WALT DISNEYPRINCESSES

DIVERSITYAND

DISNEY Princesses 1938 - 2013

There are currently FOUR DISNEY Princesses that are not white

TIANAPOCAHONTASJASMINEMULAN

There are currently NINE DISNEY Princesses that are white

Rapunzel | Elsa | Anna | Merida | Cinderella | Aurora | Snow White | Belle | Ariel

-DOROTHY HURLEY

“The problem of pervasive, internalized privileging of Whiteness has been intensified by the Disney

representation of fairy tale princesses which consistently reinforces the idea of White

Supremacy.”

“Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy

Tale Princess”

DISNEY Princesses & Self Image

“How does it get into my imagination?” A study by Elizabeth

Yeoman

•San Souci “Talking Eggs” (1988)

•Asked children to draw the main character “Blanche”

•Children exposed to:

•Disney’s “Cinderella” (1950)

•John Steptoe’s “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters”(1987)

DISNEY Princesses & Self Image

Results of Study:

• “[Children] almost invariably drew White characters no matter

what color they were themselves”

• “…I mostly thought she would get married and live happily

ever after”

• “I imagined her dark, but I’m drawing her blonde”

• “[I] drew her yellow [haired]…because…she was good, so I

wanted to make her pretty”

DISNEY Princesses & Self ImagePrincess: The Essential Guide

● Two, non-white princess: Jasmine (2003) & Tiana (2012)

● Six, white princesses: Aurora, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle

(2003), & Rapunzel (2012)

2003 2012

DISNEY Princesses & The Minority Market

Hispanics $1.3 TRILLION

Blacks $1.2 TRILLION

Asians $825 BILLION

Total $13.5 TRILLION

A Justification For DISNEY’s Lack Of Diversity

A Justification For DISNEY’s Lack Of Diversity“Loyal” Disney fan justifies the looks of Disney Princesses

There are SEVEN white DISNEY Princesses from fictional kingdoms

ALL white DISNEY Princesses are from fictional towns/villages

Corona Arendale“A tiny kingdom in

a faraway land”“A faraway

land”Unnamed Kingdom Atlantica

THREE of the four non-white DISNEY Princesses are from real cities and countries

New Orleans, LA, U.S.

Virginia, U.S.(Powhatan Indian

Tribe)

The Kingdom of Agrabah, Arabia

(Based upon Agra, India)

Southern & Northern

Dynasties of China

The NEXT DISNEY Princess

Discussion Questions

1.How do you think the lack of diversity among DISNEY

Princesses affects children’s self image?

2.How do you think DISNEY could address the lack of diversity

in their DISNEY Princesses?

3.What do you think of Moana, the next DISNEY Princess?

4.Do you think DISNEY is missing out on a market segment by

not diversifying in this area? Why?

-WALT DISNEY

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for long.

We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing

new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps

leading us down new paths.”

BibliographyHurley, Dorothy L.. “Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess”. The Journal of Negro

Education 74.3 (2005): 221–232. Web.

Mendelson, Scott. "Walt Disney's "Moana" Could Get A "Frozen" Bump." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 7 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Mar.

2016.

Weeks, Matt. "UGA Today." Asians, Hispanics Driving U.S. Economy Forward, According to UGA Study. 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 23

Mar. 2016.