Date of Award
Spring 5-2018
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Emily Stanback
Advisor Department
English
Abstract
The world of Disney has long been criticized for the lack of empowered princesses, racial representation, and unrealistic body images in its princess films. While steps have been made to provide a fairer representation through the bodies of the princesses, there has not been much progress in the way villains’ bodies are depicted. Most Disney villains exhibit a form of disability or non-normative embodiment including missing limbs, old age, or fatness. This thesis will analyze the bodies of three well-known Disney villainesses from three different eras—The Evil Queen, Ursula, and Mother Gothel—and will demonstrate how their bodies reflect the historical and cultural anxieties around non-normative embodiment for the time in which they were created.
Copyright
Copyright for this thesis is owned by the author. It may be freely accessed by all users. However, any reuse or reproduction not covered by the exceptions of the Fair Use or Educational Use clauses of U.S. Copyright Law or without permission of the copyright holder may be a violation of federal law. Contact the administrator if you have additional questions.
Recommended Citation
Bradley, Caroline, "Who is the Fairest of Them All? Disney’s Depiction of Non-Normative Embodiment in its Villainesses" (2018). Honors Theses. 579.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/579
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Food and Beverage Management Commons, Graphic Design Commons