One of the topics that always interested me is the cartoons and kids' movies that we used to watch as children. Families in many of the animations constantly have the traditional gender roles of the working, masculine father and stay home mother (Yerby et al., 2017). Disney princesses always have a male hero who saves them and guarantee their lives without working, and unfortunately, many girls used and still do look up to these characters (Yerby et al., 2017). Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were all incompetent in supporting themselves and becoming out of their issues (Chastain, 2014). Luckily, gender roles have changed and still changing, thanks to the feminist movement.
Gender roles are quite notable in Disney movies, typically ladies are represented as a royalty, monarch, or homemaker (Yerby et al., 2017). For example, Cinderella stays in the same reinforced servitude for the rest of her time until she leaves for marriage. Marriage was an insight of protection and sometimes escaping from the family; this view is still exciting in some places in the Middle East (Chastain, 2014). Cinderella and other Disney movies highlighted the importance of marriage for females to guarantee a happy life.
Another critical point is that these movies placed the position for a woman to be at home, not in the fieldwork. When getting married, women were supposed to stay at home, do the chores, and take care of the children. Moreover, Disney princess always looks better than other female characteristics in the film (Chastain, 2014). There are other critiques, such as falling in love with a princess based on her appearance, not personality, however, I will focus on the gender roles and how they developed.
Cinderella and others were stories that carried on traditional myths that soon lost admiration when women's rights grew. As there was a development in women's approaches, such as WID, WAD, and GAD, Disney films also developed. Particularly, this shift started in the 1980s, through the character Ariel who married her love; she is stubborn and determined, gaining success herself at the same time (Ambrozio, 2019). This film transformed Disney shows and began a modern period of Disney animation, where women are the heroes.
The revolution of Design movies and other cartoons did not start with the modernization theory in the 50s or with WID or WAD. However, the modernization of Disney began with GAD in the 80s. GAD argued why women regularly had been selected for secondary roles, and they questioned the power and agency. The development of the new era movies was affected by GAD ideas and modern feminism.
References:
Ambrozio, G. (2019). Because Of Modern Feminism Disney Princess Gender Roles Are Changing. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-evolution-of-gender-roles-in-disney-princess-movies
Chastain, E. (2014). Cinderella's Representation of Gender and How its Changed. Retrieved from https://the-artifice.com/cinderella-representation-gender-changed/
Gender Differences Cartoons and Comics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/g/gender_differences.asp
Yerby, A., Baron, S., & Lee, Y. (2017). Gender roles in Disney Animation. Retrieved from https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.yis.ac.jp/dist/2/1005/files/2017/01/gender-roles-in-disney-1xaedxp.pdf#:~:text=Gender%20roles%20are%20very%20prominent%20in%20Disney%20films%3B,praised%20for%20their%20determination%2C%20skills%2C%20and%20strong%20will.
Dina, this is amazing! Reading through your post reminded me of a representation movie/documentary that I saw that I would recommend-Mickey Mouse monopoly. It is quite interesting how the society/dominant structures go to great lengths to reinforce hegemonic structures, or could it be that they reflect to us what is already happening? It's a dilemma, right?
ReplyDeleteLike Tressie Cottom says, we indeed are products of our environment, virtual environment included. Therefore, what we consume largely from the mainstream media, socializes and influences who we become and so the difference even in media content.
Just as you have argued, through feminist organizing, some done through the mainstream media, others through activism, we are now witnessing the transformation. This shows the relevance of feminism in contemporary times.
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ReplyDeleteHi Dina, I love the topic of this post! I was doing a bit of digging on OU's library system on the topics of "Disney Princesses" and and "feminism" and came across the title "Princesses as Role Models for Young Girls". From the synopsis alone, the work gives mention that these fairytales are "traced to ancient literary and oral mythological traditions. The fairytale genre of fiction that emerged in Europe and North America in the seventeenth century continues to influence depictions of both male and female characters". This made me wonder, if fairytales are not limited to the plausible and often include the magical, why is it that female characters even in such imaginary spaces inclusive of pumpkin carriages, singing animals, and magical spells are women limited to roles that are just as oppressive as those in their everyday realities?
ReplyDeleteIt is also worthwhile to consider that "princesses" are those of the most privileged social order, belonging to the elite ruling class of a presumed monarchy. What other roles for women can the future of fairytales endorse without implying an inherited position of wealth and power via marriage or lineage of a royal family?
Hi Dina, I love that you wrote about the representation of Disney princesses and how it changed over time. My daughter is a big fan of Disney princesses, and I am pretty cautious about how it affects her perspective on gender roles. I agree that Disney princesses' movies started to change in a way that they shift the portrayal of women as servants and caretakers (such as Cinderella) to leaders who have agencies to make their own decisions (such as Moana). I also agree that feminist movements have contributed to this transformation.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I prefer to avoid princess stories and encourage more stories of women having real professions, such as businesswomen and policewomen. I noticed every time I asked my daughter about what she wanted to be in the future, she kept answering she wanted to become a princess. However, when I asked the same question to other boys, they talked about real professions like police and astronaut. Then I noticed that most stories for boys and girls are pretty much different. While boys see themselves in the story as professionals, girls often see themselves as princesses (which merely just a fantasy and make girls focus on their appearance).
Interesting post! Dina. This post reminds me of Sing, a cartoon which was released in 2017. The role of Mama pig represents the modern day women roles, she loved to sign but because she had more than 12 kids to take care of and an unsupportive husband she nearly lost her chance of singing which brought lots of fortunes to her life.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when it comes to the roles of gender in most Disney movies, it only portrays women as a character of a rich (Princess) or poor (Servant), which I see it as an inappropriate way of reveling the role of women to the society and kids. Although there are other cartoons that focuses on the role of professionals, I think it high time the princesses and servants role are put to a halt!
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ReplyDeleteHi Dina, this is such a beautiful piece. I had never really looked at Disney movies with such a critical eye. The evolution of Disney princesses is a creative and well-researched topic. I remember watching Disney Princesses when I was growing up, and wishing I would also find my prince charming to move me into their palaces. However, the reason I agree with you the most is that as the framing started happening from WID to GAD, my perspective also changed. I no longer wished that a Prince would bring me into his palace, but rather that I was the princess, bringing him into my palace. The shift from WID to GAD is an eye-opener especially in the Disney setting when observing the timeline of the character changes of the Princesses
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