How Disney princesses can help enhance a child’s self-image

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

Disney princesses can actually enhance a child's self-image and improve their confidence, but only if they're an average size.

The good news for parents is that whether they're thin or normal size they don't harm kids in any way.

However researchers couldn't find any Disney Princesses that would fall into an above-average to heavy size to see what effects that has.

From Snow White in 1937 through to Elsa in Frozen and Moana the effect of these princesses on children has been debated.

But now researchers from the University of California, Davis, say having a favorite princess can improve a child's body confidence.

Disney princesses have always been popular but some parents wondered what effects these idealized images of young women might have on how their children feel about and express themselves.

Jane Shawcroft, a doctoral student researcher in the Department of Communication and lead author of the study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media, said: “People are critical of Disney princesses, but our findings suggest parents, caregivers and mentors might want to give those princesses another look."

The team studied 340 children and their caregivers living in the Denver area. Just over half the children were girls and about 84 percent were white.

They looked at them aged three and returned a year later to measure any changes in body esteem and gendered play.

The study aimed to tackle the two biggest criticisms of princesses' effect, body esteem and gendered play.

They looked at how the body type of a favorite Disney princess affects children’s body esteem, meaning how confident they feel about their own bodies and their masculine or feminine play.

Overall the most popular princess among both boys and girls was Elsa from the 2013 film Frozen. The next most popular princesses were Moana followed by Anna, also from Frozen.

The team from UCD along with colleagues at Brigham Young University categorized Disney princesses into three body categories.

These were thin, average and above average to heavy. For example, Moana from the 2016 film has an average body size whereas Princess Jasmine, from the 1992 film Aladdin was coded as being thin.

The categories compared the Princesses to other Disney characters, not the general population.

Whether a princess was average or thin made a big difference in how the children who loved them felt about their own bodies and the way they chose to play.

Children whose favorite princesses had an average body had higher body esteem a year later.

These children were also more open to exploring play that was both stereotypically masculine and feminine, and this was true for both boys and girls.

In terms of play the more a child pretended to be a princess, if their favorite princess had an average and not a thin body, the better they felt better about their own bodies and the more open they were to different types of gendered play.

Shawcroft said part of what might explain these results is that Disney princesses with average bodies are more physically active in their stories.

She said: “They’re running and climbing enormous mountains and fighting things.

“For these princesses, their stories are more about what they can do with their bodies than how their bodies look.

“Princesses with average body size created a protective effect, strengthening how confident children feel about their own bodies and freeing them to play in different ways."

But they also found that thin Princesses didn't have a negative effect or change children’s body image or gendered play.

She said that researchers learned that Disney princesses matter much more than most people believe, particularly for children, both boys and girls.

She added: “With children’s media, people tend to be critical or dismissive of what kids, especially girls, like.

“Disney princesses really matter to young children, and we should also recognize that media centered on women and that tell women’s stories are important.”

"Princesses remain a large part of childhood today, both for girls and boys.

"However, Disney princesses are complex and show many differences between each other.

"Specifically, depictions of princesses’ body size seem to be particularly impactful for young children, although our analyses suggest that perhaps thin princesses are not necessarily harmful for young children.

"Instead, our findings suggest that princesses with average body sizes create a protective context for children’s body esteem.

"Furthermore, Disney princesses with average bodies may encourage both masculine and feminine type play by modeling both masculine and feminine activities and
behaviors.

"These findings present greater nuance to our understanding of the effect of media engagement on children’s development of body esteem and gender stereotypes, allowing us to better understand how Disney princesses specifically may play a role in children’s lives and growth."