The True Feminists Were Hidden in Plain Sight: An Analysis of Disney Heroines Through a Fourth-Wave, Intersectional Lens

Abstract

This project argues that not all Disney heroines are feminists because not all of them discuss issues relevant to modern feminism, such as sexual violence and intersectionality. While researching for this paper, many articles on fourth-wave feminism and definitions for specific words found in the study of these films were found. A webpage logging recent merchandise updates from official Disney and Disney-affiliated sites was also consulted, in combination with a close analysis of each film discussed in the paper. This work was completed in attempts to ensure that future animators and story-writers for children’s films work harder to include a modern feminist perspective in everything they create, because the first films a child is introduced to are the most influential on their initial worldview. This study came to the conclusion that, because Disney’s merchandise for its heroines is so sparse and objectifying, the company does not value their feminist heroines as much as their Princesses, as they do not make the company as much money.