Gender Roles In Disney Films

A prominent recurrence we see through Disney films is how females must rely on males to rescue them. Throughout numerous Disney films “every women is portrayed as a damsel in distress where the man is the hero and the women too weak to rescue herself.” (Dreams don't always come true, Bridgette Slevin, 2009). For example we see in Beauty and the Beast a scene where Belle flees the castle on horseback and is very nearly attacked by vicious wolves, nevertheless the Beast comes to the rescue and saves her from the wolves fighting them away heroically. The camera is directed to show Belle from a high angle emphasising the representation that she is weak and powerless.The beginning of the film Belle is portrayed as independent, intelligent and

capable. This is shown through her fondness of reading and her eager attitude towards the world. However she still needs to rely on a male to come to the rescue, so we get the impression even the most capable girls need to rely on males. Bluntly the idea illustrated is that females are not able to do anything for themselves, they need to rely on males. Another example is Disney's Cinderella (1950) who is described to be “waiting for rescue by a handsome prince.” explains Cheryn Tan.(2009.) She is nastily controlled by her stepmother and ugly step sisters, prohibited to leave the castle and ordered to carry out chores. Once she meets the prince she is happy and he saves cinderella from her neglected life with her step family by whisking her away for a happily ever after ending. We get the impression Cinderella could not leave, make this change and be happy by herself she needed the prince to assist her. Snow White is another example that Disney has dramatically shown viewers females must rely on males. In the original tale of Snow White her life is saved from choking on the poisonous apple when the dwarves are carrying her and they trip on a rock lodging it out of her throat spontaneously. However Disney altered this story to make it that the prince saves Snow White’s life by kissing her on the lips. This is unrealistic and the change in the fairytale makes males appear courageous and noble whilst females are helpless. Overall this message degrades women's potential to save themselves in difficult situations. “ In each of these movies the only way for the female character to be freed from her undesirable future, whether it be as a servant, under the sea, or a curse, was through assistance from a male love interest, not via any action that she took personally to create a better future for herself.” states Ali Whatchukta (2006, Becoming a Princess.) Disney shows females are incapable of coping by themselves and males as heroic and strong. This could be because of our patriotic past. These films were all set it a time where patriarchy of society was expected and typically males had superior roles. This patriarchy may of began for numerous reasons however the aspect of males being physically built stronger and therefore the heroic gender has stuck through all these years and even until now. In our world today this is where gender stereotypes are a negative influence. For example we have created a social norm that most firefighters are males. They are heroic enough to fulfill the job, put out fires and save lives. The army, navy or services are more heroic careers that potentially could save lives and we have created the view that these are more suited to males as well. For example “The Israelis abandoned the practice of putting women into combat positions because it weakened their forces” explains David Horowitz (2013, frontpagemag.) This can be because of the woman's physical build but also because of the expectation of males to protect women which could interfere in combat as males will feel protective towards their female colleagues. Showing once again the expectation of males to be the heroes is set so strongly in our social norm. He also explains that the “Military Enlistment Physical Strength Capacity Test (MEPSCAT) provoked objections at the time from feminists inside and outside the military, who feared that sex-neutral standards might cause women to be barred from certain roles, particularly combat roles.” This needs to stop and equality in roles should be reached as soon as possible. Females are getting the message from these Disney films and furthermore society that they are not capable by themselves and they must rely on males.

Finally females intellect and potential to be successful is not expressed in a majority of Disney films.

Instead males are fulfilling the ambitious roles. These fairy tales teach women to be submissive in this male dominated world. Belle of “Beauty and the Beast” (1991) is described as a “strange” “funny girl” by the townspeople as she is seen reading and enthusiastically making her way to the library. She shows interest in pursuing knowledge and intellect by learning from her reading. However the people around here are disgraced because“ it’s not right for a woman to read” and Gaston negatively exclaims that “soon she starts getting ideas, thinking.” Giving us the viewers the idea that women should not read, they do not need to learn or be capable to think for themselves. Males are the leaders whilst women the followers whom should be passive in this man’s world. Beauty and the Beast furthermore shows males taking on all the successful/intellect roles such as the store owner, baker or hunter as we see in the opening scene. Females show no pursued intellect and carry out jobs such as washing or taking orders. With the exception of Belle. She is the only female we see with a dream of ‘adventure and far off places’ nevertheless this dream is taken away as result of the love for a male character. In order to save her father's life she must live with the Beast. Reinforcing males are the dominant gender. In the Little Mermaid Ariel depends on a man to reach her goal of having human legs. Ursula the evil sea witch gives her permanent legs in the deal that she will win Eric’s heart. Ariel does not show any wise talents however reaches her goal by claiming this man's love. Wachutka (2006) declares that “the most a female can hope for is to fall in love and she must rely on a male's assistance in life” The message is that females do not need to learn as they will not be successful anyway. Some girls may as a result fear being teased or known as unusual if they do show

interest in their education and having intellectual potential. Cinderella and Snow White are shown in a positive light. They smile and cheerfully sing away whilst cleaning and doing relaxed chores for days on end. “The Princess’s of Disney are striped from any intellect” (Hollinger,2007.) Subsequently they are happy that this is what they have achieved with their life. They show no interest in a career, education or success in the world. This suggests females should not have any ambition but be pleased with being a housewife and aiming to win a man’s love.

Consequently Disney films emphasize and highlight again and again and again numerous negative gender roles for females. The directors of films like Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, the Little Mermaid and more have degraded women immensely. Thus the messages we gain from these films are that woman's best quality is to be the typical beautiful, women need to rely on males they are not capable by themselves, they should fulfill domesticated responsibilities and there is no need for a female to pursue any intellect. This suggests to viewers that these gender roles are what is expected in our society and that we should accept them. Significantly I disagree believing in gender equality and feeling strongly that these films do not represent that. In society today we are slowly moving towards equal rights however subtle gender roles are still encouraged. Unequal rights between genders are still common, within the media, workforce and the social norm. This needs to be altered and equal rights should be gained for genders immediately. This should include a change in the media’s representation of women with less photoshop showing ideal bodies, promoting diets, skinny models and advertising for female chore appliances. An alteration in the pay system so whatever sex you belong to your pay is fairly judged on your work ability unlike how statistics show otherwise explained above. As well as an overall new view on stereotypes revolving gender and creating a new equal perspective encouraged with campaigns. I believe it is unfair for females to be discriminated against and constricted to these typical gender roles and judged otherwise. Disney is not helping us to move towards an equal world with these disgraceful messages so therefore by studying the resources mentioned above i have concluded that traditional Disney films show many non respectful and stereotypical gender roles for females. Do you believe females should behave like an absent-minded, stick thin, un-ambitious and love obsessed princess? Because this is the message Disney represents.