Diversity Dissected

Intersectional Socialization in Disney’s Aladdin, Mulan, and The Princess and the Frog

Abstract

Based on comparative, intercategorical intersectional analyses of Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998), and The Princess and the Frog (2009), I find that Disney’s intersectional representations and socialization messages tied to gender and race/ethnicity have not changed noticeably from the release of Aladdin to that of Princess. Rather, they continue to be problematically postfeminist because they hide heteronormative and patriarchal sentiments behind images of girl power. They are also sinisterly stereotypical because they negatively portray the Other and valorize Western values. Although Disney socializes different intersectional groups of children in a racialized way that distinguishes between people of color living within or outside of the United States by only encouraging the latter group to attempt to achieve relative whiteness, all three films socialize their target child audience according to heteronormative, patriarchal, and white privilege affirming values. As such, I argue that the films may be harmful to the socialization of all children.