3.06.2019

Tammy Schmit,

Bachelor in Anthropology and Political Science, University of Birmingham
Title of the dissertation: Exploring the role of women in popular culture: A feminist anthropological approach to Disney princesses
Description: My dissertation aims to explore the significance of Disney films in the twentieth and twenty-first century, by focusing on four iconic Disney princesses – Cinderella, Belle, Elsa and Anna -, through the lens of gender. Drawing on anthropological and feminist approaches to the study of gender and popular culture, my work traces the shifting ways in which Disney films have shaped and responded to Western ideas of gender and what it means to be a woman. By looking at the roots of the fairy tales as well as audience responses to the films, my work explores topics such as body image, clothes, patriarchy and female empowerment.