Playing Princess: Preschool Girls' Interpretations of Gender Stereotypes in Disney Princess Media

• In Event: Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Research in Early Education and Child Development

Abstract

Through their eleven official princesses, Disney circulates rigid expectations for how girls should look and behave. This study examined how gendered Disney Princess messages influence the pretend play behaviors of preschool girls, thus expanding a limited base of research on this subject. Thirty-one 3- to 5-year-old girls from four classes at two preschools, who represented an array of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, participated in semi-structured interviews and pretend play observations. Results revealed that girls’ princess play was more restricted as well as more gendered than their non-princess play. The implications of princess play are discussed in relation to the social cognitive theory of gender development. Due to these findings, parents and educators might reconsider the media they provide their children.

Authors

• Julia Golden, Mount Holyoke College

• Jennifer Wallace Jacoby, Mount Holyoke College