Disney dysmorphia: How a beloved childhood franchise instills unrealistic beauty standards and gender bias

Graphic by Shirina Cao

The dramatic difference in body type between Ursula and Ariel indirectly villainizes certain “undesirable” features.

Sifting through hangers in her friend’s walk-in closet, sophomore Esha Verma and her friend — who were both elementary schoolers at the time — remember gazing at the row of extravagant traditional Indian dresses. Fawning over their outfits, Verma put on one of them and felt like a true Disney princess — elegant like Cinderella, fierce like Jasmine and playful like Rapunzel. 

Just like Verma, who has adored Disney princesses ever since she was 5, 96% of girls and 87% of boys in the U.S. have been exposed to Disney princess content in some form of media. However, that immense influence can be potent in cementing unrealistic beauty standards among children and sometimes contributing to dysmorphia.

Disney associates villains with features deemed as stereotypically unattractive

Traditional Disney villains often display undesirable characteristics such as long, crooked noses, pointed chins and plus-sized bodies — vilifying certain physical characteristics and potentially propagating body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental health disorder in which sufferers are upset with their appearance to the extent that it interferes with their everyday life. 

During adolescent years, BDD can be one of the most important contributors to self-esteem, and negative self-image is linked to depression and anxiety. If a child notices that their facial features appear only in villainous characters, it can turn those features into upsetting ones.

“Disney has pushed this narrative that looking like a villain is bad and looking like a princess is good. As a kid, the ultimate compliment to me was being told I looked like a Disney princess,” Verma said. 

Think, for instance, of Captain Hook from “Peter Pan.” He has a pointed nose that protrudes half the length of his face as well as an unrealistically long chin that mimics those of villains such as Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty,” Jafar from “Aladdin” and Hades from “Hercules.” Conversely, princesses such as Cinderella and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” have more conventionally attractive features like small button noses and slim facial structures. Many villains also feature plus-sized bodies. One example is Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” with her round belly, drooping double chin and obscure neck.

By reserving these characteristics for villains, Disney animators draw an unconscious association between long noses and large bodies and evil and ugliness. Just as the characters who are ugly on the inside, they are also stereotypically ugly on the outside.

Disney princesses flaunt “perfect,” unattainable bodies

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Disney princesses seem to fit the same body shape: thin waists, tiny hands, dainty feet and big doe eyes. This approach contrasts with other animation companies like Studio Ghibli, whose characters have more realistic bodies. 

Also, princesses like Ariel and Jasmine primarily wear revealing clothing such as Ariel’s seashell bra and Jasmine’s tight crop top. The revealing clothes aren’t the problem — rather, it’s how the clothes further highlight their unrealistic proportions. In fact, comedy writer Glenn Boozan from “Above Average” found several princesses with waists smaller than the distance between their eyes — an obvious distortion no one can live up to.

Being exposed to models and conventionally attractive people with thin bodies in the media can induce body dysmorphia, especially in young girls who often idolize Disney princesses.

Sophomore Sophie Qin is among the millions of girls who grew up enamored with Disney princesses. When she visited Disneyland as a young child, she remembers seeing the princesses in real life and wanting to be like them.

“These princesses have been brought to life, and they feel like something that could be achieved,” Qin said. “But their body proportions in the cartoon movies were not made to be realistic. The Ariel movie further pushes the idea of an ideal body and gender stereotypes.”

To try and achieve these looks, some girls and women eventually turn to cosmetic surgery. In 2022, according to statista, all aesthetic procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) generated $11.8 billion, of which $8.5 billion were generated from surgical procedures. 

Disney princesses model traditional gender roles

For many, not only do Disney princesses promote unrealistic beauty standards, but they also normalize stereotypes about submissive female behavior.

In a study conducted by James Madison University, researchers analyzed the three eras of Disney princess movies: the “housewife” era, the “transition” era and the most recent “girl boss” era. The “housewife” era includes “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (1937), “Cinderella,”  (1950) and “Sleeping Beauty” (1959); the “transition” era includes “The Little Mermaid,” (1989), “Beauty and the Beast,” (1991), “Aladdin,” (1992), “Pocahontas” (1995) and “Mulan” (1998); and the “girl boss” era includes “Moana” (2016), “Tangled” (2010), “Brave” (2012) and “Frozen” (2013). 

In the housewife era, researchers say female Disney characters often played a role similar to one most women of the time held: household cook, cleaner and caregiving. Cinderella, for instance, spends her time cleaning the house, cooking and serving her evil stepmother and stepsisters. The only time she is free from chores occurs when the prince “sweeps her away.” 

Sophomore Mridhula Vudali, who has watched every single Disney princess movie, emphasizes the danger of disseminating stereotypes of what makes a girl a princess.

“Cinderella has the transformation into a beautiful gown, and only after that does she become good enough to be a princess,” Vudali said. “The media imposes this standard that women need to go through a transformation and only if they become more beautiful will they become ‘good enough.’ Movies like this strengthen biases like pretty privilege.” 

Additionally, Disney heroines are often romanticized to be submissive — reaching their “happy ever after” is defined by being saved by male counterparts who are often strangers. For instance, Prince Charming from “Snow White” lacks both a name and a presence in the story other than that of Snow White’s love interest. Yet, after falling in love with Snow White “at first sight” — thanks only to her striking appearance — he sweeps her off her feet and brings her to “happy ever after,” which is something she couldn’t achieve alone.

“Disney has a very unrealistic way of going about how men and women should act,” Qin said. “Their princess movies show relationships in a very unrealistic way that also enforces stereotypical gender roles. Women are often saved by a prince, and I think that sets an unhealthy mindset for kids when they grow up.” 

In contrast, the second era of princesses demonstrates greater female empowerment, including characteristics of independence, determination, mental and physical strength. For instance, unlike “sitting duck” princesses in the first era who lack agency in their own stories, Mulan is a powerful warrior who saves her country after stepping in to relieve her father of his war duties.

Mulan also contradicts stereotypical femininity by cutting her hair to disguise herself as a boy and demonstrating courage and perseverance alongside other male soldiers. 

But while some aspects of the transition era lean toward female empowerment, outward beauty remains super important. For example, in “The Little Mermaid,” when the protagonist, Ariel, loses her voice in order to gain the ability to walk on land, she meets her love interest, Prince Eric and he instantly falls in love with her. However, this “love at first sight” moment stems only from Ariel’s physical beauty, as she is unable to speak and reveal aspects of her personality. 

In the third era, which began only in 2009 with the release of “The Princess and the Frog,” many princesses start to embody a more “girl boss” attitude. The main storyline of these movies often go beyond finding a dream man. For example, Tiana, the movie’s protagonist, speaks her mind and knows what she wants, working two jobs to pursue ambitious dreams of opening her own restaurant. In “Tangled,” Rapunzel’s primary goal is to search for the floating lights with her love interest, Flynn, on the sidelines as her guide. Additionally, in “Frozen,” Elsa embarks on a journey to combat her own internal struggles without ever needing a “Prince Charming.” 

Another form of criticism aimed at Disney is the studio’s traditional lack of racial diversity. The classic Disney movies either did not have any non-white characters or enforced negative racial stereotypes with their characters. When they made their first POC princess movies, they often portrayed their respective cultures in an Americanized way, which doesn’t provide complete representation.

Disney attempts to promote different body types through new short film

After increased pressure from the public, Disney has introduced more films with body inclusivity to battle the restrictive beauty standards in their earlier movies. 

The studio’s recent short film “Reflect” — which was released in September 2022 — tells of the struggles of a young, plus-size ballerina due to prejudice within the dance community. Oftentimes, dancers are expected to have long necks, legs, and arms and a skinny frame, much like those of Disney princesses. The protagonist in “Reflect” battles these strict expectations by accepting herself for who she is and finding joy in her dance movements.

However, despite the initial joy of seeing Disney finally create a plus-sized main character, many Disney enthusiasts like Vudali were left unsatisfied.

“The whole point is that you want these body types to become normal,” she said. “If you draw attention to the fact that they are plus-sized, you are separating them and acting like it is out of the norm. I do not think Disney is doing this out of the goodness of their hearts; I think they are doing it to respond to criticism.” 

Despite Disney’s unclear motives for these changes, many hope that changing the unrealistic beauty standards presented in Disney films will more consistently help promote body inclusivity among adolescents.

“You cannot change the classics,” Verma said. “Everyone knows Snow White and Cinderella. But going forward, Disney should bring more diversity to change the next generation of kids.”