Gender in Disney

For the most part, we have all grown up singing "Be Our Guest" and "Hakuna Matata." However, what do these animated films teach us about the roles of gender? Though this question could be applied to every Disney movie, I will stick with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves for the sake of space in this blog entry.

The Little Mermaid can be misleading in its value of the heroine. Ariel's fight for freedom can be seen as a typical teenage rebellion. However, if one looks closer to the film, they will see her constantly in the shadow of a male figure. In the beginning it is her father who dominates her surroundings. He is the king of the merpeople, her father, but most importantly a man. He has control over her and sends another male (Sebastian) to watch over her. Ariel wishes to see the surface. However, she becomes more persistent in her quest to be human when she meets Prince Eric. It is because of this man that she pursues her desire for the surface. So in reality she is really jumping from one male figure to the next.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is another example of a female solely dependent on a male figure. First, Snow White is saved from the evil Queen because of the sympathy of a man. He refuses to kill an innocent princess and risk his own neck. It is because of his generosity that she is able to escape into the woods and into the mercy of another race of men. The dwarves take in the scared princess and attempt to defend her from the evil Queen. However, when that fails, it is the handsome prince who saves her from death by poisoned apple. Let’s say Snow White is not exactly the model heroine for today’s girls.

The last example that I will examine in this blog, though there are so many more to be discussed at a later time, is Aladdin. Like Ariel, Jasmine is another example of a girl rebelling against her father for freedom from a sheltered life. She escapes the confines of her palace life only to find herself in danger with a male merchant. Aladdin rescues her in the market place. When she returns to the palace, her father attempts to force more suitors upon her. Though she bravely denies them to gain her own free will, she ends up in the arms of Aladdin for a happily-ever-after. Though I personally believe Jasmine to be a fairly courageous heroine, Henry Giroux agues in his article Are Disney Movies Good for Your Kids? that Jasmine is just another example of a woman whose life is defined by a man. However, my argument on the case will be saved for another entry.