Gender roles according to Disney

My communication and culture class has changed my point of view on how and why we communicated the way we do within our cultures as well as what factors influence that communication within a culture. One of the major influencers on our culture is media. I have chosen to focus on a film we watched in my class just last week which analyzed (maybe a little too much) the roll Disney played in shaping roles in a culture, especially in the youth. In almost every Disney movie, the base of the story consists of a female being rescued by a man, even Mulan and Pocahontas.

The film spends a good amount of time looking at Beauty and the Beast. After looking more in-depth to this movie, we see that the bones of the story line are about a dominant man who is abusive to a princess who later realizes she ‘needs’ him, and ends up begging for him back despite his aggressive behaviors. This, without us really realizing it, creates the idea that this type of relationship is okay and in a way, idealized because of the popularity Disney holds.

Another example of how media influences culture in regards to Disney is by creating the idea that “Men are hopeless and need women to take care of them” (Juergen). This idea is prominent in the classic Disney movie, Snow White. This movie is about a young woman who takes care of seven men by cleaning up after them as well as doing dishes. All of which are skills that the dwarfs (men) did not know how to do.

 This stuck out to me because for as long as I can remember it was my absolute favorite game to play ‘house’. I loved to play in my little kitchen as a young child while holding one of my babies and feeding it. I did not realize what an influence Disney had on my idea of what it means to be a woman until now. I look back at my childhood and see how I, unconsciously, was implementing the roles from Disney movies in my life. When I played, I always wanted to play the role of house-wife because that’s what I assumed my role in my culture would be one day. Still to this day, while I see myself having a fantastic job and career that I work hard for, my ultimate goal is to be a stay-at-home mom one day and I am starting to believe that maybe that goal was seeded in my mind with the help of Disney.

\