Most parents refuse to let their children watching R-rated movies or explicit television shows because of sexual innuendos or harsh language, but have you ever met a parent who doesn’t allow his or her child to watch Disney? This may seem appalling because Disney appears so innocent and child-friendly, yet if you take a deeper look, what is Disney truly teaching our children? The idea of Disney and all its assets are centralized around the ideals of innocence, magic, and fun; three things children can’t help but fall in love with. Watching the movies, television shows, playing with the figurines, and taking trips to the magical land are all a part of the Disney experience. Personally, I’ve never met someone who is familiar with Disney World, or has asked “Who’s Cinderella?” when having a conversation. Disney is most often viewed as the fantasy land that doesn’t need to be questioned which is where problems start to rise. Disney has become so popular and powerful amongst our culture that people are scared to be a critic of Disney simply because of fear of being sued by the large corporation. The media has a huge impact on the success of the Disney Corporation because they’re constantly coming up with new things to add to this magical, imaginative land. Although Disney is a “real” place, the characters are based off fictional people and animals that send out real stereotypical messages to our children. Messages such as females using their bodies to manipulate men in society to coerce them to do whatever the women want, men always having to shows signs of strength and masculinity, and that racial comments aren’t a big deal. Although these messages may not be as obvious to children as they are to adults, they’re still being exposed to children and can have negative effects on them in the long run. Think about it; you’ve never seen an unattractive Disney princess. They’re all dressed beautifully, usually in a ball gown, their hair is perfectly placed upon their heads, and their faces are dolled up with make-up. Most often, the female character is always rescued by the male character making her seem weak and reliant on the man. This sends out the message that females are helpless and can’t do for themselves without the help of a man. Piggy-backing off that point, this also shows young boys that they have to show strength at all times and vulnerability is not accepted in society. Sexism is a huge part of the gender stereotypes in Disney films. Each prince is tall, strong, muscular, and handsome, while each princess is beautiful with a thin waist, hour glass figure, and big bold eyes. Racial commentary is also shown in several Disney films. For example, in the movie Dumbo, the black crows were supposed to represent the African American decent and portrayed the characteristics of being mean, aggressive, and unintelligent. Another racial stereotype made was in the movie Peter Pan when the song “What makes a Red Man Red” was sung by the characters in reference to the Native American people. I was raised on Disney and I never noticed these stereotypes. In my personal opinion, I feel like researchers have over examined the ideas and messages Disney is sending out to the youth of America. Questions raised from this research include like should researchers challenge Disney, or just leave one of the most powerful corporations in the world alone? Is Disney here to teach our children, or just simply entertain them? Ultimately, you have to ask yourself as a parent, or future parent, is it Disney’s responsibility to teach/raise our children? If a parent doesn’t agree with a message being sent out by the Disney Corporation, he or she should handle it as he or she sees fit. Anything having to do with your child is ultimately in your control seeing as you are the parent. Disney’s motivation to teach/entertain our children is simply money, not am I sending out the right message to children. It may be commonly known as the “Wonderful World of Disney”, but is Disney truly as wonderful as it’s made out to be? Ponder on that thought for a moment.