Gender Roles In Disney Movies

Disney films have always been a huge part of the pop culture. They featured instantly recognizable characters among every age group. These characters, especially the princesses, have been very influential, more precisely on young girls, from Belle to Frozen. However, the majority of these films revolve around the same plot with minor differences: it is always a tale about finding romantic love, a prince charming who saves the princess from a danger and they live happily ever after. However, in 2012, Disney and Pixar produced Brave, a movie that challenged the types of Disney movies we were used to. It favors feminism and gives girls a nontraditional princess model. Brave stars a strong female protagonist, Merida, and an influential plot that

She performs many things traditionally associated with male characters. She rejects these patriarchal views which makes her father, the king, proud. This clearly shows when she goes against her gender role when, instead of allowing young males to compete to win her hand for marriage in the archery contest, she boldly declares “I’ll be shooting for my own hand,” and beats them in the competition. Clearly, Merida bravely and regularly does “inappropriate” actions and activities for a princess specifically and a woman generally despite the disapproval of those around her, and in doing so, she acts as a strong model for others who do not fit into society’s narrow concepts of gender.
Merida is not the only character featured in Brave that takes a stand against gender stereotypes. Elinor, Merida’s mother, also defies the patriarchal and stereotypical concept of women being second to men. It seems in the movie that Elinor is quite as powerful as her husband, the king, in the kingdom. This is clearly illustrated when everyone begins fighting in the castle hall and Elinor is able to end the entire fight simply by walking calmly through the hall and insisting on her husband and three clan leaders to behave

The three young men who were asking for Merida’s hand in the purpose of marriage play negligible roles in the film and are used primarily to add comedic value. The princess has no romantic interests and she is perfectly happy with that. She has other ambitions not including love, and insists on finding love when she is ready, and at one point mentions that she may never be ready. Indeed, in the movie, Merida says to her mother: “You can just tell the lords the princess is not ready for this. In fact she might not ever be ready for this”. By stating this, Merida sends directly an important feminist message to all girls who are likely to consider princesses as role models and always think that finding love and getting married is the essence of their lives. It shows that it is perfectly fine if love and marriage do not go with women’s current or future plans and that they are allowed and at liberty to go after the goals they choose, rather than be restricted to the traditional roles of housewives and