Gender Roles- Then and Now

By: T.Y.

            As mentioned in the blog titled "Then and Now, an Introduction", Disney heavily influences and shapes the perception of society for children. This includes Gender Roles. Children begin to define gender, as well as what girls and boys are “supposed to be like” at a very early age. Critics have complained that Disney’s portrayal of genders, especially females, are sexist and have a negative effect on children. Over the years, Disney has attempted to make some improvements.

According to Cornell University Research Psychologist, Sandra Bern, children begin distinguishing between male and female as a means to start organizing information about the world.   Children then begin to define what it means to be a male or a female through behavior as they begin to incorporate these definitions into their own developing personalities. By age two, children can distinguish between a male and a female, and by age four/five, children insist that other’s and themselves act according to behavior deemed appropriate for their gender. (Mann 45-46)  So children define the concept of males and females based on what they see in the world, including the Disney films they watch.

Looking at Disney films from the 1990’s, it is frightening to think that girls would begin to incorporate Disney’s portrayal of females into their behavior. Females are highly sexualized, not just physically, but in the behavior they exhibit as Dr. Gail Dines explained in an interview for the film “Mickey Mouse Monopoly”:

“What’s amazing when you look at Disney and Disney movies over the years is that how little the image of females has really changed. You still have the same highly sexualized bodies with the big breasts, the tiny waists, the fluttering eyelashes, the quoi expressions- the seductress.  Even when they’re in animal form, you’ve got this very seductive little female”.

Children’s stereotype and perception of gender was further reinforced by the accompanying toys they bought. (Mann 53) Not only did girls see that princess Jasmine had large breasts and a tiny waist, they were constantly bombarded with this image as they played with her dolls. 

It is also impossible to ignore the roles of the females in the films from the 90’s. Girls were never the hero. Almost every animated Disney film, from “Snow white” to “A Bug’s Life” had males as the strong heroes. Females were depicted as weak, helpless, and in need of rescue. According to the book, The Mouse that Roared, sexist female stereotypes were also extended to daily roles including defined housework for females, subservient attitudes. Even in the film “Mulan”, the female heroine may have defeated the villain, but she still returned to daily life as a subservient woman to other males. Understanding the powerful, detrimental effects, these films had on shaping gender roles, Disney absolutely needed to do better.

After a certain period of time Disney began a painfully slow improvement in their portrayal of females in films. But the improvements were hit or miss in the early 2000’s. In 1999, Disney came out with “Toy Story 2” (disneymovielist.com) which featured a spunky new character, Jessie. Jessie was distinguishably female without the highly sexualized body or seductive personality. However, in the end Jessie was still the damsel in distress who needed the rescuing; Woody and Buzz Lightyear came to rescue her from imprisonment in a box.

“Lilo and Stitch” came out in 2002, featuring non-sexualized female main characters. The story was unique from the typical Disney movie formula, in that there was no damsel in distress. The film also featured minorities (pacific islanders). Even with the drastic change from traditional Disney films (and following more closely to the “ET” storyline) “Lilo and Stitch” managed to bring in over 145million dollars at the box-office. (boxofficemojo.com)

In 2003, the animated film “Finding Nemo” was released, featuring fish as main characters. Most of the featured characters were males. Females were barely featured in the film. The starring female character was Dora the forgetful fish, who was not a hero, but a plucky cheerful sidekick. The best aspect of this film was the character designs. Females were not highly sexualized, and were visually portrayed as equals to males.  

In the late 2000’s, Disney continued to release movies such as “Bolt” in 2008. In the past, animal featured Disney movies, such as “Oliver and Company”, “Bambi” or even “Lion King”, featured highly sexual female characters who were interested in seducing the male characters. The cat, Mittens in bolt was not sexual at all. In fact throughout the movie, there was no attempt of seducing “Bolt” or any other character by females. Even this lack of sexual seduction is a drastic change from the older Disney films. Mittens, like Dora in “Finding Nemo”, were part of the adventures. She was just as important to the adventure as Bolt.

The film “Wall-E” which came out in 2008 completely lacked the sexual appeal of female characters. “Wall-E” featured a feisty, independent female robot, Eva. Eva was also a key part of the adventures.  In 2010 “The Princess and the Frog” was released, featuring a black female heroine who even saved the prince!

In recent Disney films, feminist ideals have finally come through. It is more than likely that some viewers may disagree with this concept. But the drastic reduction of sexualized females from children’s animated Disney films is ! Gender roles are also less polarized with a sense of equality with strength and duties equally carried out by both genders. Both males and females are part of the adventure and missions in the story lines, rather than the male character out on the adventure as the female waits for help. Disney has made huge strides in 
equality for genders and more fair gender roles!

Sources:

Giroux H., Polloc, G. The Mouse That Roared. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. New York. 2010.

Mann, Judy. The Difference: Growing up Female in America. Warner Books. New York. 1994.

Mickey Mouse Monopoly. Dir. Miguel Picker. 2001. USA. Film.

"Walt Disney Movies : Disney Movies List : List of Disney Movies." Disney Movies : Walt Disney Movies : Disney Movie List. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.disneymovieslist.com/disney-movies.asp>.

"2010 Yearly Box Office Results." Box Office Mojo. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2010&p=.htm>.