Sexual Inequality in Disney Movies

988 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender roles in disney movies essays

We live in a world that is surrounded with beauty. Amazing skyscrapers, tall, strong buildings. A world that is now equal in all aspects in life, racially, sexually, physically. However, it can be said that this is not the case in the media. Beautiful women were portrayed weak while hideous women were characterized as evil. This essay will explore the sexual inequality in the disney movies Little Mermaid, Tangled and Cinderella . Little Mermaid, a disney filmed created in the 1950’s. A story based upon a mermaid princes who dreams to be a part of the human society. However, her almighty father forbids her from doing this. This is a classic example of how sexual inequality is portrayed in disney movies. Throughout the exposition of the film, the father and his trustworthy companion sebastian clearly states how Ariel is too pretty and too weak and is not able to defend her self. This is clearly evident when King Triton said “You are forbidden to go to the surface. It is too dangerous, someone could of seen you” This quote supports the idea that Ariel is too weak and must be protected. To further support my point, only a few lines later, King Triton commands sebastian to monitor Ariel’s actions as a form of protection. Sebastian must report to King Triton and inform him that his youngest and prettiest daughter is safe from harm. This supports my point because it exemplifies how disney movies portray young and pretty women to be extremely weak to the point where they must be supervised at all times. Moving on, in every classic disney film, if the villain is a female; it is common and somewhat expected to picture her as extremely hideous and seek to be gorgeous. This was clearly seen in Little Mermaid. Ursula, the movie's main vill... ... middle of paper ... ... portrayed to be ugly and seek to beauty. Lastly, every princess in disney films are portrayed to need saving. In the film Cinderella, this is also the case. She spends the majority of her time locked away in the tower and acts as a maid. She wishes to be saved and set free from her duties from her stepmother. Though not the typical saving, she still required to be set free. In the Disney film Cinderella, it exemplified sexual inequality. They did so by portraying cinderella as weak, female villains as ugly and seek for beauty and how princess need to be saved. The majority of Disney films show sexual inequality. This was evident in the three films Little Mermaid, Tangled and Cinderella. Each princess from each movie were portrayed to be pretty and weak, female villains were characterized as ugly and thrive for beauty and lastly, how every princess needs saving.

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles in Disney

    2315 Words  | 5 Pages

    Disney Princess movies target children and are none other than a transfigured fairytale story in which innocence and moral virtue are questioned. In pursuit of romance and having the mindset of doing whatever it takes for love, Disney creates this magical world and targets the youth, especially young girls. Walt Disney was a creative and “radical filmmaker who changed [one’s] ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jack Heckel 'Are All Princesses Really Waiting For Princes To Come'

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1930s, Disney’s first full length animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released. This movie set the pattern for future Disney movie plots, which continues for decades. In the 1940s, Disney released 3 animated movies: Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi. However, these movies did not feature a main female character. In the 1950s, the two main movies that were released were Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. These movies picked the passive heroine trend back up and had a prince to rescue the princess from her troubles. In the 1960s, Disney brought us 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, and The Jungle Book, none of these with a female heroine. The 1970s brought about The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The only significant female character is Maid Marian from Robin Hood, who waits for Robin Hood to “sweep her off of her feet.” In the 1980s, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company, and The Little Mermaid were released. With The Little Mermaid, Disney got back to the fairytale storyline. The 1990s brought us Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, Pocahontas, and Mulan. This is where Disney movies start to evolve with new, women-favoring, storylines. In the 2000s, Disney laid off the fairytales for a while and

    Read More

  • The Reality as Opposed to the Disney Versions of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Presently, many books and fairytales are converted movies and often, producers alters the original tales to grasp the attention of a large audience. However, some of these interpretations hide the primary interpretation. The original interpretations of the Disney classics Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are greatly reinvented from the original fairytales Sun, Moon, and Talia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms. Although there are differences in certain aspects from the original tales to the movies, there are many issues that are influential to the young girls who are still watching the Disney version. I realize this when my youngest niece, Anella asks me, “Why can’t I be beautiful and fall asleep and suddenly wake up to finally find my prince?” This is true in all cases of the four different translations of the fairytales. Every single girl in these stories are in a “beautiful” state of half-death who wake to find a prince who if eager to carry them off. This can lead to negative psychological effects on young girls as they are growing up, creating a large amount of pressure and low self-esteem due to the beauty that these stories portray and maintaining restrictions that these women experience in the stories. While it is true that Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are considered Disney classics that entertain children and provide meaningful role models, it is evident that the true, vulgar nature of these tales are hidden; these stories are about women who are thrown away.

    Read More

  • Disney and Traditional Stereotypes

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in Walt Disney movies. These unrealistic stereotypes may be detrimental to children because they grow up with a distorted view of how men and women interact. Disney animated films assign gender roles to characters, and young children should not be exposed to inequality between genders because its effect on their view of what is right and wrong in society is harmful to their future. According to Disney films, it is important for women to achieve the stereotypical characteristics of a woman, such as maintaining their beauty to capture a man, and being weak and less educated than male characters. The women in Disney movies are always beautiful, which helps them to find a man.

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid: Hans Christian Andersen vs Walt Disney

    2433 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” published in 1837, contains many patronizing nineteenth-century attitudes towards women, a value system that at least acknowledges the legitimacy of femininity shapes the fairytale. Unfortunately, Walt Disney’s 1989 film version of “The Little Mermaid” eliminates the values that affirm femininity in the original story (Trites 145)

    Read More

  • Essay On The Role Of Women In Disney Animation

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    Disney has portrayed women in movies by the use of animation characters for over a century since the 1900s. There has been a very big change since the early 1900’s to modern day in Disney’s depiction of the personalities of the women, their attitudes and ideologies towards men, and the way they are portrayed in the movies. This progression has had a distinct development, from passive damsels in distress in need of the help of men, to being superheroes. Therefore, the evolution of women in Disney movies will be analyzed through the use of university level feminist essays, as well as a research paper written about gender roles in Disney animation. The evolution will also be analyzed through examination of the clips of the movies themselves.

    Read More

  • The Wonder Of Imagination In Deborah Ross's Escape From Wonderland

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Escape from Wonderland” by Deborah Ross, the writer explains how the fictional characters are admired. Although they seem to be sending a bigger message to young girls. The writer talks about drawing a line between fantasy and reality. In the end Ross’s objective is to show how some Disney characters break the femininity and imagination tradition. Which can have an effect in children and how they value their own ability to have unique visions. By comparing Alice in Wonderland (1951), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) to heroines like Arabella from The female Quixote. “Charlotte Lennox’s (The Female Quixote illustrates both these conservative and progressive plot patterns, for it both draws upon and criticizes earlier romances, which themselves often both celebrate and punished female imagination and expressiveness. Therefore, like Disney’s movies today, which also use material from romance and fairy-tale tradition”, (pg. 473, Escape from Wonderland). Young women may not only begin to fantasize about a grandeur life more exciting than reality but to be disappointed with society in the workplace and relationships. For example, Meredith from Brave she is a princess that wishes to have a different life than what her mother has planned for her. She refuses to get married and have the duties of a princess. She wants to have adventures and be

    Read More

  • Gender And Stereotypes: Gender Roles In Disney Movies

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    Of course Disney does not intend for these things to offend you, that would just be stupid. But none the less they are still here. Though Disney in my eyes has started to move away from these old and out of date stereotypes in their new films there is still plenty of room to grow and improve still in this area. As I write this I also think about what might the movies would be like if they moved outside the stereotypical lens that they currently operate under. And if instead they embraced characteristics like caring, compassion, femininity, and self acceptance. There is no true easy way to do this, as so many people still seem to not really care or even see the gender roles and stereotypes being forced upon them. In conclusion, gender stereotyping and role are often overlooked in Aladdin due to its heartfelt and magical charm. But it 's the unnoticed and underlying meaning truly does have a large and profound effect of the view of the young child audience as it can truly change their cultural and overall development. Something that must be changed sooner rather than

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In The Little Mermaid

    1432 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once upon a time, there was a 16 year old mermaid princess named Ariel who gave up her voice, an important part of her identity, in order to be with a man who she became infatuated with at just one glance. Ariel has a very traditional gender-stereotypical role in the film, as the helpless, clueless, naive, physically weak, submissive, and attractive female protagonist that Disney films, especially the classics, portray so often (England). There is a lot of controversy surrounding this film in regards to its patriarchal ideals. The Little Mermaid, like most media, is build for the ‘male gaze’, a term coined by Laura Mulvey that suggests that visual entertainment, such as movies, are structured to be viewed by a masculine consumer. I will argue that the male gaze perpetuates harmful gender-stereotypes in The Little Mermaid.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Sexism In Aladdin

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    The point of many films is to convey a message to its viewers, such as morals and ethics. Consequently, films intended for adults convey messages suitable for adults; while children’s films do likewise for their target age groups, as one might expect. These children’s films, directed towards particularly younger audiences, prove useful when they contain beneficial maxims. Although at times, these films elicit less than healthy social views. Disney’s Aladdin is a prime example of a children’s film that immerses the audience in unhealthy views towards women. This film is an irresponsible in its portrayal of women - it sexually objectifies the female protagonist and enforces sexist ideologies, which directly affects the female characters within the story’s patriarchal system. The idea of sexism towards women is rampant throughout the movie Aladdin by making the following three claims: a woman’s worth is defined by men, women are incapable of making their own choices, and that women are inadequate and thus require saving by a man.

    Read More

  • Gender, Race and Disney Princesses

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite their mask of progression, Disney princesses still have the potential to corrupt the minds of young children through sexism and racism.

    Read More

  • Disney Argumentative Essay

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    Disney promotes sexisim by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White are all examples of popular Disney movies that encourage young viewers that they need a man to save the day. Yes, it’s true that there are recent movies such as Moana and Frozen that prove otherwise, but how long will it take to completely get over the fact that women are mainly viewed as secondary citizens compared to the men? There are countless examples of how Disney movies influence this theme, and how much the female characters’ actions, ideas and thoughts are not included in a Disney movie.

    Read More

  • Disney Princesses' Influence on Young Children

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-meek, M. (2011). Proquest. “Gender role portrayal and the disney princesses”. Sex Roles, 64(7-8), 555-567.

    Read More

  • Cinderella Character Analysis

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for

    Read More

  • Feminism In Disney Movies

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    In society today, there is pressure from all sides to conform to a certain ideal of beauty. People are overwhelmed with the different types of images and media forms that are telling people how to act and what to look like. Media is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It has the power to educate, affect social change, and much more, but if taken incorrectly people will take drastic lengths to change something about themselves. There have been many attempts to empower women through different types of media, but many have failed miserably. Over the last couple of years, Disney has struggled greatly with the representation of women throughout Princess movies because young girls are hounded with images of princesses,

    Read More

More about Sexual Inequality in Disney Movies

Open Document