'Disney princess' culture can lead to progressive thinking

Researchers found princess engagement was associated with higher body esteem in young children. Photo / Supplied

Being a young Disney princess fan makes children more likely to hold progressive views on gender, a study suggests.

Researchers at Brigham Young University, Utah, studied more than 300 boys and girls when they were in preschool, and again five years later, to assess whether watching Disney princess films affected their attitudes towards gender over time.

Professor Sarah Coyne, lead author, suggested in previous research in 2016 that interest in Disney princesses, such as Elsa from Frozen, may affect how young girls perceive body image.

That study, of 198 children, looked at how they interacted with the popular characters through films and toys and then assessed their behaviours.

It found that 96 per cent of girls viewed Disney princess content and 61 per cent played with princess toys at least once a week. Among the boys, 87 per cent viewed princess content, but only 4 per cent played with the toys.

In the latest study, published in the journal Child Development, the researchers found children who were interested in princesses at 5 were more likely to hold progressive opinions about gender roles by age 10.

Coyne said she had expected to see opinions such as negative body image among the children in the follow-up study.

But she found that those who watched Disney princess films and played with related toys aged 5 had more equal views toward women by age 10.

The first group also agreed that men should be able to show emotion more than the second group.

"Princess culture gives women key storylines where they're the protagonist," Coyne told the Wall Street Journal.

Children who preferred the more independent princesses, such as Mulan and Moana, did not display less gender-stereotypical views than those whose favourite was Cinderella, she said.

"The results indicated that early engagement with princess culture was not associated with later adherence to female gender stereotypes," the authors wrote.

"However, princess engagement was associated with lower adherence to norms of hegemonic masculinity and higher body esteem."