How Disney movies influence boys and men.
Lots of people have argued that Disney spreads poisonous, sexist, and flawed portrayals of women and girls in society. They have said that all the Disney princesses are vapid, dependent on men, and define an unattainable standard of beauty. We study it, we read it, we discuss it, we get it. But girls are not the only ones who watch Disney films. Women are not the only ones who get nostalgic when watching Disney films. The Disney Prince is as ubiquitous as the Disney Princess. So how Disney is portraying boys and men?
A prince is always on his own
Rule 1: Be a lone wolf. A real man does not have a family or support system. Tarzan, Aladdin, and Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid) are only a few examples of Disney Princes who do not have parents, siblings or any other form of family. Even if the character has a loving family, once he becomes a man he leaves. For example, Hercules left his adoptive family to find himself. Simba left his mother and pride to survive.
This message reinforces the tenets of hegemonic masculinity. Boys are in this world alone, and their only strength can be found in themselves. Family is something that ties a man down. Rarely do male characters rely on loved ones for advice. To be a Momma’s Boy or too dependent on others (even though they unconditionally love you) is thought to suppress one’s manhood.
A prince shows no emotions
Rule 2: Never let ‘em see you cry. Without having a support system, it is not surprising that men grow up with the idea that they must never show their emotions or talk about how they feel. A prince can never cry, even if they lost a loved one or are even close to death. My only memory of a male Disney character is the cub Simba (Lion King) crying when his father died. This is only acceptable because he was young–he is allowed to cry, but only that once. Shang (Mulan), also portrayed the emotionless man. When his father died, he clenched his teeth and prepared for battle.
The only emotion that is acceptable for the men of Disney is anger. If you are sad, upset, disappointed, or frustrated, and you are a man, you release these feelings with anger. According to Disney, a real man solves his internal turmoil by yelling, throwing things, and being physically violent. For instance, the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), always turned to violence despite the audience knowing that he was actually emotionally damaged. We see the effects of these images on boys when we see men who are violent and hateful. These effects can be very dangerous.
A princess is the only valuable woman (Not all women are princess)
Rule 3: All Women are (Not) Princesses. Yes, if you are a prince you will find a princess and love her, respect her, and take care of her. But there is only one princess. There are many other women in the Disney universe, but they do not deserve the same respect and love as a Princess. At least that is the message that is being received by boys.
Take Gaston (Beauty and the Beast). There are other women who are in love with his “manliness” and muscles but they are depicted as dumb, ditzy, blondes. In the grown up world they resemble the girls that men believe they can have fun with, but never commit to or bring home. In Aladdin the girls, other than Jasmine, who like him are depicted as fat and ugly. So while the Disney prince will go to the ends of the world for his princess, not all women are worth this effort, in fact most do not deserve the slightest bit of respect. Once the Prince finds his princess he must protect and love her, although he may not know how to suddenly change his actions and attitudes about women.
A New Breed of Princes
New Rules? How can we protect the young and equally impressionable boys, who consume these restrictive messages about gender? We can begin to redefine masculinity in a way that fosters confident, mature, respectful men. By offering more nuanced portrayals of the “Prince,” we can buttress the persistent gender stereotypes replicated in Disney movies.
—Photo credit: epSos.de/Flickr
I agree with many of these points, but these Princes and Princesses exist and are prevalent in our children’s culture. I think that once the insidious messages inherent in the story like are understood, it’s important to find a new framework to teach our children. I just wrote about my re-conceptualizing of Princesses on my blog. As I think about it, the Princes deserve the same treatment.
We can’t take the Princes & Princesses out of the culture, but we can change the things we notice/teach/talk about with our kids. And keep working toward better images, of course.
http://anotherdayanothermom.bloodspot.com/2012/07/princess-power.html?m=1
Silly auto-correct messed up the link: http://anotherdayanothermom.blogspot.com/2012/07/princess-power.html?m=1
1. Rule 1: Be a lone wolf. A real man does not have a family or support system. Tarzan, Aladdin, and Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid) are only a few examples of Disney Princes who do not have parents, siblings or any other form of family. I think this analysis demonstrates a subtle with which gender roles are reinforced under the guise of critiquing them. Actually in Disney movies the male characters aloneness creates within them an unwitting driving force to reconnect with society. I think in nearly every Disney movie friendship is an important theme but isolation also occurs… Read more »
– Gay people don’t exist. But if you’re camp, you’re probably evil.
– Skinny people are either hilariously ethnic comic relief, or evil.
– Fat people are either hilariously stupid comic relief, or evil.
– Prefer to solve problems with intelligence and reasoning rather than running at them with your muscles bulging? You may be evil.
– If you’ve got a big nose, you’re definitely evil.
Forget Disney, let’s talk about the Smurfs. Every smurf is defined (dare I say objectified) by his disposition or trade except Smurfette whose singular contributing value to the smurf community is her femininity. Now as an adult, I get that a lot of girls/women find that justifiably stifling (“what a girl can’t be ‘handy smurf'”?), but as a boy, I got the message that my value as a male would and should be ultimately distilled to whatever singular trade or disposition came to define me. There was no Smurfo whose defining quality was he was simply a man, I would… Read more »
Good piece. My boys and I watch lots of Disney. I didn’t notice some of this before. I’m glad we talk about it though.
Also, you gotta be a great kisser. You have to be able to bring a woman out of a coma with a kiss. (Sleeping Beauty) No pressure…..
How about the fact that by definition 99% of men are not princes, and the fact that by definition a prince is someone more special than other men, more valuable than all other men. The very idea of superior family lines is kind of a brutal message in such stories. I wonder how people living in actual monarchies relate to Disney stories like this….
I kind of think that most of these stories, being ancient origin, have a fair tinge of overt propaganda in favor of monarchy that seems comically out of sync with western democracy. Notice how the evil character is often some usurper, a regent for example, who tries to undo the King or deceive the rightful heir to enthrone HIMself (emphasis added). I guess the old stories that were critical of monarchy and primogeniture were simply purged from the books, to bad.
Wonder if our descendants will look at our contemporary stories and spot the propaganda with similar ease.
I’ve noticed that, too. American culture has been oddly fascinated by monarchy for a long time. There are many Americans who care more about the royal family than most Brits do. King of Pop, King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, etc.
“In the actions of all men, and especially of princes, which it is not prudent to challenge, one judges by the result.” (NM)
Princes must be Beautiful:
Even the beast was only fit to marry whatserface once he turned into a Tom Cruise lookalike.
Princes must be rich:
Aladdin is the only exception I can think of.
But Aladdin BECAME rich didn’t he.
ahh…but that’s more the capitalist bent. Wealth = goodness = wealth.
[em]Princes ride roughshod over the bodies of Princes who came before them[/em] When a prince faces a dragon that no other man has bested, for the hand of “his” Princess, he calmly and without thought for their suffering, walks past the corpses of other men who though they were Princes and died trying. Either he succeeds, or his bones rest with the others. [em]Princes declare their love by being willing to die for their princess[/em] When harm comes to town, a Prince shields “his” Princess with his body, gives her the last way out of a burning building, his place… Read more »
I believe that girls are far, far more impacted by princess messages than boys are by any prince messages. I don’t think Disney movies influence boys much at all.
Disney movies, it is worth noting, are often adaptations of much older stories with themes/characters meant to reinforce the values and gender roles of older cultures. While women’s lib. has motivated many females to buck these traditional roles, modern society has kept boys and men in much the same roles of olde, as this article points out.
So, of course, boys are influenced by Disney movies. But perhaps the enforcement is not as obvious since they aren’t then encouraged to behave outside that box as they mature.
Why are boys always assumed to have magical agency powers that make them immune from cultural messages, while girls are apparently so susceptible to them, that they are assumed to have no agency at all?
Good point. I think it’s because male roles and behaviors are considered the “default standard,” so female stereotypes (princesses etc.) are viewed with more suspicion as having been defined by outside forces, while men are “just being themselves” if they follow accepted male stereotypes.