
But my kids really are gorgeous on the outside too!

FooserX

lol...that's my point. People call people hot or not all the time. Doesn't that reinforce to your kids that beauty IS on the outside.