Dr Robyn Muir


Lecturer in Media and Communications
PhD, BA (Hons), FHEA

About

Areas of specialism

Disney Princesses; Feminist Media Studies; Facet Methodology; Disney; Media and Audiences; Media Literacy; Gender Literacy; Feminism; Gender

University roles and responsibilities

  • Academic Integrity Officer
  • Member of the Department of Sociology Athena Swan Committee
  • Member of the Department of Sociology Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

    My qualifications

    2020
    PhD
    University of Nottingham
    2015
    BA (Hons) Politics
    University of Nottingham

    Research

    Research interests

    Research projects

    Supervision

    Postgraduate research supervision

    Teaching

    Publications

    Highlights

    The Disney Princess Phenomenon

    A Feminist Analysis

    The Disney Princesses are a billion-dollar industry, known and loved by children across the globe.

    Robyn Muir provides an exploratory and holistic examination of this worldwide commercial and cultural phenomenon in its key representations: films, merchandising and marketing, and park experiences. Muir highlights the messages and images of femininity found within the Disney Princess canon and provides a rigorous and innovative methodology for analysing gender in media.

    Including an in-depth examination of each princess film from the last 83 years, the book provides a lens through which to view and understand how Disney Princesses have contributed to the depiction of femininity within popular culture.

    Order your copy here

    Muir, R. (2023) The Disney Princess Phenomenon: A Feminist Analysis Bristol: Bristol University Press

    The Disney Princesses are a billion-dollar industry, known and loved by children across the globe.

    Robyn Muir provides an exploratory and holistic examination of this worldwide commercial and cultural phenomenon in its key representations: films, merchandising and marketing, and park experiences. Muir highlights the messages and images of femininity found within the Disney Princess canon and provides a rigorous and innovative methodology for analysing gender in media.

    Including an in-depth examination of each princess film from the last 83 years, the book provides a lens through which to view and understand how Disney Princesses have contributed to the depiction of femininity within popular culture.

    Muir, R. (2022) ‘Into the Unknown’: Using facet methodology to explore the Disney Princess Phenomenon

    The Disney Princesses are 18 royal characters featured in Disney and Pixar animated films, merchandise, marketing, and consumer experiences, marketed towards young consumers. Whilst much research has focussed on the representation of gender in Disney Princess films, there has been little focus on the rest of princess culture. This article argues that to understand the Disney Princess Phenomenon in its entirety, a new methodology must be introduced to the field. The article introduces Mason’s facet methodology as a methodological innovation to the fields of Disney and feminist media studies. A creative and innovative approach that allows researchers to ‘play’ with different methods to explore cultural phenomenon. Facet methodology imagines the selected phenomenon as a gemstone, where each ‘element’ or ‘part’ of the phenomenon is a facet of the overall gem. By using different methods to explore each facet, researchers can use findings to refract and reflect ‘light’ on each of the different elements of the phenomenon, demonstrating its entwined nature. The paper firstly outlines Jennifer Mason’s facet methodology. Secondly, it introduces the facets identified in the Disney Princess Phenomenon: films, merchandising and marketing, and consumer experiences. The article then focuses on how facet methodology enabled a creative and holistic approach to studying each facet of the princess phenomenon through a variety of research methods: textual analysis, interviews, content analysis, and autoethnography. The paper then reflects on the approach of facet methodology for research on the Disney Princess Phenomenon and in feminist media studies and media and communication, arguing that facet methodology provides researchers with insights to phenomena we would otherwise not uncover due to its holistic approach.

    Muir, R., Frasl, B., Lauder, C. and Schreiber-Byers, E. (eds) (2022) Evil Women: Through Literature, Culture and Film Leiden: Brill Publishing