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The Disney Princess effect according to Hanes refers to the urge by young children especially girls to mature faster, earlier than their ages. The effect matters in that it has contributed and at the same time led to influencing the lifestyle of young girls, stopping them from behaving like kids and going ahead and act like grownups. The society has portrayed the women’s lifestyle in a sexualized manner, and this has led to the bringing up of young girls in the same environment, of a sexualized lifestyle. Young girls insist on wearing dresses like their Disney princesses. The imaginative world has played a significant role in changing the image of young girls, as to right from ages 2 to 5 it is the Disney Princesses, then to Hannah Montana and then the High school musicals, and this has had a great impact on the growth and development of young girls. According to Hanes, the media has been attributed to being the main cause of sexualization as well as the biased image in the women in the internet, television and even in the books that are meant for young children, creating an overall disturbing image to the young girls.

Hanes in the article quotes various statistics to support her case, and some of them are mind-blowing. Hanes states that research by the University of Central Florida found that 50 percent of the girls aged 3 to 6 years are in fear of being fat. It is a worrying trend in that, the girls of that age should not be worried about such issues, and it seems that the influence from the media on the way women are supposed to look like, with a curvature body has taken an impact. The Disney Princesses as well, has depicted this, and therefore, young girls want to be like them, they want to be sexier like their princesses. Another statistic by Hanes is the research of a marketing group NPD fashion world conducted in 2003 and indicated that more than 1.6 million dollars were spent annually for the purchases on thong underwear for the children of ages 7 to 12 years old. Truly speaking, the sexualization in the media has played a significant role and has to greater heights affected even the fashion tastes for the young girls in the quest to be sexier. In another case, the girl scout study found that 23 percent of the young girls aged between 11 and 17 do not participate in sports with the main reason being that they don’t think their bodies look better in engaging in sports. Self-image has been portrayed as one that is sexy looking, and this has affected a large number of people especially the young girls, more so those who are exposed to the media. For the young girls to accept themselves, they will have to attain the desired body shape so that they appear sexy. The girls don’t realize that engaging in sports is a talent and as well a way to maintain body fitness and therefore the statistics are astonishing.

Citing from Mary Finucane’s blog, the welcome information on the right-hand side of the page, the position towards sexualization has been accurately characterized in that they both talk of the impact of the Disney Princesses to their young girls which is an influence from the world of imagination. Many parents had the same quest, finding the solution about their children getting lost to the Disney world and this has been attributed to the marketing strategies by the media. The welcome information shows that a large number of children have been lost to the imaginative world and more and more parents are getting worried on how to tackle the situation. Parents need to be keen on their children and monitoring the content they watch on the TV and the internet.

Reference

Hanes, N. (2011). Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect. Retrieved from: https://solano.instructure.com/courses/1373886/files/65440547/download?verifier=XEuEwnzICSKBBI6iPwQbNWxMs3AIb4XKk3IvrK5k&wrap=1