I also found this interesting video on YouTube. The director of this short project looks at the portrayal of masculinity and themes of stereotypical masculinity in various Disney movies. Now, I am not here bashing Disney movies nor am I jumping up on top of a building shouting to the world that Disney is a conspiracy. I grew up, like probably most of us, singing right along with the songs in The Lion King or Aladdin. I loved probably ever single Disney movie that came out! But as an adult with critical thinking capabilities, sometimes when I stand back, I can evaluate things in a different light. And I do think that in this short project the director does make very valid points. In the context of this class, we often ask how are these stereotyped images of femininity and masculinity reinforced. Maybe they are being instilled in us from very unlikely sources, such as Disney movies. I also have to add, that I think the idea presented at the end of the film about introducing additional qualities of masculinity such as caring, could be a great way to bring about new ideals of what it is to be masculine.
Here is the video. Again, I am not trying to trample over your favorites childhood movies. I apologize if you feel that I am. It was never my intention.
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One thing in this video clip that is interesting and relatable to our in class discussion. In the Disney movies, the narrator states that by creating roles for men and women to fit (i.e. heroine/hero roles) they are making people think that there are certain things that they have to do (i.e. the boy should be the one to make the first move) thus, creating seterotypical roles that children think they need to portray. One example that the narrator used was that in many of these Disney movies, it is made to look like women are just here for the pleasure and satisfaction of men's needs. This is similar to the video we watched in class, Dreamworld. It is interesting to me that although Dreamworld was a much more vulgar and uncomfortable way to display this message, Disney movies, which we encourage young children to watch and consider them to be safe, displays the exact same message.
This is so upsetting, but at the same time it is not new information. I can't remember the last time that I watched a Disney movie without thinking about how sexist they are and all of information that they are programming in children's brains. It's amazing because even though I am an adult now I still have a place in my heart for those movies. THey are fun, colorful, and have catchy songs. What is there to not love about them from an outside view? However I can only imagine that this is where some little girls are developing the horrible need to be "beautiful". I use quotations because the women portrayed in Disney films have the proportions of a barbie doll. If they were to exist in real life they would have six inch feet and a thirteen inch waist, with big lips, big hair, a small nose, and huge eyes. I have a niece who is obsessed with Disney Princesses and when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said without even taking time to ponder, "A tiara and a princess dress!!!!!!!" . Her mom ended up buying her them for Christmas and I bought her an Ariel doll. It is funny because I know the stereotypes they are burning into her brain are horrible and could potentially be self destructive to her in the future. On the other hand how can we shelter our loved ones from this type of torture. I guess it is her parents and even my role in her life to teach her that beauty is not what Walt Disney constituted as pretty. We have to teach her to be a strong woman that is confident in her appearance because if we restrict her from these movies we are forcing her to miss out on childhood.
In the video, they should clips from the Lion King. It is a good example of how society views someone in power. Mufasa and Simba both are very muscular and strong while Scar, who has power for only a little while, is thin and does not appear to be strong. This is enforcing the idea that individuals must be big and strong if the want to be successful in life. Also in the same movies you have the princesses that are very pretty, scantly dressed, and always get the prince. This is sending a subtle message to young girls that if they want to get their prince charming they must be skinny, wear little clothing, have long hair, and they can't be successful on their own. I do have to give some credit to Disney for making a movie that challenges the stereotypes a little. The movie that challenges the stereotypes a little is Chicken Little. The heroine is not the most beautiful one but actually one of the annoying ones.
I love these movies, I own the vast majority of Disney movies on dvd, but it is amazing how much stereotyping and gendering is in all of these movies.
Disney is a mega-conglomerate that thrives on shaping children through movies, TV shows, and merchandising. I think they have done a decent job of changing these gender roles with the times. Then again I don’t think we’ll see an openly gay character in a Disney movie or show any time soon. There are so many examples of gender stereotypes that looking at these films from a critical lens may make you cringe a bit.
There are countless amounts of Disney movies that represent these gender roles. For instance, I know particularly in the Little Mermaid that Ariel takes charge of her own destiny by selling her voice for a pair of legs, but what does she sacrifice her voice for really? LOVE! Nothing more than love. This reinforces the idea that women are incapable of achieving any real success in their lives other than choosing who to marry.
Even when we were talking about same sex relationships, peer groups play a huge role in how children perceive their gender. With shows like Hannah Montana, Disney is portraying this new ideal for girls that embody two very different sides. On one hand we have Miley, a regular girl who’s funny, awkward, attractive, friendly, sensitive, and normal and on the other hand we have Hannah Montana, a superstar who commands attention, is attractive, assertive, talented and a superstar. The one problem I have with this show is that is revolves around the idea that Miley can’t be credited to be both herself and Hannah at the same time, but still she’s expected to fulfill both roles. This plays into the effortless perfection concept and Superwoman concept we read about. What girls take away from this show then is that girls can “have it all”, but at the same time these various roles have to be kept separate from each other. I see so many little girls walking around with Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus t-shirts, backpacks, and notebooks. She is so popular in these feminine peer groups, she’s a sensation really, but is she sending a good message to girls about what they can achieve?
After just viewing the newest Disney movie Enchanted, I think it would be valid to mention in this discussion the fact that in the end of the movie, the female lead does save the male lead. However, the evil witch does rush to point out this diversion from "normal" fairytale mode. I think that Disney should refocus their movies to not only empower women, but to validate different types of manhood. Not every man is 6 feet tall and rippling with abdominal muscles, and I think Disney would do well to portray multiple types of heroes and heroines! The best type of childrens movies are the ones we can relate to, and I don't know about everyone else, but I can't really relate to being a damsel in distress 24/7.
Our discussion on the tough guise of masculinity is particularly pertinent to this conversation. The physical idealism that it creates for boys of what it looks like to be "a man" is troubling. Additionally, I think that it creates equally as distressing ideals for girls who are waiting for their knight in shining armor to sweep them off of their feet. Just as boys need to be told that these images of masculinity are skewed, girls need to be taught to not hold the guys around them to such ridiculous standards as well.
Jellyphish notes that "additional qualities of masculinity, such as caring, could be a great way to bring about new ideals of what it is to be masculine." This emphasizes the point that these things are excluded from the popular understanding of what masculinity is. The "tough guise" or distorted masculinity portrayed in small ways in Disney movies provides a limited view of what being a man looks like.
That is absolutely crazy to think about when paired with the “Tough Guise” video. Those Disney movies were definitely reinforcing what it meant to “be a man” in a skewed way. Men must be tough, rugged, intimidating, powerful, and assertive. It even demonstrated the importance of fighting for your girl. “My girl will marvel at my strength”. These are the type of ideals the “Tough Guise” video suggested we need to get away from. Women need to stop enabling men to act savagely. Women should not encourage men to be violent in order to settle disputes. After a man gets into a fight, it was advised that women do not run into his arm’s proudly saying, “That’s my man!” I think it’s really interesting how Disney, a major film company that reaches millions and millions of children, display such unrealistic gender roles in their films. They have to realize the influence they have in those children's lives. That certainly doesn’t seem right to me.
I think that this is kind of funny how we are introduced to these stereotypes at such a young age without even realizing it. Disney movies do tend to portray the men as rough and tough and often as the hero. In many of the movies the man (often a prince) rescues the princess from some sort of danger by the end of the movie, thereby getting the girl and living happily ever after.
One movie that seems to really push the idea that it is the woman's job to look pretty and the man's job to fight is Mulan. In the beginning they are trying to make Mulan look even prettier than she is so that she will get a great husband. Then they are informed that the man form every family must go fight. Since Mulan is a girl she cannot take her fathers place on the battle front. Instead she must conceal her female traits to pass herself off as a man. Towards the end of the movie she is disgraced as it is discovered tha she is not a he, that is until she finds a way to save the nation.
I agree with the fact that Disney has been encouraging these stereotypes with their movies - however, many of them are reflective of the time period in which the movie is supposed to be taking place. Women have not always had the equality that we have today and although we don't want to perpetuate it, isn't it wrong to go back and change the way history really was? By making these movies not show these things, it is in a way changing history and taking away the struggle that women faced to get where we are today.
Just another question for everyone on here - does anyone really feel that their morals and ideas about how to behave either as a boy or girl, were shaped by Disney movies? Really? Come on!
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