Fairy tale princesses are admired and imitated all over the world. The Walt Disney company has played a key role in its popularity by producing films based on these stories and critical voices have warned of the risks that such perfection entails and that it can generate unrealistic expectations that affect the self-esteem of its young fans, in addition of contributing to the maintenance of many stereotypes.
For this reason, research has until now focused on how these impossible beauty standards could affect child viewers, but a group of researchers has now directed attention to the potential health problems that 8 of these fictional characters would face if they moved to the real world and have described them in an article published in the satirical magazine The Bmj.
Health problems of Disney princesses
Although, as researcher Michael Bui warns in a note published at the University of Twente, “the article is purely satirical and should not be interpreted as a serious criticism,” these experts have described, with grace and sarcasm, the main health risks to those faced by the eight protagonists analyzed.
Snow White lives socially isolated by her evil stepmother, and the lack of social interaction, according to various studies, increases the chances of suffering from depression, anxiety or cardiovascular diseases, as well as increased mortality. Fortunately, her encounter with the Seven Dwarfs gets her out of this situation.
Jasmine, the protagonist of Aladdin, also has her social relationships limited to the staff of the Agrabah palace where she lives and to the characters who wish to marry her. Loneliness has been linked to mental illnesses (anxiety and depression), dementia and immune system disorders, to which is added the risk of living with your Rajah tiger, a wild animal that could cause injuries or transmit zoonotic infections.
Cinderella had enjoyed a happy childhood, but, after losing her father, her stepmother and stepsisters force her to take care of household chores and continued exposure to dust without any protection puts her at risk of developing respiratory system pathologies, a condition aggravated by her fairy godmother’s use of magic powder, aluminum-coated microplastics that could worsen her respiratory problems.
Strategies such as mindfulness, psychotherapy, training to live with animals and protection measures against infectious agents could help them finally live “healthy forever”
Pocahontas: the adventurous princess jumps into the water from a cliff whose approximate fall time is no less than nine seconds. Simulations based on its physical characteristics estimate that the cliff has a height of 252 meters, which far exceeds the safe limits for bones when diving. If I did it again, instead of “Colors in the Wind,” I would see monochrome x-rays and hear a symphony of fractures.
Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) falls asleep after being cursed by Maleficent and will continue to do so until a prince wakes her up with a kiss. Such a long sleep can cause cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as well as muscle atrophy. On the other hand, the fact that she cannot give her consent for the prince to kiss her goes against social norms and the ‘happy ending’ is completely outdated.
Mulan is a heroine who is subjected to family and social pressures that could be classified as honor-based violence and that increase the risk of her suffering from mental health problems such as anxiety.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast): the kind protagonist is forced to live with the Beast, a creature that has features of different animals and that could transmit serious infectious diseases such as rabies or brucellosis. Although it would almost have been worse if she stayed with her suitor Gastón, a narcissist in whose company she could have suffered mental health problems.
Rapunzel (Tangled) sports a very long braid of more than 21 meters and suffers constant traction on the scalp, which can trigger traction alopecia and persistent pain. Rapunzel’s magical hair is a source of constant discomfort and headaches that can take a toll on her mood.
Disney princesses seem to live “happily ever after,” but in reality they are surrounded by serious risks to their well-being and the time has come for Disney to adopt interventions that improve their health. Strategies such as mindfulness, psychotherapy, training to live with animals and protection measures against infectious agents or toxic particles could help them finally live “healthy forever,” the researchers conclude.
