Investigating the Possible Effects of Disney Princess Culture on Young Women: Approach, Ideals, and Gender Roles Within Intimate Relationships

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Issue Date
2017-02-06
Authors
Zhang, Serena
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Abstract
Disney Princess culture (DPC) conveys strong messages regarding the criteria of a model intimate relationship through the repetition of themes within the Disney Princess movies (DPM). Children have been shown to internalize the messages they receive from entertainment media, including animated films. The target audience during the steady release of DPM's in the 1990's and the rise of the Disney Princess franchise in early 2000's are now women who are entering committed intimate relationships and/or parenthood. Using a self report online survey, this study aimed to investigate and identify possible correlations between the amount of DPC women consumed as children and their current approaches, ideals, and gender roles within adult intimate relationships. A significant negative result was observed between amount of influence and influence rating (Spearman's ? = -.605, p = .017) i.e. women who perceived DPC as more influential within their intimate relationships also rated said influence more critically. Further research in this area could assist child entertainment providers in producing socially conscious media and increase counsellors' understanding for more effective therapy.
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Keywords
Disney princess culture (DPC) , counseling of women , media influences
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States , openAccess
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