Cliff Leek examines the problems with Disney’s portrayal of masculinity.
Disney has a gender problem.
A long line of feminist scholars and activists has used Disney princesses as examples of exactly what is wrong with the representation of women in mainstream media. The classical Disney princesses (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) have been lambasted for having story lines in which they are helpless damsels in distress whose lives revolve around male characters. Even the more modern princesses such as Tiana from Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel from Tangled have story lines that are largely tied to their romantic interests in male characters. Indeed, Jezebel has already posted an article addressing the many ways in which Disney’s upcoming film, Frozen, appears to undermine its female protagonist.
Unfortunately most of the criticism of Disney’s gender problem only addresses one pole of the gender spectrum – femininity. That is, Disney’s portrayal of masculinity is also problematic but has received little attention.
To be fair to Disney, their movies do provide a wide range of representations of masculinity. In any given Disney movie we may be served a heaping spoonful of hegemonic and misogynistic masculinity like we get in Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) or we may be offered the humble and loving Sulley (Monsters Inc.). Disney often makes a point of punishing hypermasculine men such as Gaston and Jaffar (Aladdin) with various forms of comeuppance while making heroes of less traditionally masculine men like Sulley or Nemo’s father (Finding Nemo). That being said, there is more to Disney’s representation of men then what we see at first glance.
I am not saying that being portrayed as heroes is somehow damaging to men, but I do believe that constantly being portrayed as heroes may lead many boys and men to a belief that the spotlight is ours for the taking.
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What we often don’t talk about when discussing Disney’s representation of men is the converse of Disney’s damsel in distress trope. Disney’s men often claim the spotlight even when the story being told is not theirs. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are all movies titled after their female characters and yet it is men who are thrust into the role of heroes. Beauty and the Beast devolves into a battle between two male characters while Belle helplessly awaits the outcome. In The Little Mermaid it is again the male love interest, not the female protagonist, which saves the day.
I am not saying that being portrayed as heroes is somehow damaging to men, but I do believe that constantly being portrayed as heroes may lead many boys and men to a belief that the spotlight is ours for the taking. If, in nearly every children’s movie young boys see, even those headlined by female characters, it is male characters that somehow save the day or otherwise resolve the conflict, how can we expect young boys and men to ever share, or even give up, a spotlight?
Perhaps for some the following may seem to be a rather large logical jump, but I believe it to be an important rhetorical question to ask… If we see male characters interrupting and stealing the thunder from female characters on-screen how can we be surprised when we see men and boys interrupting women and girls in boardrooms and classrooms?
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Suggested Reading
Crabb, Peter B. and Dawn Bielawski. 1994. “The Social Representation of Material Culture and Gender in Children’s Books.” Sex roles 30(1-2):69-79.
Do Rozario, Rebecca-Anne C. 2004. “The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, the Function of the Disney Princess.” Women’s Studies in Communication 27(1):34-59.
England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. 2011. “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses.” Sex roles 64(7-8):555-67.
Peterson, Sharyl Bender and Mary Alyce Lach. 1990. “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books: Their Prevalence and Influence on Cognitive and Affective Development.” Gender and education 2(2):185-97.
Tannen, Deborah. 2001. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation: HarperCollins.
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Originally published at The Sociology Lens
Credit: Photo—Wikimedia Commons
Also by Cliff Leek: NFL Hazing and Jonathan Martin’s “Man Card”
Hello everyone,
I know this is a long shot, but if anyone knows any good books or literature that focusing on masculinity in Disney films please would you let me know 🙂
I am writing my dissertation on this issue and there is only a limited amount of resources available, so if anyone does know of any, please send me links or the names to my email: [email protected]
Thankyou very much!
Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959). I know you want to talk about them because they are American productions. But US society pre 1960s was vastly different that post 1970s. To even bring them up is nonsensical. And really even then the guys in charge of Disney have been a product of that society. But you did see gender relations change in the early 2000s. The other mistake you make is looking at the gender relations in the Princess line rather than the entire body of work. For example, Atlantis: The Lost Empire.… Read more »
Funny: An article that complains that many Disney movies (even though they have a female titular character) are in last consequence about a man. And yet it is an article that (even though it has “men” in its title, and appearing on a men’s website) is in last consequence about girls’ situation only.
Talk about snatching the spotlight, huh?
I am not saying that being portrayed as heroes is somehow damaging to men, but I do believe that constantly being portrayed as heroes may lead many boys and men to a belief that the spotlight is ours for the taking. Are these character portrayals telling the message that the spotlight is ours for the taking or are they telling boys that they MUST take the spotlight because that spotlight is what defines you as a man and failure to have that spotlight means failure as a man? In short maybe if we quite shoving down boys throats that they… Read more »
I just don’t get it. When did this become wrong? To quote you “but I do believe that constantly being portrayed as heroes may lead many boys and men to a belief that the spotlight is ours for the taking.” What’s WRONG with that? I’m sick and tired of people wanting to undermine or suffocate the desire to GO AFTER LIFE. If my son’s (or daughter’s if I had a daughter) were inspired by a Hero taking the spotlight then it’s my job as a parent to let them know that it’s possible. To let them know that it’s theirs… Read more »
Yeah, but Pixar’s explorations of masculinity have been awesome; and Wreck It Ralph really explored the stereotypes of masculinity and “why do I always have to be portrayed as the bad guy who wrecks everything?” – I mean, could there be a better allegory for the problem of being male than that film? I don’t think this argument is very helpful – it is unfortunate that “Disney Princess” movies don’t have particularly helpful role models for girls or particularly helpful “imprinting” models of masculinity for girls (i.e. this is the type of men you’re supposed to go for) but I… Read more »
How did you miss the expectation that men are to risk life, limb and/or social station just to rescue “beauty”.
Many of the heroes in the typical old princess disney films aren’t even named. They don’t get lines or character development anymore than the stoically “good” princesses do. We don’t see any real development or character arch for anyone in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, or even The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. No one really changes, they just all sort of get lucky. The princes are rewarded with the girl and they live “happily ever after,” but for both little boys and little girls, that doesn’t offer any sort of road map for a relationship. Girls are “supposed” to be… Read more »
I and my siblings were all raised on Disney movies (and also Veggie Tales, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Spiderman Cartoons, Gargoyles, X-Men and other comic cartoons, Darkwing Duck, etc.) I can honestly say that growing up watching Disney movies isn’t AT ALL responsible for whatever expectations I had/have for my current relationships. You know who or what is responsible for teaching children? The parents. It is the parents responsibility, not Disney, to pick and choose what they expose their children to AND whether or not they talk to their children about it. How it’s addressed with your children, too, is another… Read more »
Thank you Cindy.
But what if the parents don’t know any better???? I grew up on Disney movies and shows like The Brady Bunch where there is always a happy ending and you know what? Because I didn’t have appropriate role models the role media played for me was huge because I desperately longed for a happy ending…. That influenced me dramatically until I was finally dumped on so badly that I finally woke up and realised that I have to look within myself for what makes me happy, not some kind of rescue. Corporations such as Disney need to recognise that if… Read more »