It's All Disney's Fault

Masculinity has been instilled in all of us from a very young age. Thinking back to movies we all watched growing up, they all showed how a man SHOULD look, SHOULD act, and SHOULD be. They were all very big, strong,handsome and dominant in all of these movies. These movies showed the men fighting for a woman or being a hero. If you weren't these things, than you were not manly. You were weak. This is the type of image we want our kids to think? Along with masculinity being portrayed, women are being portrayed as princesses who were helpless, beautiful and usually being fought for. Women were not strong and independent. They have no real voice.




"Beauty and the Beast"
This is a movie we've all seen before and know the premise. A girl is trying to be won by the big,strong Gaston. He is a muscular, strong, handsome man. There is a song in the movie about how there is no one better than Gaston in any way. It's all about how "manly" he is. "Manly" meaning he has hair on his chest, he eats raw eggs, his arms are bigger than anybody's.






 "Mulan"
Mulan was a step in the right direction for Disney. Mulan is a girl who tries to become a ninja warrior like the men she is surrounded by. The men immediately think she is crazy and tell her to go back to doing what women should be doing. She ends up proving them wrong and becomes this strong, independent woman who can do anything the men can do. 




I found this mini-documentary on Masculinity in Disney films. I thought it was very interesting to take a look at the characters we grew up knowing and loving but were instilling wrong images in our minds of what a man and woman should be. 

"Sexism, Strength and Dominance: Masculinity in Disney Films"