Snow White?: The Tarnished History of Gender Portrayal in Disney Animated Films

Abstract

How are males and females portrayed in full-length animated features? This research analyzes gender portrayal in five Disney films released in the 1990s: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and The Lion King. The methodological approach of this research includes quantitative and qualitative methods. The number of male and female characters was tabulated, by type of role. The Bales' Interaction Process Analysis methodology was used to tabulate and compare the types of interactions, by gender and type of scene, whether public or private. A qualitative thematic analysis was also conducted to study the overt portrayal of gender in the films. The research showed that male characters were portrayed much more frequently than female characters and that the themes of the films were gender stereotyped. There were few significant changes in gender portrayal over time.