Female Role Models in Animation
How has the female role model changed
throughout the years in Disney?
Introduction
Since the 1990’s Disney’s representation of women has
changed drastically. Before it was a pre-feminist ideology where the men were
always the hero’s, who would save the damsels in distress. This portrayal of
the female character derives from the era when females were seen to be
submissive and the males were dominant.
“Belle, Sleeping
Beauty, Snow White and Ariel are nothing but victims of the male gaze. Being
sexual objects they stand in stark contrast to many headstrong and hearty 21st
century modern women.” (Bethany Balkham)
This has changed and
although the female character still looks like a typical Disney princess, there
are positive case studies of heroines who stand up for themselves and what they
believe in. Not needing a man to save them.
The Bechdel test reached notoriety as a comical and accurate
way of pointing out the misgivings of female representation within animated
features. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to watch out for (1985). Using
three questions: 1) is there at least two or more separate female characters in
the movie, 2) who talk to each other about things..., 3) ... besides talking
about men. It helps to indicate the presence of the female character in the
film. Showing how the film industry miss represent women in movies. The test
shows how the public has become aware of these problems and now laughs at them
and the Disney Princess.
Looking at the way Disney princesses have evolved and
developed to the times and era’s they were created in and how this has affected
audiences will strengthen this argument.
The background of Disney and Feminism
Walt Disney was born on December 5th 1901 and
died December 15th 1966. Over his lifetime he won 22 Academy Awards
and many iconic animations that he will be remembered for. His first feature
film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was a huge hit even at the time of
the great depression.
Before the 1930’s women did not or were not allowed to work
and if they did were thought to be
“un-American money grubbers, stealing jobs from
men who needed them to support their families.” (Mickey Moran)
Although after 1930 many women did work in factories with
low pay and long hours in comparison to men. Around the same time women had
fought and gained the right to vote, but Josephine McGowan, an American
Politician from Ohio (1930’s), noted that “while women gained the right to
vote, many were indifferent to their new privilege and remained uninformed on
current issues. Politics was still considered a man’s concern, and most women
did not have the motivation to challenge this view.” This statement reflects
the belief of that period and even though women had the right to vote, men were
still seen as dominant and only they could deal with politics.
21st Century women – The definition of feminism
is someone who believes that women should be equal to and as free as men. If a
man is able to do something, then so should a woman.
Chapter 1 – The Evolution of the
Princess
Disney Princess’s can have a detrimental impact on a young
girl’s life and how she sees and feels about herself. The Disney Princess
usually portrays an unrealistic idea of what a female should look like. Often
with a petite body, flawless skin and perfect hair. Some of the first classic
animated films to show this were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),
Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). At the time they were created and
released the stereotypical ideology of a female was one who cooked, cleaned,
ran the house, and looked after the family, while looking beautiful and her
best at all times. Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Greauerholz state
“Fairy tales written during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries were intended to teach girls and young women how to become
domesticated, respectable, and attractive to a marriage partner and to teach
boys and girls appropriate gender values and attitudes.”
This is clearly shown in Snow White when she is cleaning the
Dwarfs home. She does this without question and has a motherly instinct to
taking care of them. Which socially at that time period was the norm and what
everyone thought a female should act like and what every male wanted. In all
three films the end goal is to be married to a prince and live happily ever
after, with the prince looking after them. This also reflects the social time
period when every woman wanted a husband who would take care of them so they
too could live happily ever after.
It could be argued that these films represented these
ideologies and values because only men created them and that they animated
their views of what they wanted the ideal woman to be.
However towards the 1990’s the Disney Princess evolved and although
still looked like a typical princess, her values and the messages she conveyed
had changed. This is evident in the films: Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995)
and Mulan (1998). Baker-Sperry says
“Recent Disney films and even contemporary
feminist retellings of popular fairy tales often involve women who differ from
their earlier counterparts in ingenuity, and independence but not physical
attractiveness.”
It can be argued that
they still look like the ideology of the perfect woman and so they have not evolved
enough to keep up with the times, but their values and messages have changed
massively. Before they were just looking for their prince and conveying what a
woman should be like, now they are who they want to be. They have their own way
of thinking and seeking adventure, not just a husband. Keeping up with the
times and lifestyles of the modern day feminist. On the other hand even the 21st century
Disney Princesses who is strong and individual still ends up with a man in the
end, which also shows how Disney and our ideologies of women haven’t evolved enough.
These examples are: Frozen (2013) (Anna and Kristoff) and Mulan (1998) (Mulan
and Shang). Although Brave (2012) has been the first lead female Disney
Princess to not end up with a guy and so she could possible lead the way to
Disney Princesses not always wanting men.
Chapter 2 – How it can affect the
audience
Vincent Faherty works in the area of Social Welfare at the
University of Southern Maine. He has published and presented many papers to do
with child welfare, social work and education. Faherty argues that “Disney
emphasises social vulnerability through the overwhelming male dominance
displayed in their animated films”. The fact that males seem to play most roles
in Disney including: the villain, the hero and the parent figure, shows how
dominant the male gender is. In films like: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the
Beast, Pocahontas and the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, to mention a few, all the
mothers are either dead or the films have not explained what has happened to
them and so most are brought up by their fathers. Faherty also says that males who play roles
as villains “should be analyzed for its potential negative impact on children
and their relationships with caring adults.” He believes that children watching
too many films with males who play negatives roles such as villains, will take
what they see and reflect it onto males in their lives. This could potentially
have a negative impact on families.
On the other hand it could be argued that the same can be
said for females, not just males. There are films such as: Cinderella, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs and Tangled who have evil mothers or step mothers
looking after them. Using Faherty’s idea the same can be applied.
To Summarise
To conclude, the female role model in Disney Princesses have
changed throughout the years. Before the Disney Princess had ideologies of
being perfect and looking beautiful, finding their prince who would look after
them so they could live happily ever after and becoming the ideal woman for
that man who would: cook, clean and takes care of kids, the house and the
family. Since then the ideologies have changed and the Disney Princess is slowly
evolving into what a ‘real’ everyday 21st century feminist woman is.
Having a brain which she is not afraid to use, being able to stand up for
herself without having to rely on a man to save her, being strong and independent
and not always wanting to find a man to live happily ever after with, finding
happiness in other things. Although it can be argued that we haven’t developed enough
since some ideologies still exist like: looking like the perfect Disney
princess, which is still affecting and influencing audiences today.
References
Ashley Bispo, Professor Letizia Schmid (n.d.) 'Fairytale
Dreams: Disney Princesses’ Effect on Young Girls’ Self-Images', Dialogues@RU,
9(), pp. 1-3.
() Bechdel Test Movie List, Available at: http://bechdeltest.com/?list=all
(Accessed: 28/04/2015).
Bethany Balkham (25/08/2014) Disney Princesses: Role
Models or Ridiculous?, Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/bethany-balkham/disney-princesses-role-models_b_5530872.html
(Accessed: 20/05/2015).
Mickey Moran (1988-89 academic year) '1930s, America -
Feminist Void? The status of the Equal Rights Movement during the Great
Depression', Outstanding Paper, (), pp. 1-2.
Word count - 1473
Bibliography word count - 70
I wanted to look at the female role model and the ideologies we have about women especially, looking at the Disney Princess. I researched a lot about feminism and how it has changed through the years in relation to the Disney Princess as well as how it all affects the audience.
I looked at a range of media from blogs and you tube videos to journals and books. I wanted to see what preffessionals and non-professionals thought about the subject.
I feel that as my essay has progressed so has my skills at writing an essay and researching effectively. I am very pleased with the overall outcome as i was able to write and essay about what i am passionate about.
