Alexis Jahnz
Professor Meg Johnson
English 250
5 September 2014
Summary of “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect”
Stephanie Hanes writes in her essay “Little Girls or Little Women? The
Disney Princess Effect” about the increase of sexualization in young girls. She claims
that media and marketing are two major factors in this growing problem. Girls are
starting to develop negative ideas about themselves at younger ages. They think in
order to do something they must look ‘sexy.’ This is because of the amount of
exposure they have to the media, including television and Internet. The actresses or
models are shown playing diverse roles, but they are always portrayed as sexy.
Hanes suggests that parents should try taking some control of these
situations. Girls are being presented with an extremely narrow image of girlhood.
She believes that they should broaden their horizons. She explains that parents
should try to give the girls an actual experience and explain what is wrong with the
images the media is targeting them with.
Hanes gives examples on her point of how sexualization leads to lower
cognitive performance and greater body dissatisfaction. This turns into the
objectification of girls, seeing them more as a sexual object rather than a human.
Growing up with that exposure of sexualization of girls places a stronger
emphasis on it. Many girls post or send provocative pictures of themselves because
of the culture they’ve grown up in puts such a high value on it. Now, the parents
should not cancel the phone lines and computer, but rather self-evaluate what they
are letting their daughters see. They need to bring knowledge about the false
stereotypes that even Disney princesses may represent.
Works cited:
Hanes, Stephanie. “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect.”
Everything’s an Argument. Ed. Steven Patterson. Boston: Bedford/St. Matin’s,
2013. 482-489. Print.