The Dangers of Disney

            This video is of a Ted Talk I gave at an event held by TedxEmory called SexTalks. In this presentation, I discussed the cultural impact of Disney princesses on how we perceive rape culture and decide what acceptable forms of behavior are. These are some of the most classic stories of all time; any child that grew up in America knows them and most have seen some of the movies (especially with all the new versions that keep coming out).  There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Stories and icons are an important part of forging cultural connections and can be useful in allusions. The problem arises when we forget that the princesses and other Disney stories aren’t inherently cultural legends, a corporation whose main goal is to make money adopted them. This should be important because these movies are primarily created for children—sponges for new information as they try to make sense of the complex world around them.

            I briefly touch on the psychological concept of categorization to explain why it’s so dangerous to show children violent relationships in a positive light as some Disney princess movies do. Basically, children are prone to categorize the behaviors shown on screen as normal and acceptable because it may be some of their first experiences with romantic relationships. These ingrained cultural norms acquired at a young age create unhealthy relationships and perpetuate rape culture once the children grow up. In the age of #MeToo and broader discussions of sexual violence that include classic phrases like “boys will be boys” and “if a boy is mean to you it means he likes you,” it’s important to think about where this mindset about sexual violence comes from. In many ways it’s thanks of the media we’re exposed to and the messages we hear about relationships and sexual violence from a young age. To me, changing what we teach the next generation is the best long-term solution to our sexual violence problem because it’s easier to teach someone good behavior than to change someone’s mind about their bad behavior. Starting at the bottom is truly the only way to create the kind of broad sweeping, long lasting change that we so desperately need.