She cares little about appearance, enjoys adventurous things like riding her horse, and is hopeless at “womanly” duties like pouring tea. That would never have happened years ago. These are all important to her character, but don’t serve as weaknesses. I sometimes think people are saying that it is wrong to be feminine, but what if that’s who you are? Some of the most popular films are those of the Disney Princesses. Thanks! It is exactly the balance of traditional female and male traits that make her such a successful protagonist. However, the One has to remember the time at which each movie came out and the concepts in society at the time. Both chronicle their decline in their addiction, but they also both cover the way they were reported in the tabloids during their struggles. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2012. If we are to make Disney movies more gender aware, we cannot disregard the importance of representation of masculine characters. Merida only rejects her mother’s configuration of who she is supposed to be because Elanor and Merida were born from different molds, and can’t reconcile their separate configuration. Instead, she is earning respect through continuing to work for what she wants – much like Prince Charming when he meets Snow White and attempts to win her affections – and through her increased athleticism and militaristic skills. I’m not sure which is worse–the uber-feminine princess who is totally dependent on men, or the princess who is only taken seriously after embracing or honing masculine traits. Though you do make a fair point on Merida and Mulan, I’ve never thought of these two rejecting femininity entirely. In addition, Prince Charming is flat and unchanging. Want to write about Animation or other art forms? That all changed when the Industrial Revolution came about and women wanted more equal rights. She is kind, accomplished at “feminine” activities, innocent, indecisive at times, and, yes, beautiful. If this is the case, Brave and Mulan actually have very similar plots. We have many examples on this show of how their gender roles identify who they are. Women were to fulfill the role of the traditional housewife while men were to be the main income of the family and the head of household. This group of friends, just like the ones from One Tree Hill struggle to find their identity as a teenager. Merida rejects suitors and is willing to risk war for her own happiness. Teddy, is also a typical jock who plays tennis and is trying to go professional with it. Mulan makes some strides, but she has to pretend to be a man. 135. At its onset, the term was applied to the political dominance in ancient Greece. Men were portrayed in these films as head over heels for this new image that came about for women. I hope that as the years go on, and media continues to listen to society, women in Disney films won’t have to sacrifice their femininity to be heroes. The only other ones I can think of are Atlantis and Treasure Planet, which, admittedly, I haven’t seen in a long time and which don’t get much recognition. Lucas was raised by Karen, a single mother who was very sad, and unsuccessful. It might be a coincidence that Mulan came out 8 years after Judith Butler’s book “Gender Trouble.” All in all, the feminist aspect of this article is a little of with a defined idea of what gender is and categorized. The examples so far have been extreme, but that’s not to say that there aren’t princesses in the middle of the feminine-masculine spectrum. I largely appreciate the arguments you lay out in this article and the discussion you’re generating. Gulliver’s Travels: The Making of a Classic…75 Years Later, World Building in Animation: The Scene Behind the Scene. The examples we have chosen to look into are : One Tree Hill, 90210, and pretty little liars. The end result is that she becomes herself. With the addition of Merida, and now Moana, there is a much more conscious effort to have the female protagonist be assertive, adventurous, and successful without the help of a knight in shining armor. Is the World Ready for an LGBTQ Disney Princess (or Prince)? Make no mistake, Disney movies have plenty to teach young men about masculinity, and not all of the lessons are good. With the current trend of Disney princesses, it’s possible to hope that future generations will not consider personality traits to be gendered at all. The more “feminine” trait of flexibility leads to her greater success as a strategist. More than that, her hobbies shows an acceptance of the warrior lifestyle that Mulan also lives. Though she makes all of these bad decisions for love. The portrayals in early Hollywood films for older populations are just as equally represented in the cartoon movies for the younger generations. It is sung by cousins Julia (Deborah Walley) and Nancy Carey (Hayley Mills), and their friend, Lally Joy Popham (Wendy Turner). Relating back to the classic Disney cartoons, something else to think about is Disney movies are the female villans like Ursula, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen from Snow White. There are other, r ecent Disney movies that seem to reify the post-feminist hero. Throughout the film, Merida doesn’t lose the essential traits that make her who she is, but she comes to repair her relationship with Queen Elinor. Disney vs. Masculinity. “The historical literature pertaining to the representation of women in film and television often highlights the six  critical and provocative themes: blatantly sexist early portrayals, traditional home and family roles, heterosexual-romance relationship roles, underrepresentation and marginalization, sexual objectification, and ideal body and beauty standards.” (Soloman,Carstarphen, 135) Throughout Chapter 11 it shows different examples of women being portrayed in early Hollywood. She puts herself first, which is a potential parallel with Prince Charming from Snow White. It is rather nice to see Disney *slowly* evolving to show stronger, more independent women. Perhaps not. So, what does this continue to tell young viewers subliminally? I can’t wait! Indeed, there are often female protagonists in these movies as well, but they are considered to be, alongside other female … “Gender Portrayals in Film and Television.”. While I can see Laura Jones’ point that it does, to an extent, elevate traditionally feminine traits, it is ultimately a racist caricature. I find Pochahontas errs on the side of racism a bit. This leads to the problem of roles of typical masculinity and femininity in the workplace. I love the line where Phoebus compliments Esmerelda for “fighting almost as well as a man” and she responds by saying she was going to compliment him by saying he “fights almost as well as a man.” Calling him out on his chauvinism. I also love Disney films and it is true with women being as evil characters in most of the movies. I think the first thing that needs to be understood is that “femininity” and “masculinity” are societal concepts, which you kind of touched upon. The answer to this question is clear when movies with the most traditionally “masculine” princesses are looked at as a whole. Without the need to protect her father, would she have gone to war as a man? Both Mulan and Merida, arguably the most “masculine” of the Disney princesses, are characters who make a journey of self-acceptance. One last notable thing about gender ideology in the film is the difference between Snow White and the Evil Queen. Pocahontas does exactly the opposite; she gives up the opportunity to be with the man she loves to act as a peacekeeper for her people and the Europeans. If she were less beautiful, would he have pursued her or listened to her views? This means that Merida’s rejection of her mother and her ideals can then be seen as a rejection of her own femininity. Girls are shown as submissive and weak, and men on the other hand strong and independent. Masculinity In every day society Masculinity; definition of: possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men. These ideas are both supported and contradicted by classical hollywood roles, female disney characters, and the portrayal of masculinity and femininity in music and television. Men are masculine, strong heroes in music who stop at nothing for their work. Women in our society are condemned for being emotional and they are given negative labels for their “instability”. did not exactly honor the star. She loves to go on adventures with her horse, and archery is her passion. Also, in the case with Mulan, we don’t see how she was brought up with these ideas about how to act. When she’s late to get ready for the matchmaker she rigs a device so her dog can feed the chickens, while being dragged through her makeover she stops, analyzes, and wins a chess game between to older men sitting in the street, and finally figures out how to use the two weights to climb the pole in the training camp and retrieve the arrow. A project on the portrayal of masculinity offered in Disney films. Someone else above in the comments had something quite insightful to say about that too. This all becomes inconsequential once she’s discovered to be a woman, though, proving that even male traits aren’t enough for her to be accepted by society at large; she must literally be a man to earn respect. I like the gender identity exploration on what it means to be a woman. In many ways, this could be considered great progress. As women were still fighting for their rights and independence Hollywood focused for a few decades on male masculinity and females still just being either a traditional housewife or a sexual object until around the 1980’s more female sitcoms were coming on television and from then on females kept appearing in more films and television shows. Yes, because she’s in a society where challenging gender roles is HARD. I thought it was rad to see a cultural symbol recontextualized like that. In addition, we see that Mulan doesn’t have to outwardly change to be accepted. There was films dabbling in the new light of sex appeal but there were still shows being produced such as I Love Lucy where they still showed the role of the female being in the household and the male being the main breadwinner. But, recently two documentaries have come out about two extremely talented artists who eventually died from their addictions. Heck, Snow White came out before Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex,” so, at that time, we had no feminine ideology to challenge these ideas. To be fair to Disney, their movies do provide a wide range of representations of masculinity. From these lyrics, we get that she is very lost when it comes to her definition of self, and she considers herself a failure for not fitting her society’s definition of what a female should be. Thanks for the good read! Snow White sings of hoping “for the one I love to find me”, yet her reaction when the prince appears is not one of recognition, but of fear. Annie tries to fit in this new style of life, but she is shut down many times by her new friends. Mulan in particular shows how women were treated with less respect than men in that time in China’s history. If this is the case, then the evolution of the Disney princess is truly a positive thing for youth of any gender. A line the media never dared cross, too scared to lose access to his band. Recently the Disney movies like, , have been able to break certain stereotypes, like rushed marriage and love at first sight. Elsa is shown to be dangerous because she is unable to control her emotions/ powers and locks herself  away because of it. There aren’t many Disney movies centered around actual men (rather than anthropomorphized male animals). After all, she’s the Disney princess who complains about her “dull, provincial” hometown and is totally unmoved by Gaston, who, let’s face it, is a hottie. When will we have a meaningful and egalitarian relationship for our young boys and girls to look at?? Is this in-between princess better than complete rejection of “feminine” traits? The Little Mermaid is sometimes referred to as a Trans woman’s story: Ariel spend her entire life trying to become the person she knows she is inside, and would like her outside to reflect her inside. As the first of a long line of movies in a similar vein, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) established many stereotypes – particularly in terms of gender – that became an important part of Disney movies for years to come. This is a woman’s courage rather than a man’s. It’s doubtful. This is a clear example of the fearless – even reckless – protector-hero archetype from the Prince Charming days, and is yet another example of a traditionally “masculine” trait. After all, while Mulan may not fit the typical woman in her society, she doesn’t seem to hate being a woman. Speaking as a man, my mom won’t stop talking about when I dressed up as Mulan for Halloween. He battles with his identity and his role in society now that he does not like girls. Admittedly, the movie is called Snow White, not Prince Charming, but this still raises the question of whether the film portrays men as unimportant. This is about much more than a mother-daughter relationship; the entire film is a metaphor for Merida coming to terms with her own femininity… and with it, her whole self. The movie centers around the dangers of an emotional woman. Great insight. The way the media reports on women contributes to the issues of masculinity and femininity. From Disney’s first princess film in 1937 to its latest in 2013, there is no denying that the Disney Princess has evolved. It’s important for children to see that every individual holds different traits. Meg, the female counterpart is a highly sexualized character, while different from Disney Princesses in that she is aggressive, sassy, and outspoken. This is a really interesting topic, especially in the current time we all live in, having tracked disney from as early as Snow White from not the 30’s but our own childhoods. Beyond tough and cold men, there is a lot of space for real emotions, kindness, femininity, sensitivity and literally anything else. Worse, it portrays Snow White as secretly enjoying this pursuit. This causes her friends to dub her “the bravest of us all”. Modern Disney princesses in this way are so similar to today’s women. One example is Lucas Scott one of the main characters. We also have Annie an innocent girl from Kansas that moves to Beverly Hills. Is this evolution really positive, or is it just another way to prevent self-acceptance? Again, this scene has some dark undertones; the prince is, after all, kissing an unconscious woman that he has met once. I was thinking about that while I was reading this. While the men in the movies are shown as the rational hero to help wrangle the woman. “Gender Portrayals in Film and Television.”                                             Race Gender Class Media. In fact, there are a few that manage a very successful blend of “masculine” and “feminine” traits. Masculinity and Femininity have been strongholds in our American society for quite some time and while they may hold true to some people, they have become more harmful as our society progresses. And where assertiveness and masculinity fails, Disney’s women find power in emotion and femininity. It definitely lines up with a lot of my thinking that the right way to do something is usually between two extremes. But, recently two documentaries have come out about two extremely talented artists who eventually died from their addictions. Her acceptance of another culture, something that comes from her gentle spirit, allows her to risk everything to prevent a war. The unfair treatment of men and women in the music industry is nothing new. She is shown as a eyelash batting and silently beautiful character with an innocent humor for the movie. The gender roles are exposed as fake, artificial constructs that are at best guidelines. Having strong role models from all walks of life is important for kids and Disney have a lot of power to do good there. portray masculinity as an object of female agency. She doesn’t need to give up her traditionally “masculine” traits; she’s still outgoing, adventurous, and assertive. She traded in her voice (an important part of identity) in order to be near Prince Eric. Creating a Disney movie showing a male or female “stuck” within their stereotype will fail these days. 5:15. Does making movies more femnist mean we have to erase all gender stereotyped people, like they never existed? Mulan realized the one remaining missile wouldn’t do significant damage to Shan Yu’s army, so she ignored all the people yelling and shot it towards the mountain and burying the thousands in the rapidly approaching horde. In particular, the movies Pocahontas (1995) and Tangled (2010) offer strong female role-models that embrace their femininity while remaining strong characters with more to offer than beauty and obedience. Stereotypical or modern: every woman goes through a period of questioning who she is and how comfortable she is in playing the roles society assigns her. She is honoured in front of the ultimate authority in her country, in spite of her sex. This compressed view through the years and up through the Disney movies is facinating to look at, and you convey this well. Isn’t opposing her, the central power of another kingdom, a risk? It is my personal hope that Disney will continue creating female protagonists–not necessarily princesses–who are more balanced than Snow White or Mulan. In addition to the princesses becoming more gender-neutral in their interests, the princes have also decreased in the “traditional” roles of “active” embodying the action in the films. A man’s choice of mate can be solely based on shallow things such as the beauty of a woman’s voice and face, and constant harassment will win her over. I liked your analysis of the Disney princesses and the gender roles of their time period as well as the other arguments you make. Her adventurous independence, assertiveness, determination, and courage are also essential parts of her, though. When Jimi Hendrix died  he did not receive the same treatment Joplin would. Another example is Lucas’ half brother Nathan Scott. Masculinity, an expression of sexual identity, is typically considered the enactment of male identity. You have selected the appropriate examples for your ideas. I always loved the representation of villains in Disney films as much as the princesses, and in many ways they seem quite empowered or sexually confident in themselves, yet by the sheer nature that they are a villain, they often suffer within that narrative. This ultimately leads to the feeling of empowerment in the female audience as they are lead away from the normal gender traits. Hollywood films then started coming out to scare these women of the horrors that would happen to them if they continued to be more independent. This leads to the problem of roles of typical masculinity and femininity in the workplace. A study of gender diversity in animated media, Significance of character design of non-human creatures, Disney & the Magic of Hand Drawn Animation. Also, sidebar: did anybody else pick up on the fact that Rapunzel’s weapon of choice is a frying pan, an item that belongs in the kitchen–a traditionally feminized space? It really made me think. As a female myself, I have a balance between the masculine and feminine. Definitely; that’s a great point. The princesses are often beautiful, polite, shy and seeking the love of their Prince Charming. Very interesting and well written article. Males do not have a monopoly on traits historically (and often unfairly) associated with them, after all. "Femininity" is a song from the film Summer Magic. That is definitely what I want to see. She is portrayed as an evil witch, but her worst evil could be stepping outside of her gender role into a position of leadership. It operates independently with the writers collaboratively building and maintaining the platform. Disney has also seen a change towards a unified queen away from divided female characters pitted against one another. Even in the male protagonist Disney movies like, , the femininity and masculinity roles come into play. These are some of the few women in power in Disney movies that hold a role other than the silent Mother/Queen. Disney Princess keep getting more and more progressive to fit the mindset of the world . Therefore, we see that her strength of character that comes with these traits makes it impossible to be accepted as a woman. However, I hope that as time passes, traits are no longer denoted as “more feminine” or “more masculine”- instead women should simply choose the traits or lifestyle that allows them to be their best self. Really interesting! He is negotiating the meeting of two worlds, just as Pocahontas does. The rejection femininity is a very human reality, men and women both reject feminine traits as they don’t want to be seen as “weak”. Disney has a lot of power to influence even the youngest of children, and I think that it is really important that parents and movie watchers understand this. Female sexuality really took a new spin when the blonde bombshell became popular creating this image of a drop dead gorgeous women, with looks, and charm that could basically make any man weak at the knees. When Jimi Hendrix died  he did not receive the same treatment Joplin would. The effeminate villain in Disney is almost never openly a member of the LGBT club. Can’t a woman be independent, strong, assertive, and brave? While Mulan is a strong character, she has to ultimately reject her “feminine” side entirely to find both self-affirmation and affirmation from others. The examples you use are all effective, and of course it was rational not to analyze every princess because that would take forever. Instead Mulan, the lone female, thinks of using the columns around the house to gain access. I agree that there is no such thing as a man’s courage and a woman’s courage in reality. I think that this article is pretty interesting and a fun and intriguing read. In fact, when Amy Winehouse won big at the grammy’s everything but congratulations was given. An issue with Ariel is that she spends literally the entire movie and thus most of her life going to extreme measures to become something she’s not. Feminism should mean that all women has the opportunities that men have, which also means that if you fall in love and you want to be with that person over anything else, you should be able to do it. They fit differently to each other because the part of the picture that they try to fit the other one into doesn’t fit. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Simply another stereotype of marriage. Merida is the opposite, taking up warrior pastimes by choice – purely “selfish” reasons, if you will – rather than because she’s backed into a corner. Pochahontas’s beauty emanates from her dark skin, and her allure from her foreign identity. This is a nod to the current day struggle for women in power to be taken seriously, and not being called and demeaning names for holding power. That is, Disney’s portrayal of masculinity is also problematic but has received little attention. When it comes to masculinity and femininity in films and television you can almost always tell whether someone is portrayed more masculine or feminine and the roles they play are often always similar. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2012. Nice article. The portrayals of masculinity and femininity started somewhere and in America it started with the early Hollywood films and their portrayals of males and females. I thought this was an interesting take on the progression of “masculine” qualities in Disney princesses over time. This was a great read. For the 1st time in Mulan and Tangled, the women were portrayed as having some masculinity not the stereotypical lady of the 18th and 19th century. Aladdin is the biggest one, but I’m not sure how I feel about that as a representation of masculinity. But she is a guilty character and seen as a liar, untrustworthy and impure. Daria and the Clichéd Representation of Teenagers, How Princesses of Color Have Improved the Disney Princess Narrative, The Quiet Man: A Classic with a Lot to Say, The Persistent Allure of Victorian Literature, She’s A Disney Princess In This New ‘Laid-Back Camp’ Anime Clip, Violet Evergarden: The Movie, Eizouken! I completely agree with the way you view Rapunzel and Pocahontas. Who would have thought that talking about Disney Princesses could lead to such intriguing discussions about the nature of men and women; male and female roles in society; and what is or isn’t ‘feminist’. While Kurt Cobain’s talent always reigned supreme. She challenges all female stereotypes of the Snow White era; she is decisive, athletic, strong-willed, stubborn, uninterested in romance, and, of course, brave. Because of toxic masculinity and the seemingly deadlocked views on what “manlihood” should look like, we are in desperate need for more healthy, more nuanced, and more sensitive male characters in movies. As for Merida, gender really isn’t the issue at hand in the movie. Disney princes' five most common traits were: “shows emotion, affectionate, physically strong, assertive and athletic” (England 560) The two most common characteristics of the princes were classified as feminine. Great post it was fun to read. For example, The Little Mermaid, Ariel won the affection of her prince charming by her beauty and her silence. The song “Reflection” is the clearest demonstration of her rejection of her own femininity. The media did not want her to succeed, her addiction was treated as a joke and she was ridiculed. I actually think Frozen does a fair bit of gender bending, a contrast to Disney’s past portrayal of female protagonists in their normal gender roles. However you used the example of Mulan’s plan to bury the Huns in the avalanche as an example of her “masculine” traits of recklessness and bravery when it was the exact opposite. I cannot say that this is a good representation of the gender spectrum, especially when, in Mulan’s case, it is not that she wants to be a man it is that she want to be accepted. Because of this evolution, I am very excited to see Moana, the first Polynesian princess. Most of the other Disney men act as the object of the woman’s desire (a la Charming and the other princes) or as the antagonist (Gaston). hegemonic masculintiy - oppositional masculinity. Yes, he is polite enough to take off his hat and ask about Snow White’s feelings, like a gentleman. 2nd ed. Why doesn’t she fit these, though? no woman can ever be needing assistance, or no villan can be depicted as ugly). This coincides with the stereotype that women will do anything for love, while Hercules also follows the stereotype that men are helpless when confronted by a sexualized woman. She is her own person, but she does it as a woman content with her gender identity. Considering John’s initial attitude towards First Nations people, likely not. That doesn’t make you weaker, or more emotional, it’s just you being you. I find storywriters who “break” away from the gender stereotypes go further in their stories, creating something brilliant and relatable to people in real life. So, when we see Mulan, we see that her character traits are even different than what women accept. characters and masculinity in Disney animated feature films. Women in our society are condemned for being emotional and they are given negative labels for their “instability”. In One Tree Hill we have a group of teenagers from North Carolina that are struggling to find who they are. Disney as a whole is showing signs if evolving I think. Even in the male protagonist Disney movies like Hercules, the femininity and masculinity roles come into play. She traded in her voice (an important part of identity) in order to be near Prince Eric.
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