How many of us grew up thinking that we needed to find a ‘prince charming’ in order to ‘live happily ever after’?
I know I did. And yes, as I got older I realised that there was more to life, but as a young girl I definitely spent an inordinate amount of time dreaming up my own personal fairly tale.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with day dreaming – but when you grow up thinking that your future happiness depends on another person, well that’s an issue. And it’s an issue that I want my daughters to avoid.
So when I read that the new Disney protagonist doesn’t have a love interest I was thrilled. Like Merida (Brave) and Elsa (Frozen), Moana doesn’t need a prince charming to complete her story.
Moana is a story about self-discovery. Set in ancient Oceania, the film follows a Polynesian princess named Moana, who sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her journey she teams up with Maui, a character inspired by one of the great heroes of Pacific mythology.
This is great news for a generation of girls who will inevitably look to popular culture for their role models.
While you may not think that Prince Charming does any harm, recent research shows that traditional Disney media reinforces dangerous stereotypes.
Moana
A study published in Child Development, found that preschool aged girls who engaged with Disney media were more likely to show female gender-stereotypical behaviour.
“We know that girls who strongly adhere to female gender stereotypes feel like they can’t do some things,” Said professor Sarah M. Coyne who led the study.
“They’re not as confident that they can do well in math and science. They don’t like getting dirty, so they’re less likely to try and experiment with things.”
Coyne thinks that characters such as Merida from Brave make much better role models for young girls. “I took my daughter to see it, and afterward we had a great conversation about how strong, brave and independent Merida was in the movie,” she says.
In Moana, Disney has definitely given us a new strong female heroine. But have they gone far enough?
Last year, a Californian mum gathered more than 55,0000 signatures in a petition calling for a Disney Princess with a learning disability.
She said: “Disney does a great job of depicting right from wrong. It has long providing wonderful moral lessons that teach our children to be good people – but sadly, the company comes up short in one critical area.
“Its movies have almost no representation of disabled people, those often bullied and looked down upon by their fellow children.
“What wonderful lessons of diversity, compassion, and acceptance Disney could teach our kids if they promoted disabled characters as heroes and heroines in their beloved movies!”
Likewise, gay activists lobbied Disney to make Elsa a lesbian in the Frozen sequel. Actress Idina Menzel who is the voice of Elsa gave her support to the #giveelsaagirlfriend campaign telling Entertainment Tonight: “I think it’s great. Disney’s just gotta contend with that.”
Over the years Disney has also been criticized for a lack of Indigenous characters.
It’s great to see that in characters like Moana Disney is giving our girls a strong independent heroine that they can emulate. But there is a still lot of room for improvement.
