Does “ New woman” mean “New princess”?
“The water is always changing, always flowing. But people, I guess can't live like that” by pocahontas.
Can't we really? In today's world, little girls are provided with such a different disney message than the one we grew up with. After an infinite amount of critiques on Disney's portrayal and message of their so called “princesses”, it finally appears to be changing throughout these past years. Which proves that people do change and so does everything around us. With the help of the media, the new generation has perhaps created different expectations of what the future will be like. This hypothesis is supported by the newly released Disney movies such as “Frozen” that gives a greatly modified representation of women compared to old ones such as “Cinderella”, “Snow White”, “The Little Mermaid” and many others.
It can be said that there are six classic Disney princesses. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Belle and Jasmine are the heroines of animated films considered favorite for girls everywhere. On the other hand we also have Elsa, one of the most modern Disney princess. But we cannot deny that what these characters bring to the screen is magical for children. While, for adults, Disney´s message is just sexism and an inaccurate representation of gender so far. First example is Snow White which was the first Disney animated film ever released. Like heroin for the first time on the scene, she sends the strongest message about gender roles. After being expelled from her kingdom by her wicked stepmother who is jealous of her beauty, she bumps into a dirty house, with seven dwarfs who live in it. Without being asked, she feels the need to clean the entire house from top to bottom, starts cooking and begins to assume the role of mother of the dwarves. Later she meets a handsome man that rescues her and they finally gets married. In 1937, when the movie was released , this domestic image of women was common and accepted. But now, 80 years later, the girls are watching Snow White and refusing to accept her submissive character and many criticize it.
Another great example that perfectly depicts the usual gender roles that are now considered unacceptable or sexist is Cinderella. Again, the “Princess” is reduced to cook and clean for others. She is another representation of the common stereotype of love at first sight. Love at first sight is a a very rare phenomenon, but here Disney is saying that in order for a girl to find your soulmate she only has to put on a party dress and dance. Children learn by example , and Cinderella teaches that it is easy to find love, and that a perfect man is handsome, rich and charming, which is far from the truth.
And then we have Sleeping Beauty, Aurora's story is one that shows the sweetness of women. While Aurora´s love story is love at first sight, the real message is waiting for a prince. In order to leave your dream state, you should receive the kiss of true love. For her it is Prince Philip, whom she has seen only once, he saves her from the curse. Little girls watching "Sleeping Beauty " learn that to fix the problems of their life, they have to wait for their prince to solve it for them.
But then again as I mentioned before “the water is always changing” and so did Disney, along with the new ideals. A prove of this is the recently released movie “Frozen” where the protagonists are not a couple in love as usual, but a pair of sisters. Disney princesses have changed and are no longer waiting for the "true love" kiss, to solve all their problems. "Frozen" presents two sisters, Ana, an upbeat, unceremonious and somewhat confused princess, and her older sister Elsa, the Snow Queen who both represent much more realistic young women than Belle or Aurora. Elsa cannot control her powers, and the day of her coronation, after having an argument with Anna because she wants like all other princesses to marry her Prince after only a day of knowing him. Elsa, like any grown up woman, gets mad at Ana´s crazy decisions and loses control, condemning the kingdom to eternal winter. Later Elsa condemns Anna to a slow and icy death, after hitting her by accident, and the only way to save her is an act of true love. At the end of the movie, Hans turns out to be a cold hearted person and not the typical well rounded Prince, representing a real world where not everybody is sincere. For the first time in history, the act of true love that saves Anna is from her towards her sister Elsa, when she saves her from death. These sisters go against all stereotypes about princesses and teach young girls that they don't need a male figure to be safe and that there is nothing stopping them from saving themselves and the ones they love
Since 1937, Disney has been portraying women as princesses: beautiful, helpless and that have to be saved from a tragedy or spell by a brave and handsome prince. Whereas since 2013 Disney has been releasing movies that depict women in a very different way. Not only “Frozen” but also “Maleficent”, “Tangled”, “ The Princess and the Frog” and many others portray a courageous and independent woman. These movies have a whole new message for little girls, it teaches them that stand up for themselves and not relying on a man. That true love can be the love we have for a brother or sister and that does not make it less or more important. It's just different.
It can be said that there are six classic Disney princesses. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Belle and Jasmine are the heroines of animated films considered favorite for girls everywhere. On the other hand we also have Elsa, one of the most modern Disney princess. But we cannot deny that what these characters bring to the screen is magical for children. While, for adults, Disney´s message is just sexism and an inaccurate representation of gender so far. First example is Snow White which was the first Disney animated film ever released. Like heroin for the first time on the scene, she sends the strongest message about gender roles. After being expelled from her kingdom by her wicked stepmother who is jealous of her beauty, she bumps into a dirty house, with seven dwarfs who live in it. Without being asked, she feels the need to clean the entire house from top to bottom, starts cooking and begins to assume the role of mother of the dwarves. Later she meets a handsome man that rescues her and they finally gets married. In 1937, when the movie was released , this domestic image of women was common and accepted. But now, 80 years later, the girls are watching Snow White and refusing to accept her submissive character and many criticize it. 
