Disney and Gender Roles
Media is a strong influence in socializing our children and teaching them the gender roles they will learn later in life. Disney movies, like all other media, “are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,” such as our gender roles (Riley). Disney, in particular, helps emphasize the gender roles our culture expects by being “symbols of the times” and showing how the “target audiences want to see women” (Maio). While attempting to adapt their standard female character to today’s ideals versus forty years ago, many of the same characteristics are pervasive in today’s world, such as the portrayal of females as “happy homemakers looking for a man.”
Differential ...
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Disney movie can be described as follows: a fairytale princess in pursuit of romance, willing to sacrifice anything for her beloved prince charming. With this standard story line, Disney begins to distinguish between the “pink world” and the “blue world” (Perrin lecture). From the start, young girls are exposed to the idea that as a female your main goal in life is to find prince charming while being a proper young woman. The young women in Disney movies act similar to how Stephen Richer found the young girls playing with the boys, as the ones occupied with the other sex, chasing their prince charming around the playground (Stark 172). The game arises out of what the young girls have seen as their pursuit in life. They are the ones to long for prince charming and chase after him. They are socialized with Disney’s help.
I have yet to see a Disney movie where the boy starts the pursuit and is mesmerized by the girl. Though, in Tarzan, Tarzan is first infatuated with Jane, ...
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within the norms and expectations.
Though most Disney movies have a female as the main character, the gender role for males is just as easily seen in movies such as The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. In The Little Mermaid, Prince Eric has fine features accompanied by the strength to save his sweetheart when in need. Males in Disney can be described as hansom, strong, and heroic. When their princess calls, they dive into danger and always rescue the damsel in distress. Similarly, Aladdin frees Jasmine from the wicked sorcerer. With Jasmine left helpless, only Aladdin has the cunning to successfully dethrone Jafar. In times of peril, the princess always needs her prince.
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"Disney and Gender Roles." Essayworld.com. March 29, 2011. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Disney-and-Gender-Roles/97040.
"Disney and Gender Roles." Essayworld.com. March 29, 2011. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Disney-and-Gender-Roles/97040.
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