The Evolution of Gender Roles and Women's Linguistic Features in the Language of Disney

Abstract

The Disney Corporation is one of the largest media companies in the world. Disney adapted many of the cultural oral stories that were created by the Brothers Grimm into animated full-length movies which became a popular type of children’s entertainment since the 70’s. Various studies were conducted to examine the evolution in gender roles that was presented in Disney movies to understand whether or not they developed through time, and this study aims to identify gender stereotypes that were portrayed in Disney princess movies and to analyze how such stereotypes have evolved and changed over time, even if the change is minor. The movies that are analyzed by means of content analysis are Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Brave (2012).

Keywords: Disney, gender, gender roles, stereotypes, women’s language, culture, society feminism, Brothers Grimm, fairytales, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Brave.