Have We Made Progress? Disney Films through the Decades

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Recommended: Gender stereotyping in fairy tales

Is there a difference between a Carl’s Jr. Hamburger commercial featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton and a Disney movie? Many would argue “Well, of course there is a difference!” Those looking through the lenses of feminism would see that both are highly sexualized and send a negative message to children. They teach young girls that they are only valued for what their beauty sells. In this age of technology, children are spending more and more time in front of their television. Whether it is an episode of an edgy situation comedy like Two and a Half Men or a serious, heart-to-heart episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, there is a very high chance that a child is learning about their gender role and what that entails. The trend of damaging stereotypical portrayal of women in animated films has not lessened and perpetuates poor role models for children.

Snow White’s sole purpose in this film is to find a prince to marry and enjoy life happily forever after. She has minimal dialogue with the prince that she meets but it is understand that for this couple it is love at first sight. When Snow White happens upon the seven dwarfs’ cottage in the woods, the dwarfs are alarmed to find an intruder in their home. Nearly all of the dwarfs are relieved to find that the intruder is a beautiful young woman. Despite her beauty and demeanor, Grumpy is put off by the fact Snow White is a woman. When the six other dwarfs agree that Snow White is an angel, Grumpy exclaims an overtly misogynistic statement, “Angel, ha! She’s a female! And all females is poison! They’re full of wicked wiles” (Snow White). In addition to her beauty, she also tells them that she loves to cook thus sealing her into the stereotype of an ideal woman of the 1...

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...ideocassette.

Smith, Stacy, and Crystal A. Cook. Gender Stereotypes: An Analysis of Popular Films and TV. Rep. Geena Davis Institute. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

Smith, Stacy, and Marc Choueiti. Gender Disparity On Screen and Behind the Camera in Family Films; The Executive Report. Rep. Geena Davis Institute. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Prod. Walt Disney. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. Videocassette.

Tangled. Dir. Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2010. Stars On Demand.

Thompson, Lisa L. "Beauty for Ashes." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Wright, Paul. "Sexual Socialization Messages in Mainstream Entertainment Mass Media: A Review and Synthesis." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.

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