A Diversity Presentation for Multicultural Marketing (MARK 4550) at the University of Georgia with Dr. Kimberly Grantham

1. WALT DISNEYPRINCESSES
DIVERSITY
AND

2. DISNEY Princesses 1938 - 2013

3. There are currently FOUR DISNEY Princesses
that are not white
TIANAPOCAHONTASJASMINE
MULA
N

4. There are currently NINE DISNEY Princesses
that are white
Rapunzel | Elsa | Anna | Merida | Cinderella | Aurora | Snow White | Belle | Ariel

5. -DOROTHY HURLEY
“The problem of pervasive, internalized privileging
of Whiteness has been intensified by the Disney
representation of fairy tale princesses which
consistently reinforces the idea of White
Supremacy.”
“Seeing White: Children of
Color and the Disney Fairy
Tale Princess”

6. DISNEY Princesses & Self Image
“How does it get into my imagination?” A study by Elizabeth
Yeoman
•San Souci “Talking Eggs” (1988)
•Asked children to draw the main character “Blanche”
•Children exposed to:
•Disney’s “Cinderella” (1950)
•John Steptoe’s “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters”(1987)

7. DISNEY Princesses & Self Image
Results of Study:
• “[Children] almost invariably drew White characters no matter
what color they were themselves”
• “…I mostly thought she would get married and live happily
ever after”
• “I imagined her dark, but I’m drawing her blonde”
• “[I] drew her yellow [haired]…because…she was good, so I
wanted to make her pretty”

8. DISNEY Princesses & Self Image
Princess: The Essential Guide
● Two, non-white princess: Jasmine (2003) & Tiana (2012)
● Six, white princesses: Aurora, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella,
Belle (2003), & Rapunzel (2012)
2003 2012

9. DISNEY Princesses & The Minority Market
Hispanics $1.3 TRILLION
Blacks $1.2 TRILLION
Asians $825 BILLION
Total $13.5 TRILLION

10. A Justification For DISNEY’s Lack Of Diversity

11. A Justification For DISNEY’s Lack Of Diversity
“Loyal” Disney fan justifies the looks of Disney Princesses

12. There are SEVEN white DISNEY Princesses from
fictional kingdoms
ALL white DISNEY Princesses are from fictional towns/villages
Corona Arendale
“A tiny kingdom in
a faraway land”
“A faraway
land”
Unnamed
Kingdom
Atlantica

13. THREE of the four non-white DISNEY
Princesses are from real cities and countries
New Orleans, LA,
U.S.
Virginia, U.S.
(Powhatan Indian
Tribe)
The Kingdom of
Agrabah, Arabia
(Based upon Agra,
India)
Southern &
Northern
Dynasties of
China

14. The NEXT DISNEY Princess

15. Discussion Questions
1.How do you think the lack of diversity among DISNEY
Princesses affects children’s self image?
2.How do you think DISNEY could address the lack of diversity
in their DISNEY Princesses?
3.What do you think of Moana, the next DISNEY Princess?
4.Do you think DISNEY is missing out on a market segment by
not diversifying in this area? Why?

16. -WALT DISNEY
“Around here, however, we
don’t look backwards for long.
We keep moving forward,
opening up new doors and
doing new things because we’re
curious and curiosity keeps
leading us down new paths.”

17. Bibliography
Hurley, Dorothy L.. “Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess”. The Journal of Negro
Education 74.3 (2005): 221–232. Web.
Mendelson, Scott. "Walt Disney's "Moana" Could Get A "Frozen" Bump." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 7 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Mar.
2016.
Weeks, Matt. "UGA Today." Asians, Hispanics Driving U.S. Economy Forward, According to UGA Study. 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.