Consumers of Disney universe They are little girls, so the new viral trend of the ‘princess diet’ uses their model bodies to inspire a diet that brings them closer to being princesses, to being flattered by their beauty and, indirectly – or very directly -, telling them that thinness makes them protagonists, loved and worthy of success. On the other hand, Disney villains are fat Orsola wave Queen of Heartsand with characteristics in their way of being that are not so desirable: they are authoritarian, capricious. Villains tend to be more heavy-handed and represent morally negative behavior.
In this study, in which 31 children’s films were analyzed, it was found that more than 84% of them depicted negative stereotypes associated with overweight or obese characters: associated with laziness, low intelligence or negative traits in general. These leaders not only want to discipline the body, but continue to reinforce the stereotypes and stigma associated with weight. They do it so as not to waste time: from early childhood, a good indoctrination dressed in magic and fantasy, like a story, but based on real events.
In case you were lucky enough not to know about this macabre plan, these are diets that feature Disney princesses, and do not involve an intake of more than 600 kcal. Yes, you read that right: 600 kcal. A ridiculous amount of calories for growing girls. But we don’t look for their development and health: we look for thinness. So proposing them to eat on a base of 600 kcal may seem generous on their part.
This diet promises to make you lose ten kilos in two weeks and has found a way to spread at the speed of light on the TikTok platform. In this medium, weight loss strategies and forums such as the old Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia are promoted: dangerous communities, tricks and strategies, typical of anorexia and bulimia.
Snow White, for example, eats only five apples a day. A clean, beautiful, perfect fruit and closely associated with satiety, with much literature on eating disorders. ArielSince it lives in the sea, it fasts completely. You can only drink water. Very thoughtful of you; so the girls don’t get dehydrated.
and the Sleeping Beauty…well you can imagine how the day goes: he sleeps. And in this way it is also taught that sleeping can be a strategy to avoid ingesting calories. If I sleep, I don’t eat. Another one of those behaviors common in eating disorders: using sleep as a way to restrict food.
The effects caused by this type of diet in girls are very broad and serious. Due to the low calorie intake, they cause fatigue, dizziness, irritability, loss of muscle mass, hair loss, digestive problems and delayed pubertal development.
In adolescents, in addition to all of the above, it can cause a missed menstrual cycle if the restriction is prolonged, causing amenorrhea and hormonal problems resulting from low caloric intake and the stress to which the body is subjected. This, in turn, affects bone growth, damaging the bones and altering the immune system.
In both cases, in both girls and adolescents, it can trigger or reinforce complicated behaviors with food, sports and body image. They clearly pose a risk for the development of eating disorders.
They put pressure on girls and teenagers regarding their physical appearance. They all reinforce the dictates of aesthetic pressure, and girls learn to be validated based on their body size. They forget that their body is their home, where they live, and learn to put it in the showcase of the dictates of beauty and stereotypes.
It seems like a joke, but it’s not. These types of ideas, sometimes disguised as games or fantasies, are part of the discourses that permeate from childhood. Values such as restriction, control and guilt about food are transmitted. And behaviors are normalized which, in many cases, are the same ones found in eating disorders.
Because it’s not just a story. It’s diet culture.
And they tell us this since we were children.
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