As the child, I loved watching
Disney movies.
The Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas,
Snow White, Cinderella, etc. These are the classics and every young girl
idolizes the young princesses.
Much older now and better at
analyzing, I now see the gender stereotypes that are reflected in the female
characters.
All the main female characters
(princesses) are beautiful, they have an amazing body and beautiful flowing
hair. They have gorgeous facial features including big round eyes, and small waists with curves. Disney sends the
message that if your slightly overweight, stocky and have short hair, then you
are not beautiful, because according to their "standards" you need to be tall, nice curves, skinny,
with beautiful facial features and long flowing hair. The typical gender
stereotype about women and beauty.
Also the female characters are
loving, kind, nurturing and good housekeepers. Again, this is conforming to the
traditional gender view of women and gender. Disney is reflecting the
stereotype that women are supposed to be good housekeepers. Snow White is shown
cleaning and cooking for the seven male dwarfs. Cinderella is shown being a servant
to her family, cooking and cleaning for them.
Also all the princes are rich,
famous, good-looking and charming. This is what every girl wants her prince to
be like. And in the end, all the female characters end up with their prince
charming, as usual under male dominance, and they live happily ever after. The
END
Although Disney movies have good
morals, gender stereotypes definitely are reflected in the female characters and
exist in the movies.
One major knowledge issue is: what are we showing to our children and how is this influencing their way of thinking when they are older? Once older, would they catergorize people by thier looks and social class instead of by their personality and heart?
One major knowledge issue is: what are we showing to our children and how is this influencing their way of thinking when they are older? Once older, would they catergorize people by thier looks and social class instead of by their personality and heart?
Now this is just a glance at the
overall topic, a chance to get the "big picture", I did not go in-depth on gender stereotypes in
Disney, there is SOOOO much more information and analysis that could be done on
each Disney movie.
Nicely said. As a whole, gender bias starts from a young age. I am yet to see a Disney Princess who succeeds without the engagement in a romantic affair with a male to ensure security. There should be a Disney Princess who starts solo and ends solo. No more, no less.
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog submission. I enjoyed reading it!
Nice blog. I enjoyed how you put forth examples, they really were an eye opener for me. I didn't really realize this issue until I became older and now its smacking me right in the face. This just goes to show how subliminal messages are widely used within the media. I think the script should be flipped and have a man being saved by a woman because those types of situation are not uncommon from what I have seen personally.
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