Now, this is a totally out of the blue post and very belated in terms of the blog its in response to. I was doing a Google image search for a specific Disney princess and happened to come across a blog post from June 1, 2008 on dirtyrottenfeminist‘s blog. You can find the specific entry here.
She had a whole “in depth” post about how sexist Disney Princess movies are. I read it out of pure curiosity and halfway through I had to take a break to clear the growing sarcasm and snark that was just begging to be released in a comment.
She mentions straight away that she doesn’t think any of these movies should be banned, saying, “…the main problem is that plenty of parents do not discuss the issues with their kids, and I think that is important.” Now, I dunno when she started watching Disney movies, but I don’t think I would’ve understood or cared if my mom had sat me down at five years old and said, “Now I know you love Aladdin, but do you see how Jasmin totally comes on to Jafar? She’s using her sexuality to seduce him for her own gain; it’s very sexist.”
She starts out with Snow White, saying, “The biggest issue I have with Snow White is the way her song “Someday My Prince Will Come” today. It’s quite…well…shallow. This is the first instance we have a mother-figure as the villain. And what fuels her hatred? Jealousy over beauty. Blech.” First part; Someday My Prince Will Come is shallow? Isn’t that song supposed to be about getting what you dream and wish for? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought people – including women – were encouraged to dream and hope for things. Doing so doesn’t make someone shallow. I wish I was thinner; does that make me shallow? (Don’t answer that, I’m sure someone will say yes. xD )
Second part; The mother-figure villain. She expresses her dislike of the fact that the wicked mother figure is jealous of Snow White’s beauty. Personally, I don’t even see this as an issue since the movie very clearly depicts this as something bad and undesirable. The jealousy, that is. So who cares if the person is jealous? The movie portrays her as a villian; of course she’s going to be bad! (God forbid.)
Her next princess is Cinderella. She expresses distaste for the “Aryan-ness” of the whole movie… Which originally came out in 1950. Around this time, Disney was geared towards the middle class families which were predominantly white. There’s nothing “Aryan” about it! So Cinderella is blonde with blue eyes — get over it.
Then there’s Sleeping Beauty. This one was a real kicker. “The virginity symbolism is strong in this one: pricking her finger on a spindle (phallus?) and drawing blood (hymen?) is BAD BAD BAD!!!” I can imagine it now, every five to eight year old girl turning to the boy beside her and saying, “That spindle totally symbolizes your penis! Don’t stick it in me or I’ll bleed and fall asleep for hundreds of years!” No child is going to understand this as symbolism. It’s a fairy tale for crying out loud! They’re too busy laughing at the bumbling fairies and gazing wide eyed at the giant dragoness as she spurts a plume of flame at the prince.
On to the Little Mermaid! “So far we have: change yourself for a man, leave your family and friends behind to be with him, less talky–more fucky.” I never once saw any implications of sex in this movie the way she talks about it. From what I remember, and please correct me if I’m wrong, Ariel had already been fascinated by humans; Eric just fueled her curiosity. She goes on to say, “Instead of like the Hans Christensen Anderson version, where she would rather make the choice (look! a choice! how novel) to die instead of killing the man she loves, in this version, Daddy swoops in to save the day. Disgusting.” Now I can understand having little respect for a daddy’s girl as I was raised with a father figure who used to snort in disgust every time he saw someone like that. I don’t like things handed to me, despite what my mom sometimes thinks; I don’t even do well with gifts! But honestly… What’s so bad about a father saving his daughter’s life? Given the chance, wouldn’t any real father save his daughter? I’d be more concerned with the ending where the priest looks like he’s sporting a huge hardon. Someone needs to go back and redraw his pants! (Or keep it, it made me giggle like mad when I noticed.)
Now for some Beast. Beauty and the Beast. She points out how there seems to be some domestic abuse issues between Belle and Beast. I don’t see them. Belle seems overly curious and nosy, very perceptive. Beast strikes me as someone who just doesn’t want to be found out. He doesn’t want to let anyone in. If anything, it’s less abuse and more… “Hoo, he has issues…” Belle doesn’t change him in the way this girl presented it; she simply shows him that someone does care, that he isn’t alone and doesn’t have to be alone. What’s so wrong about that?
For Aladdin, I already touched on her main point at the beginning. That was really the only point she made. She says Jasmine is basically useless in the movie; I would assume so! The movie isn’t even about her. It’s about Aladdin! Hence why it’s called Aladdin. But apparently using your body to get out of a life threatening situation is a no-no. Find another way, girlies! Smite them with your glorious wit! =/
Now she goes into the other female characters. Pocahontas apparently “trades up” for the “white man” (God forbid you fall for someone who isn’t the same race!) And Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is suddenly depicted as a whore. Does she not know history? Esmeralda is a gypsy and back then gypsies were despised! Their trade skills, including the dances the women put on, were usually considered vulgar simply because the women showed so much skin. You see more skin now going to the beach.
I can’t say too much about Meg from Hercules, but the girl says she’s a whore. And again, I’ve never seen any indication of this in the movie.
Last but not least, Mulan. She’s almost all praise for this movie, except for oooone little thing… Mulan again gets the guy in the end. Apparently she didn’t want Mulan to have a full happy ending; no, she wants the male depicted as a heartless fumbling asshole so that Mulan can end on a single note, “OMG I SAVED CHINA!” I’m starting to think this chick is one of those lesbians that absolutely hates men.
I’m all for feminism. Women being treated equally in the workplace, etc. But only to a certain extent. This girl takes it to a racist/sexist extent. Her feminist views strike me more as sexist and apparently the “white man” running this country isn’t doing a good job. Does race really have anything to do with how the country is run? More and more “whites” are becoming a minority anyway. Ever been in a classroom filled with hispanics and been the only white person there? I have. Trust me, it’s not fun when you can’t understand a word they’re saying and they’re all looking at you and smirking. It’s humiliating and degrading. But we can’t say anything because they’re the “minority”. =/
My main issue with all this is that she’s taken movies and read all these terrible things into them and then expresses her concerns for children watching them. No child is going to watch one of these movies and become disgusted by the supposedly sexist representations of the princesses! Like my mom says, “Why take the fun out of being a child?” Who cares if Cinderella is waaay to white for your liking? Let the kids marvel at the pumpkin coach. Childhood isn’t about being politically correct; it’s about the magic of things. The kids are gonna grow up and have to live in reality for most of their lives anyway, let them bask in the make believe while they can.
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