Gender Stereotypes In Walt Disney's Beauty And The Beast

Register to read the introduction… Females are well known in Disney movies to be only wanted as a wife, a mother, or a home-maker. They are there to support their husbands, calm them when they are angry, and are there for them whenever needed; you rarely ever see a woman go to work in any of these films. This being said, in the beginning of Beauty and the Beast, Belle is walking down the street when Gaston runs into her, taking her book and throwing it into the mud, he tells Belle, “It’s not right for a woman to read, then she’ll start getting ideas… thinking.” So apparently women are not supposed to read, okay Disney. The women are also shown busy feeding, bathing and watching over the children. Gaston later explains to Belle that when they get married “…my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs, we’ll have six or seven….” He clearly expects his wife, whether it be Belle or not, to do everything for him and their …show more content…
In The Little Mermaid, Ursula is describing Princess Ariel and says, “You have your looks, your pretty face, and don’t under estimate the importance of body language” and in Mulan, her seamstresses sing a song to her saying “Men want girls with good taste, calm, obedient, who work fast paced; with good breeding, and a tiny waist. You’ll bring honor to us all.” Later the men who are in the military with Mulan sing to her a song that says “A girl worth fighting for… I want her paler than the moon, with eyes that shine that stars, my girl will marvel at my strength, adore my battle scars. I couldn’t care less what she’ll wear or what she looks like, it all depends on what she cooks like.” The body image of these women is widely looked at by these little adolescent girls and makes them feel as if this is the look of perfection; the look of a princess. Every Disney princess has a tiny waist, yet unimaginable curves, beautiful long hair, clear skin, full lips, large eyes, and ridiculously long eyelashes. Whether the leading female is a human or an animal, they are represented with all of these “perfect” feminine …show more content…
The women are usually put in the position as being a damsel in distress, always needing to be saved by her prince. The basic role in every Disney movie is for the princess to find her prince and do whatever she could do for him, and as soon as they get married the movie ends with a happily ever after. It has been said that an increased interest in heterosexual relationships has long been considered a hallmark of adolescence (Giordano, Longmore, and Manning, 125). But why must you have a man to be happy? Children can be greatly affected by the way we interpret the way life should be. Maybe it is for this reason that so many adolescent girls have their dream “princess” wedding planned out before they are ten years old. Marriage remains an important part of the America family system, even if its dominance has diminished (Cherlin, 239). Joan Letendre states “The pressure for involvement in romantic heterosexual relationships puts many young adolescent girls, particularly those who develop early, at risk of physical and sexual victimization. (Letendre, 189)” In The Little Mermaid, Ariel gives up her beautiful voice to Ursula to be with Prince Charming. In the end she does end up getting her voice back, but she leaves her entire under water family to be with the