Monday, May 9, 2016

Masculinity and Disney’s Gender Issue

   Disney films are found to have many gender problems when it comes to masculinity and this is putting a lot of pressure on men in our society. Most of the criticism in Disney films is focused on feminism, but masculinity is an issue as well. A majority of the men characters in these Disney movies are portrayed to have the role of the “heroes” and take this role away from the princesses. For example, these stereotypes are found in the Disney films Beauty and the Beast and Hercules. According to an article, “This representation of masculinity as an attractive man with big muscles and nice hair is often paired with a foil played by a small and/or fat male character that plays comic relief, implying that their size and characteristics are considerably less “masculine”. (Juergen, 12). This interprets that in order for a male to be considered “masculine” they must meet societies standards of what masculine means, which is strong, buff and tall.
     Another example, in the movie Tarzan, displays masculine features, according to an article, “The entire film displayed his ripped musculature, and Tarzan killed a vicious saber-toothed leopard with only a pointy stick. On the other hand, female characters have been portrayed as weaker, more controlled by others.” (Yerby, 2). This shows how men are portrayed as strong, aggressive men and tend to be in control and have the power over females. The Disney princesses are shown as weaker, tentative, sensitive and passive compared to male characters.
     Due to the fact that Disney is portraying many of the male characters as heroes, this stereotype is portraying to men in our society. Due to this, men feel as though they might gain the entire spotlight even though the story is not even about them. While the females sit back and watch the men as they “save the day” and gain the title of a hero.
     This gender problem found in Disney is putting a lot of pressure on males and their roles when it comes to masculinity. Due to these stereotypes that Disney portrays, on how men should behave, their physical strength, violence takes a toll on men. According to an article, “As demonstrated in the Lion King, males rules, males combat evil, males triumph” and “females can be killers, but never equal helpmates” (Adilman, 1994). In the film, this is showed when the females are not fighting, and rather the males are fighting instead.  Men may feel as though they have to live up to certain standards of what masculinity is, which is strong, aggressive and having the “power” figure. If young boys see these Disney movies, this may motivate them to always take the spotlight and not share it with females. This may become a larger issue when it comes to men stealing the power over women in our society.









Works Cited
Person, and Michelle Juergen. "9 Harmful Stereotypes We Never Realized Our Favorite Disney Movies Taught Us." Mic. N.p., 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://mic.com/articles/88167/9-harmful-stereotypes-we-never-realized-our-favorite-disney-movies-taught-us#.UofTuqXPP>.

Yerby, Amanda. “Gender roles in Disney Animation”. Web. 09. May 2016. http://www.american.edu/soc/film/upload/gender-roles-in-disney.pdf

"Masculinity." Power Dynamics Presented in Disney Films. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://disneypowerdynamics.weebly.com/masculinity.html>.


6 comments:

  1. Disney is a huge part of American culture and as such it can really take a toll on the way children view their roles. Young girls are being shown through movies like you mentioned, that they must be weak and pretty if they wish to attract the attention of a man. For young boys they are told that they must also live up to a certain standard of aesthetic in order to be worthy of the princess. Has there ever been an "average" looking prince or princess? I think its really awesome that you brought up the idea of masculinity in these movies. Often we forget that there is also a lot of pressure on boys and men in our society to fulfill certain expectations of masculinity and prowess in order to be seen favorably. Maybe if more people start talking about this dichotomy Disney may finally create a more realistic movie with more realistic characters to look up to.

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  2. Meghan, I hope that's true! That would be pretty cool. I definitely think Frozen was a slight step in the right direction though considering they focused more on the sister love aspect than a girl needing a man which I appreciated.

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  3. I have always thought things like this! Disney princesses will forever be damsels in distress looking for their prince charming. Up until recent films, such as Princess in the Frog and Frozen, the characters have always followed the gender binary. It is nice to see that characters are changing despite typical gender roles and norms.

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  4. Not gonna lie, frozen wasn't too bad hahaha. From a guys perspective, its great to see how all characters are having different roles and are evolving. Though society may be taking more time to evolve, Disney is always a few steps ahead. Also if you haven't seen the Jungle Book, make sure you see it, its unreal.

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  5. Growing up always watching Disney movies and seeing all the girls be damsels in distress definitely paints a certain picture of what women are like. I do think frozen is slightly better however, Disney still hasn't completely changed for the better. And I do agree with your point about never seeing an "average" looking prince or princess. Usually the only characters that are made to look ugly are obese and ugly looking. Therefore, that paints a clear picture of what ugly looks like and associates it with being evil or bad. Great post!

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  6. This is so interesting. I never really thought of Disney as so sexist/gender role-ish. But now that you have pointed it our its hard for me not to think of a Disney movie that does not have some super masculine figure in it. Many disney films definitely do not help women escape 'damsel in distress' image and because of this Disney seems to be leaning towards the idea of the patriarchy.

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