Feminist Myths About Disney Princesses Debunked

Disney princesses have become personae non grata in the age of modern feminism. They are banned from homes, dismissed as passive damsels in distress, and held up as examples of the horrors of patriarchal victimhood. They couldn’t possibly be positive role models. They’re just so darn “anti-feminist.”

Thank goodness — the prevailing narrative goes — that Disney has seen the error of its ways and gifted us “feminist” princesses like Merida (from Brave) and Elsa (from Frozen). Those of us who love the old princesses — like Snow White and Cinderella, Ariel and Belle — are left to wonder what’s wrong with us for loving such poster children of the patriarchy.

But this narrative — that Disney princesses are “anti-feminist” — is a complete myth. It was generated by a vocal minority of feminist critics who completely misunderstood the movies and the fairy tales they come from. These critics have disseminated their misconceptions so loudly and so widely that even those who still love Disney princesses now accept them as truth.

As proof, here is one feminist myth most people accept about each Disney princess, and why it’s completely wrong.

Snow White

Feminist Myth: Snow White has “no distinct personality” and just sits around waiting to be rescued.

Myth debunked: The ease with which one can debunk Snow White’s passivity is almost laughable. Snow White is in fear for her life. She arrives at a house full of slovenly little men and — rather than throw herself at their mercy — trades her marketable skills in exchange for shelter, thereby rescuing herself. “If you let me stay, I’ll keep house for you.” It’s a business transaction, and Snow White is the entrepreneur.

Cinderella

Feminist Myth: Cinderella is a “passive, pursued object.”

Myth debunked: The fact that Cinderella is a servant ought not to be held against her. She had no other choice. The test of her character comes in how she handles it. And, at every turn, Cinderella stands up for herself instead of waiting around for someone else to disrupt her status quo. She convinces her stepmother that the invitation to the ball includes her too (since it’s addressed to “every eligible maiden”), and she asserts herself after the ball by running downstairs with the second slipper to claim what’s rightfully hers.

Aurora

Feminist Myth: Aurora is the protagonist of the movie and should be judged accordingly as “the ultimate passive Damsel in Distress.”

Myth debunked: Aurora — Sleeping Beauty — is not the protagonist of this film. She spends approximately 18 minutes on screen and delivers less than 18 lines of dialogue. The real protagonists are three feisty fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. Without them, Aurora would have died when she pricked her finger on a spinning wheel (instead of falling asleep), and Prince Phillip would still be rotting in Maleficent’s dungeon rather than riding forth to save the day. Go fairies!

Ariel

Feminist Myth: Because Ariel gives up “her greatest talent (her voice),” Eric only falls in love with her for her body.

Myth debunked: When Ursula makes the terms of her bargain, she wants Ariel to fail. So she chooses to take the thing she thinks will make it most difficult for Ariel to win Eric’s love: her voice. She could have taken her looks, but she knows that if Eric hears Ariel’s voice (even if she looks ugly), he’ll fall for her. The only thing that Eric remembers about the girl who saved him from the shipwreck is that “she had the most beautiful voice.” It’s only when Ariel gets her voice back that Eric recognizes her as the same girl. Eric is in love with Ariel’s voice — the movie is mind-numbingly clear about this.

Belle

Feminist Myth: Belle is a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.

Myth debunked: Stockholm Syndrome is a condition in which a captive falls in love with her captor. In order for a scenario to qualify, the captor must “terrorize, traumatize, and infantilize the captive,” and the captive “goes through a period of feeling that they are going to die.” This never happens to Belle. The Beast never terrorizes or infantilizes Belle, nor does he threaten her life. It would be hard to say that Belle is traumatized by the Beast’s rough temper, given that she stands up to him at every turn. Furthermore, Belle is in the Beast’s castle of her own free will. No victims here!

Jasmine

Feminist Myth: Jasmine is different from the Disney princesses who came before because “she rejects the idea of an arranged marriage.”

Myth debunked: All Disney princesses reject arranged marriage. In fact, the only princess who even had to deal with one before Jasmine was Aurora (and it turned out her betrothed was actually her true love, Phillip). Ariel rejects the kind of (mer)man her father would have picked, and Belle rejects the man everyone in the town thinks she should marry (Gaston). No princess just marries someone because she was told to by someone else! The only difference is that Jasmine stomps around and yells about it a lot, whereas her “less feminist” sisters are better behaved.

Pocahontas

Feminist Myth: Pocahontas is “a straight-up feminist hero” because “no man can tie her down."

Myth debunked: All Pocahontas ever wanted was John Smith. Her mysterious dream of a “spinning arrow,” which she feels certain will decide the course of her life, turns out to be John Smith’s compass. It was never her intent to stay with her tribe, and her only dream for her future is John Smith (as opposed to other “less feminist” princesses, like Ariel or Belle, who have specific dreams independent of their men). Pocahontas’s decision not to go back to England with John Smith is a horrible miscalculation, given that he’s literally her only dream.

Mulan

Feminist Myth: Mulan is the first Disney princess to value “strength, discipline, courage, and self-sacrifice” instead of “beauty.”

Myth debunked: No Disney princess values beauty. Not a single one. Mulan is certainly disciplined and courageous, but so is every other Disney princess who came before her. The only difference for Mulan is that the movie sets up a scenario where she must excel in the world of men in order to prove her courage. But this isn’t actually what Mulan wants — she chooses to return home instead of continuing to bend gender norms by serving on the Emperor’s counsel. Valuing strength and courage makes her fit right in with the other Disney princesses!

Tiana

Feminist Myth: Tiana is a different kind of Disney princess because her ultimate message is that “hard work” and being “self-reliant” matter more than love.

Myth debunked: The entire point of Tiana’s narrative is that she has forgotten the importance of love. She certainly is a hard worker, and her quest to save up enough money to buy the restaurant her father dreamed of is admirable, but she’s become obsessed with it at the expense of a real life. Her journey, throughout the course of the movie, is away from work as an end in itself and towards love. Which is as it should be!

Rapunzel

Feminist Myth: Rapunzel’s strength resides in her ability to use her “hair like a lariat” and hit people over the head with a frying pan.

Myth debunked: This is the same mistake feminists made with Mulan: that a woman is only strong if she’s able to hold her own in a fight. Rapunzel’s gift is that she isn’t jaded. She sees beauty in everything and expects the best from everyone, and this causes the completely jaded Flynn to “see the light.” Rapunzel’s real strength is in her heart, not her hair.

Merida

Feminist Myth: Merida is a refreshing new princess because her story is about a “daughter’s complex relationship with her mother” rather than romance.

Myth debunked: Merida plays out the entire narrative of Beauty and the Beast . . . with her mother. It’s not even subtle — watch the final scene of both films. They’re identical, beat for beat. The symbolism of Beauty and the Beast is about how a man can learn to channel his base masculine instincts if he falls in love with a girl worth channeling them for (and that, in channeling them, he becomes a man worthy of her love). That’s not really something you want to go through with your mom. (Ick!)

Elsa

Feminist Myth: Elsa’s signature ballad, “Let It Go,” is a powerful reminder to “stop trying to live up to other people’s expectations of you” and be yourself.

Myth debunked: Elsa’s power ballad includes the words “no right, no wrong, no rules for me, I’m free.” This is no way to live your life if you have any intention of being a productive member of society. Even within the plot of the movie, the sentiment of the song turns out to be untrue. She thinks the key to happiness is to let her potentially dangerous powers run completely unchecked. But, later, she learns that, even though her powers ought not to be completely suppressed, they do need to be channeled and controlled. Even in the movie, “Let It Go” is not the empowerment song you think it is.

Anna

Feminist Myth: Anna is the “dumb, more prototypically Disney princess sister,” and far inferior to Elsa.

Myth debunked: Unlike her sister Elsa, Anna takes responsibility for the people of her kingdom by setting off on a dangerous and difficult journey to try to bring back summer. Her belief in her sister never wavers, even though her sister has terribly mistreated her during their childhoods. And it is Anna, ultimately, who saves Elsa from herself through an act of complete self-sacrifice. Of the two of them, Anna is the stronger.

To learn more about the ways feminists have colored our opinion of Disney princesses, check out my book: Saving Cinderella: What Feminists Get Wrong About Disney Princesses And How To Set It Right.