Gender in the Disney Medium
Walt Disney was a genius: perhaps one of the greatest showmen to ever live, he knew how to entertain the masses. What started as an idea of a mouse in the back of Walt’s head has become a global entertainment icon, a giant of a company that controls television stations, scads of merchandise venues, several theme parks and a resort island in the Bahamas. One wonders if Walt knew just how big his dreams would get, or just how much of an impact it would have on the daily lives of millions of people, particularly children. Walt was a storyteller first and foremost, and his stories have become ingrained in American culture; they form a medium where many boys and girls get their first impressions of cultural norms, societal roles and moral and ethical lessons.
This has led to debate over the years as to the stereotypes the Disney Company portrays in their films, especially when it comes to gender. Criticism has been aimed at Disney for how females, in particular, are shown. “The construction of gender identity for girls and women represents one of the most controversial issues in Disney’s animated films” states Henry A. Giroux in The Mouse That Roared. “All the female characters in these films are ultimately subordinate to males” (98). Yet the counterargument asserts that “Disney films are ripe with respect for women, and attitude that derives from the filmmakers childhood” (Brode 10). It is true that throughout its history, Disney has been fairly progressive when it comes to females as leads, often breaking gender film barriers for the time. Yet the argument against how the characters set bad examples for children remains. With this, I hope to explore both sides of the issue, pointing out where both arguments could be valid as well as attempting to look at how both male and female characters are handled by the Mouse.
To understand the way things have changed in the medium, it’s prudent to take a look back at the early days of the company. Walt got his start as an animator in the 20s, and it wasn’t long before his characters were appearing on cinema screens for short cartoon adventures. Some of Disney’s earliest works were his Alice comedies, stories featuring a girl surrounded by cartoon characters. Alice, in contrast with fellow animated heroine of the period Betty Boop, “never simpered about, always walking and talking assertively,” relatively unusual for an onscreen female. (Brode 116) In the 30s and 40s, Disney contended with Warner Brothers’ animation, and both had different approaches to gender: whereas Warner Bros. work had hardly a girl in sight, Disney had characters like Minnie and Daisy, though Lindsey Ellis humorously notes “these girls are pretty much straight women to the dudes” or “judgmental obstacles, because women exist to make men miserable” (Principle). The part women played in cartoons was still pretty substandard.
Disney’s first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, changed quite a few things in this respect. While it did establish the now formulaic approach of the “Disney Princess” story, it also broke a lot of ground in the ideas of gender. Our main protagonist, Snow White, is a surprisingly strong character: from the onset it is established that she has a great deal of inner beauty, despite being dressed in rags and forced to work as a scullery maid by her vain stepmother, the evil Queen (who is obsessed with being the fairest in the land). She is innocent, strong-willed, and kind, though definitely naive in many respects. Though one may argue that she is still mostly concerned with hooking up with the handsome prince and riding off to his castle, as she sings in the movie, she does not solely base her happiness around this, content to live and work with friends, the seven dwarfs.
As initial models for the Disney male, along with the Prince, it’s interesting to see how these characters act. The dwarfs are essentially childlike in attitude, making them candidates for Snow White’s positive influence. Snow White inevitably takes charge and brings some sense of order to the lives of the dwarfs, who in turn grow in maturity by having her around. Even Grumpy, “the voice of misogyny” in the group who states that all women “are poison and ‘full of wicked wiles’” eventually softens under her care and becomes, in some sense, a hero. (Pinsky 24) Prince Charming too is drawn to Snow White because of her nature rather than her looks or station. “He is enlightened in outlook and possesses total integrity” says Brode, establishing the ideal Disney prince that would hold out through Disney’s films (173).
The Queen, in contrast, is infuriated as to how Snow White’s beauty could surpass hers, not understanding that the Magic Mirror refers to the inner beauty of the princess. “The Queen’s Tragedy is self-absorption,” says Brode. “If the positive is based on natural inner beauty radiating outward, then the negative derives from neurotic, obsessive dwelling on one’s physical attributes” (179). By the film’s end her obsession has driven her to transform into an old and ugly crone in an attempt to kill Snow White, with seemingly no way to turn back into her normal self.
Another strong case for Disney’s positive portrayal of females is in its 1959 animated feature, Sleeping Beauty. Again, Disney had altered the original Grimm source material, and one could argue that this is one of Disney’s strongest cases of female empowerment, as it features a mostly female cast and more often than not puts them in the limelight. Specifically, the three good fairies - Flora, Fauna and Merryweather – take center stage. These three characters become Princess Aurora’s guardians, raising her as Briar Rose in the forest, putting the castle folk to sleep, and not only infiltrate a dread fortress to rescue Prince Philip but using their magic to help him slay the evil Maleficent when she transforms into a fire-breathing dragon. “Without a team of capable, clever women accompanying him across dangerous ground, Disney’s hapless prince would not succeed” (Brode 190). It is these three women who do most of the hard work, and the film takes care to acknowledge this.
Likewise, the film feature a fantastic foil to these fairies: Maleficent. This sorceress, like Snow White’s Queen before her, is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Her motivations for evil are based largely on spite, as she torments the protagonists for seemingly petty revenge. Yet she is portrayed as cold, calculating, smart, and reveling in her role as the villain, unlike the angry and brooding Queen. She really seems to enjoy her evil ways, and many Disney fans have cited Maleficent as one of their favorite Disney villains.
And what of the princess and prince? It is established early in the film that they have been betrothed. However, when these two meet inadvertently in the forest as teenagers, neither realizes that they have been promised to the other. They fall in love based solely on their getting to know each other as individuals, and both would willingly defy the betrothal to be with the other. (Brode 188-189) This seems a credit to the nobility of both Aurora and Philip that their love is not tied to status.
Of course, these two films were produced when Walt Disney was still alive, and it is the more recent Disney films that have drawn scrutiny on gender portrayal. Though more often than not the lead character is still female, there is a noted difference to many critics about the way said character is portrayed compared to Walt’s cast of girls. The Little Mermaid seems a prime example for this argument: Ariel – “modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie doll” (Giroux 99) – is at first curious about the human world above the sea, but her real quest is launched only when she spies the handsome Prince Eric. Though she knows little to nothing about him, there is a hint of borderline obsession as she is willing to forsake her life as a mermaid and make a pact with a sea witch to gain legs. Henry Giroux states that “although girls might be delighted with Ariel’s teenage rebelliousness, they are strongly positioned to believe, in the end, that desire, choice, and empowerment are closely linked to catching and loving a handsome man” (99).
Trickier to argue against is Disney’s next great animated film, Beauty and the Beast. On the surface, this does appear to be one of Disney’s most progressive films in terms of gender portrayal, both male and female. In this story, the lead protagonist is Belle, a woman who seems way ahead of her time. She is a bookworm and a hands-on assistant to her inventor father, seen as an oddball by the people in her village. Gaston, the antagonist and “the ultimate vain, macho male typical of Hollywood films in the 1980s” is keen on marrying her for the sake of having the most beautiful girl in the village as his wife, but she consistently puts him down. “Some critics have labeled Belle a Disney feminist, as she rejects and vilifies Gaston, the ultimate macho man” (Giroux 100). An interesting prospect, noted by Mark I. Pinsky in The Gospel according to Disney, is that “as a character, Gaston is a number of ways, a transgressive figure. A sunny, virile young man and an excellent huntsman, he is also a villain, which goes against the Disney grain…And despite Gaston’s determined pursuit of Belle and his attraction to village girls, some critics see a subtext of stereotypical gay narcissism in his portrayal” (144).
Soon enough, Belle encounters the Beast, who holds her captive in his castle hoping he can use her to break the spell cast on him. While he starts as a brutish monster motivated purely bys self-interest, over time he softens to Belle’s presence and grows close to her. Belle too becomes fond of the Beast and “civilizes” him, improving his manners and turning him into a caring creature. (Brode 100; Pinsky 145) A huge turning point in the story is when, despite the wilting of the enchanted rose that shows his remaining time, the Beast releases Belle out of love; “this sacrifice has tremendous significance, with eternal consequences.” (Pinsky 145-146) This noble act by the Beast shows that he has truly changed on the inside. Belle does willingly return in his darkest hour, and her love for him breaks the spell.
Beauty and the Beast is still considered one of Disney’s best cases for the strong, independent female character in many respects, but doubt persists on what exactly is being portrayed in the story. “Whatever subversive qualities Belle personifies in the film,” says Giroux, “they seem to dissolve when focused on humbling male vanity. In the end, Belle simply becomes another woman whose life is valued for solving a man’s problems” (101).
The four films above are just particular examples from Disney’s massive library of feature animation, and since then a great number of films have been explored in terms of gender portrayal. The films Walt personally oversaw seem to be under less scrutiny than the later films of the 80s, 90s and 2000s, where the company has become the commercial colossus it is. Marketing is a key player in how their films are made these days: “successfully connecting consumption and moviegoing, Disney’s animated films provide a ‘marketplace of culture,’ a launching pad for products and merchandise” (Giroux 93). Critics claim that impressionable young minds are being pulled into emulating the stereotypes that Disney pushes, to better get them to buy their products – it’s all about the big green ones.
So where does Disney sit today in terms of gender definition? Whether for good or for ill, there’s no denying that the Walt Disney company has major influence of popular culture. And as times change, so does gender portrayal in Disney animation. It is difficult to analyze whether Disney’s females and males have been on the whole negatively stereotyped or raised above. Rather, Disney’s track record seems to illustrate that they have been hit-and-miss with gender, depending on the film. One wonders what Walt himself would think of his company today, and of the cast of characters that continue to influence and inspire children of all ages.
Works Cited
Beauty and the Beast. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. By Linda Woolverton, Paige O'Hara, and Robby Benson. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc., 1991. Videocassette.
Brode, Douglas. Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment. Austin: University of Texas, 2005. Print.
Ellis, Lindsey. "The Smurfette Principle." That Guy With The Glasses. 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/16616-the-smurfette-principle>.
Giroux, Henry A. The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Print.
The Little Mermaid. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Walt Disney Pictures, 1989. Videocassette.
Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2004. Print.
Sleeping Beauty. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Les Clark, Eric Larson and Wolfgang Reitherman. Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., 1959. Videocassette.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. Walt Disney, David Hand, Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson and Ben Sharpsteen Distributed by Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., 1937. Videocassette.
Walt Disney was a genius: perhaps one of the greatest showmen to ever live, he knew how to entertain the masses. What started as an idea of a mouse in the back of Walt’s head has become a global entertainment icon, a giant of a company that controls television stations, scads of merchandise venues, several theme parks and a resort island in the Bahamas. One wonders if Walt knew just how big his dreams would get, or just how much of an impact it would have on the daily lives of millions of people, particularly children. Walt was a storyteller first and foremost, and his stories have become ingrained in American culture; they form a medium where many boys and girls get their first impressions of cultural norms, societal roles and moral and ethical lessons.
This has led to debate over the years as to the stereotypes the Disney Company portrays in their films, especially when it comes to gender. Criticism has been aimed at Disney for how females, in particular, are shown. “The construction of gender identity for girls and women represents one of the most controversial issues in Disney’s animated films” states Henry A. Giroux in The Mouse That Roared. “All the female characters in these films are ultimately subordinate to males” (98). Yet the counterargument asserts that “Disney films are ripe with respect for women, and attitude that derives from the filmmakers childhood” (Brode 10). It is true that throughout its history, Disney has been fairly progressive when it comes to females as leads, often breaking gender film barriers for the time. Yet the argument against how the characters set bad examples for children remains. With this, I hope to explore both sides of the issue, pointing out where both arguments could be valid as well as attempting to look at how both male and female characters are handled by the Mouse.
To understand the way things have changed in the medium, it’s prudent to take a look back at the early days of the company. Walt got his start as an animator in the 20s, and it wasn’t long before his characters were appearing on cinema screens for short cartoon adventures. Some of Disney’s earliest works were his Alice comedies, stories featuring a girl surrounded by cartoon characters. Alice, in contrast with fellow animated heroine of the period Betty Boop, “never simpered about, always walking and talking assertively,” relatively unusual for an onscreen female. (Brode 116) In the 30s and 40s, Disney contended with Warner Brothers’ animation, and both had different approaches to gender: whereas Warner Bros. work had hardly a girl in sight, Disney had characters like Minnie and Daisy, though Lindsey Ellis humorously notes “these girls are pretty much straight women to the dudes” or “judgmental obstacles, because women exist to make men miserable” (Principle). The part women played in cartoons was still pretty substandard.
Disney’s first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, changed quite a few things in this respect. While it did establish the now formulaic approach of the “Disney Princess” story, it also broke a lot of ground in the ideas of gender. Our main protagonist, Snow White, is a surprisingly strong character: from the onset it is established that she has a great deal of inner beauty, despite being dressed in rags and forced to work as a scullery maid by her vain stepmother, the evil Queen (who is obsessed with being the fairest in the land). She is innocent, strong-willed, and kind, though definitely naive in many respects. Though one may argue that she is still mostly concerned with hooking up with the handsome prince and riding off to his castle, as she sings in the movie, she does not solely base her happiness around this, content to live and work with friends, the seven dwarfs.
As initial models for the Disney male, along with the Prince, it’s interesting to see how these characters act. The dwarfs are essentially childlike in attitude, making them candidates for Snow White’s positive influence. Snow White inevitably takes charge and brings some sense of order to the lives of the dwarfs, who in turn grow in maturity by having her around. Even Grumpy, “the voice of misogyny” in the group who states that all women “are poison and ‘full of wicked wiles’” eventually softens under her care and becomes, in some sense, a hero. (Pinsky 24) Prince Charming too is drawn to Snow White because of her nature rather than her looks or station. “He is enlightened in outlook and possesses total integrity” says Brode, establishing the ideal Disney prince that would hold out through Disney’s films (173).
The Queen, in contrast, is infuriated as to how Snow White’s beauty could surpass hers, not understanding that the Magic Mirror refers to the inner beauty of the princess. “The Queen’s Tragedy is self-absorption,” says Brode. “If the positive is based on natural inner beauty radiating outward, then the negative derives from neurotic, obsessive dwelling on one’s physical attributes” (179). By the film’s end her obsession has driven her to transform into an old and ugly crone in an attempt to kill Snow White, with seemingly no way to turn back into her normal self.
Another strong case for Disney’s positive portrayal of females is in its 1959 animated feature, Sleeping Beauty. Again, Disney had altered the original Grimm source material, and one could argue that this is one of Disney’s strongest cases of female empowerment, as it features a mostly female cast and more often than not puts them in the limelight. Specifically, the three good fairies - Flora, Fauna and Merryweather – take center stage. These three characters become Princess Aurora’s guardians, raising her as Briar Rose in the forest, putting the castle folk to sleep, and not only infiltrate a dread fortress to rescue Prince Philip but using their magic to help him slay the evil Maleficent when she transforms into a fire-breathing dragon. “Without a team of capable, clever women accompanying him across dangerous ground, Disney’s hapless prince would not succeed” (Brode 190). It is these three women who do most of the hard work, and the film takes care to acknowledge this.
Likewise, the film feature a fantastic foil to these fairies: Maleficent. This sorceress, like Snow White’s Queen before her, is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Her motivations for evil are based largely on spite, as she torments the protagonists for seemingly petty revenge. Yet she is portrayed as cold, calculating, smart, and reveling in her role as the villain, unlike the angry and brooding Queen. She really seems to enjoy her evil ways, and many Disney fans have cited Maleficent as one of their favorite Disney villains.
And what of the princess and prince? It is established early in the film that they have been betrothed. However, when these two meet inadvertently in the forest as teenagers, neither realizes that they have been promised to the other. They fall in love based solely on their getting to know each other as individuals, and both would willingly defy the betrothal to be with the other. (Brode 188-189) This seems a credit to the nobility of both Aurora and Philip that their love is not tied to status.
Of course, these two films were produced when Walt Disney was still alive, and it is the more recent Disney films that have drawn scrutiny on gender portrayal. Though more often than not the lead character is still female, there is a noted difference to many critics about the way said character is portrayed compared to Walt’s cast of girls. The Little Mermaid seems a prime example for this argument: Ariel – “modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie doll” (Giroux 99) – is at first curious about the human world above the sea, but her real quest is launched only when she spies the handsome Prince Eric. Though she knows little to nothing about him, there is a hint of borderline obsession as she is willing to forsake her life as a mermaid and make a pact with a sea witch to gain legs. Henry Giroux states that “although girls might be delighted with Ariel’s teenage rebelliousness, they are strongly positioned to believe, in the end, that desire, choice, and empowerment are closely linked to catching and loving a handsome man” (99).
Trickier to argue against is Disney’s next great animated film, Beauty and the Beast. On the surface, this does appear to be one of Disney’s most progressive films in terms of gender portrayal, both male and female. In this story, the lead protagonist is Belle, a woman who seems way ahead of her time. She is a bookworm and a hands-on assistant to her inventor father, seen as an oddball by the people in her village. Gaston, the antagonist and “the ultimate vain, macho male typical of Hollywood films in the 1980s” is keen on marrying her for the sake of having the most beautiful girl in the village as his wife, but she consistently puts him down. “Some critics have labeled Belle a Disney feminist, as she rejects and vilifies Gaston, the ultimate macho man” (Giroux 100). An interesting prospect, noted by Mark I. Pinsky in The Gospel according to Disney, is that “as a character, Gaston is a number of ways, a transgressive figure. A sunny, virile young man and an excellent huntsman, he is also a villain, which goes against the Disney grain…And despite Gaston’s determined pursuit of Belle and his attraction to village girls, some critics see a subtext of stereotypical gay narcissism in his portrayal” (144).
Soon enough, Belle encounters the Beast, who holds her captive in his castle hoping he can use her to break the spell cast on him. While he starts as a brutish monster motivated purely bys self-interest, over time he softens to Belle’s presence and grows close to her. Belle too becomes fond of the Beast and “civilizes” him, improving his manners and turning him into a caring creature. (Brode 100; Pinsky 145) A huge turning point in the story is when, despite the wilting of the enchanted rose that shows his remaining time, the Beast releases Belle out of love; “this sacrifice has tremendous significance, with eternal consequences.” (Pinsky 145-146) This noble act by the Beast shows that he has truly changed on the inside. Belle does willingly return in his darkest hour, and her love for him breaks the spell.
Beauty and the Beast is still considered one of Disney’s best cases for the strong, independent female character in many respects, but doubt persists on what exactly is being portrayed in the story. “Whatever subversive qualities Belle personifies in the film,” says Giroux, “they seem to dissolve when focused on humbling male vanity. In the end, Belle simply becomes another woman whose life is valued for solving a man’s problems” (101).
The four films above are just particular examples from Disney’s massive library of feature animation, and since then a great number of films have been explored in terms of gender portrayal. The films Walt personally oversaw seem to be under less scrutiny than the later films of the 80s, 90s and 2000s, where the company has become the commercial colossus it is. Marketing is a key player in how their films are made these days: “successfully connecting consumption and moviegoing, Disney’s animated films provide a ‘marketplace of culture,’ a launching pad for products and merchandise” (Giroux 93). Critics claim that impressionable young minds are being pulled into emulating the stereotypes that Disney pushes, to better get them to buy their products – it’s all about the big green ones.
So where does Disney sit today in terms of gender definition? Whether for good or for ill, there’s no denying that the Walt Disney company has major influence of popular culture. And as times change, so does gender portrayal in Disney animation. It is difficult to analyze whether Disney’s females and males have been on the whole negatively stereotyped or raised above. Rather, Disney’s track record seems to illustrate that they have been hit-and-miss with gender, depending on the film. One wonders what Walt himself would think of his company today, and of the cast of characters that continue to influence and inspire children of all ages.
Works Cited
Beauty and the Beast. Dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. By Linda Woolverton, Paige O'Hara, and Robby Benson. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc., 1991. Videocassette.
Brode, Douglas. Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment. Austin: University of Texas, 2005. Print.
Ellis, Lindsey. "The Smurfette Principle." That Guy With The Glasses. 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/16616-the-smurfette-principle>.
Giroux, Henry A. The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Print.
The Little Mermaid. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Walt Disney Pictures, 1989. Videocassette.
Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2004. Print.
Sleeping Beauty. Prod. Walt Disney. Dir. Les Clark, Eric Larson and Wolfgang Reitherman. Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., 1959. Videocassette.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. Walt Disney, David Hand, Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson and Ben Sharpsteen Distributed by Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., 1937. Videocassette.