9 Harmful Stereotypes We Never

Realized Our Favorite Disney

Movies Taught Us
By Michelle Juergen April 25, 2014
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9 Harmful Stereotypes We Never Realized Our Favorite Disney Movies

Taught UsImage Credit: The FW

We get it, Internet: You love Disney. But don't be blinded: Beneath the
smiles, flowers and singing woodland creatures of the classic
Disney oeuvre from our youth lies a host of stereotypes that shaped our
generation. Sure, this new generation gets all the progressive glories
of Frozen, but our Disney musicals were entertaining yet riddled with
stereotypes. Below, you'll find nine of the most harmful Disney
stereotypes we watched on repeat during our childhood. Disney seems to
have learned from some of these mistakes, but looking at all these
stereotypes together definitely sheds some light on the way of thinking we
grew up on and what was considered normal just a decade or two ago.
From outdated ideas about gender roles, to offensive representations of
other cultures, let's take a look.

1. You should change who you are for a love

interest. ('The Little Mermaid')
Photo via The FW

In The Little Mermaid, Ariel starts out as a brave, curious, and

adventurous young mermaid. She explores the sea with her friends and
saves Flounder and Prince Eric from drowning. Once she develops a
crush on Eric and is briefly transformed into a human, however, she turns
into a quiet, lovesick puppy, spending most of her time obsessing over
the prince and staring wide-eyed in admiration at him — and he is totally
into this version of Ariel. She literally becomes mute when she trades her
voice to the evil sea-witch Ursula in exchange for legs (so that she can
live a human life with Eric). Her demeanor changes from bold to
submissive, and her former interest in human culture narrows to just
seeking out a kiss. She ultimately "gets" the prince, but at the expense of
having totally revised her personality and leaving her friends, family and
world behind. The message here, kids: Don't be yourself if you want
someone to fall in love with you.

2. Men are hopeless and need women to take care

of them. ('Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs')
In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, one of the seven dwarfs is straight
up named Dopey, and each and every one of them is portrayed as a
hapless dummy who can't take care of himself. Snow White saves these
slovenly adults from their pigsty by dusting, sweeping, washing dishes,
tidying and sprucing — tasks that the dwarfs apparently never learned
from their mother (since women must teach men how to do all the things).

3. Outward beauty is what makes you special.

('Cinderella')
Photo via The FW

This is arguably the message of most Disney films, but it's exemplified
most in Cinderella, where the basic plot of the story is that a prince sees
her all dolled up, thinks she's super cute and falls in love with her on the
spot. Sleeping Beauty is another big offender: Aurora and Prince Phillip
instantly fall in love upon meeting, spend absolutely no time getting to
know anything about each other, and then live happily ever after. Literally
all Aurora does to receive "true love's kiss" is be beautiful. This sends a
message that when it comes to love and affection, it's what's on the
outside that counts. Attractiveness is synonymous with happiness.
Equally important: Though men don't play central roles in these two
examples, being handsome is always a stipulation for being a desirable
prince in a Disney movie.

4. Being thin and white is what makes women

beautiful and valuable. (Everything pre 'Mulan')
Photo Credit: Fanpop

Concurrent with the notion that outward beauty is most important is the
message that this beauty has a specific look: thin and white. While the
Disney princess list now includes a handful of non-white women — Tiana
from The Princess and the Frog, notably — the "major" Disney princesses
that most 20-somethings grew up with were pretty effing white (white as
snow, if you will) and very thin. Megara from Hercules has the
most impossibly tiny waist you will ever see.

There's nothing wrong with being white and/or skinny, but growing up, we
were exposed to heroines who all looked remarkably similar. This has a
host of implications: That thinness and whiteness makes you valuable,
prosperous, moral and beautiful. This also implies that the opposite is
true: Non-whiteness and non-thinness is unwanted, undesirable, evil and
unattractive. Disney seems to (ever so slowly) be catching on and adding
more variety to their characters, but there's still an incredible amount of
work to be done if young women are to have relateable characters to look
up to.

5. Weight determines temperament. ('Beauty and

the Beast')
Photo via Blu-ray.com

Disney would have you believe that being small and waif-ish makes you
gentle and kind, and that being large makes you beastly, coarse and/or
prone to angry outbursts as demonstrated by characters like Beauty and
the Beast's Belle and Beast. Yes, Beast is, well, a beast, but his
juxtaposition with tiny Belle implies that one's literal body size affects
mood, essentially teaching children that fat people are mean and angry,
and skinny people are sweet and nice.

See also: Ursula.

6. Women have to be strong AND gentle.

('Pocahontas')
In most Disney films, men are not called upon to be anything but strong
(sometimes additionally smart or clever, or just handsome). But in Disney
films like Mulan and Pocahontas, the stories revolves around strong
female leads, and there's a double standard. Women must also
demonstrate kindness, thoughtfulness, gentleness and humility —
femaleness, essentially — in order to be acceptable "strong female"
characters.

There's obviously nothing wrong with a woman being all these things; it's
very human. But it's a caveat that doesn't apply to men in most Disney
movies: Women can be brave, but they must also have stereotypical lady
qualities and maintain a pretty face all the while. Mulan and Pocahontas
are two badass, warrior women and yet the films take pains to make sure
we know they also are loving (demonstrated through relationships with
men, and let's not even get started on the historical inaccuracies of the
Pocahontas/John Smith thing) or understanding of the fact that their
strength is shameful or atypical.

7. Arabs are erotic, barbaric and ignorant.

('Aladdin')
Photo via The FW

Aladdin would have you believe a long list of stereotypes of Arab culture.
For one, Jasmine's clothing is extremely revealing compared to cultural
and historic norms, and the women in the movie are all portrayed as sexy,
exotic dancing sirens. (Which also buys into the racist and sexist idea that
non-white women are all sexual or animalistic.)

The Middle East is shown as a brutal place full of brutal people. The original
lyrics of the opening song, "Arabian Nights," actually included the lines "I
come from a land/From a faraway place/Where they cut off your ear/If
they don't like your face/It's barbaric, but hey, it's home." The words
were changed in 1993 after being deemed racist.

The depictions of the characters are by and large ignorant and backward-
thinking: The Sultan lets Jafar walk all over him and control him, thinks his
daughter needs a man to take care of her and is seen playing with his
toys or generally acting doofy. Other men in the movie are shown as sword-
swallowers, coal-walkers, snake-charmers, crooks or swindlers; women
are confined (in revealing clothes) to the home to do laundry.
Photo via Theories and Effects

8. Men are saviors. (See: all)

Men are saving women in practically every Disney movie ever made
(usually with a kiss). InTangled, Rapunzel is saved from a life of
sequestered boredom by a charming bandit; Ariel is saved by Prince Eric
in The Little Mermaid; Aurora is saved by Prince Phillip in Sleeping
Beauty; Wendy and her brothers are saved from growing up in Peter
Pan; Snow White is saved by a nameless prince ... you get the
idea. In The Lion King, Simba is called on to save pretty much everyone
(no pressure).
Disney is spreading a few different stereotypes with this focus: Women
need men to save them; saving a woman makes you a man; and that only
men are capable of protecting others from harm or danger.

9. Being masculine means being hot and buff

(and white, obviously). ('Hercules')
Two of the best examples of this stereotype can be found
in Hercules and Beauty and the Beastwith Hercules and Gaston (there's no
man in town half as manly). This representation of masculinity as an
attractive man with big muscles and nice hair (who is usually white) is
often paired with a foil played by a small and/or fat male character that
plays comic relief — Phil, Lefou,Timon and Pumbaa and even Heimlich —
implying that their size and characteristics are considerably less
"masculine." These sidekicks are often given more "feminine" qualities:
They offer advice to the hero, listen to his woes and are more caring or
sensitive.

While Gaston doesn't woo Belle with his hairy, manly chest, it's clear he is
meant to represent a man's man. Disney may not be making the
judgment that these forms of masculinity seen in Gaston or Hercules are
desirable, but the corporation is making a statement on what masculinity
looks like, and in doing so presenting an unattainable standard and
alienating a large demographic of men.

Amanda Yerby, Samantha Baron, Youjin Lee History of Animation Assignment 1, Part 4 Website
Collaborative Content Gender roles in Disney Animation I. Introduction a. Definition of Gender
 Roles Gender roles are a perceived set of behavioral norms usually associated with males and
females in a given social group or system. They allow individuals to refer to certain attitudes or
behaviors that class a person’s stereotypical identity. This concrete behavior of individuals is both
a socially enforced rule and value, as well as being individuals disposition, genetic, unconscious, or
conscious. Gender roles vary among different societies and cultures, though creativity or time my
cause these rules and values to change. Gender roles are often conditioned by household
structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the economy, and other local relevant factors
(Thompson). b. How certain characters are portrayed in animation Today many of the aspects such
as women being the weaker sex and set roles for each denomination haven't changed as much as
you would think. Many women have gone into jobs once thought to be male oriented, but make
only a fraction of what their male counterparts do. Looking at male and female characters in
animations, one can see how those two genders are portrayed differently in terms of their roles.
Male characters have been more prominent and portrayed as more likely to have a recognizable
job, more independent, assertive, intelligent, athletic, important, competent, technical, confident,
responsible, and stronger than female characters. For example, Tarzan was adopted by a tribe of
the strongest mammals on earth, and spent his formative years trying to imitate them. The entire
film displayed his ripped musculature, and Tarzan killed a vicious saber-toothed leopard with only
a pointy stick. On the other hand, female characters have been portrayed as weaker, more
controlled by others, emotional, warmer, tentative, romantic, affectionate, sensitive, frailer,
passive, complaining, domestic, stereotypical, and troublesome than male characters. For
example, Cruella Deville (101 Dalmatians), Ursula (The little Mermaid) and the wicked Queen
(Snow White and the seven dwarfs) are classical examples of middle-aged villains. They have been
called Disney's femme fatales (powerful woman defined by their sexuality). Additionally, in Lion
King, when Simba's father (the king) is killed, he runs away and Scar takes over. The lionesses are
shown to be very weak and they have to wait for Simba to return and save them. This shows that
the lionesses can’t do anything themselves and have to depend on the lions for their freedom,
their future. Lion King 101 Dalmatians Tarzan Snow White c. Intro to Disney animation The Disney
Studios, with the help of their animators came up with a series of shorts, which included familiar
characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy in the 1930’s. As the animation
progressed, Disney decided he wanted to try and make the first feature length animated film,
“Snow White and The Seven Dwarves.” With the success of “Snow White,” (1937) Disney went on
to create other feature length films which have included classics such as Sleeping Beauty and
Cinderella to name a few. However, when looking at the history of Disney movies there is a trend
in the roles that female characters play within the movies. When analyzing Disney movies through
a timeline it is easy to see how these roles progressed through time. Please visit
http://www.disneyanimation.com/aboutus/history.html for a complete timeline of Disney movies.
Snow White and The Seven Dwarves is the first animated feature length film produced by Disney.
In this movie, Snow White is very domestic, and is relying on a prince to come save her. The same
trend is found in Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty as well. They are all dependent on a Prince. When
looking further down the timeline and analyzing movies such Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan,
each princess in these movies are more independent. For example, in Aladdin, Princess Jasmine
does not wish to rely on a Prince, and is more independent and free-spirited, the same with
Pocahontas and Mulan. Works Cited Aladdin. Dir. Ron Clements, John Musker." Disney : 1992,
Film. Cinderella. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson. Disney: 1950, Film. "History." Walt Disney
Animation Studios. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2010. . Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook. Disney:
1998, Film. Pocahontas. Dir. Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg. Disney: 1995, Film Sleeping Beauty. Dir,
Clyde Geronimi. Disney: 1957, Film. Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. Whilhem Grimm, Jacob
Grimm, Disney: 1937, Film II. Disney and Gender Roles a. The role of princesses - most Disney
 movies portray the princesses as souls who need to be "rescued” - why? Gender roles are very
prominent in Disney films; typically women are portrayed as a princess, queen, or homemaker. A
Disney princess is a female heroine that many children look up to as role models. Though usually
not princess by birth, these women are praised for their determination, skills, and strong will.
Disney has and will continue to use princesses as main characters, for example Ariel in the Little
Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Jasmine in Aladdin, and Mulan. In early Disney films the
princess was shown through a traditional fairy tale, the damsel-in-distress theme. The heroine
needs rescuing by the nearby prince, meeting the standard of early-20th century American ideals.
Cinderella is a great example of this; she is left to stay in the same enforced servitude for the rest
of her life until she escapes by marriage. Cinderella and many others were tales that drew on
traditional legends that quickly lost favor when women right became a serious issue. Cinderella,
Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were all incapable of helping themselves and getting out of their
own troubles. As feminism rose in America there was a shift in type of princess Disney portrayed.
In the 1980’s Disney reinvented their princesses with the release of The Little Mermaid. Though
Ariel ends up marrying her true love, she is rebellious and ambitious, finding success herself. This
change in the princess’s role, lead Disney and their animation department to realize Disney
princesses could do anything. By the time Pocahontas came out, she was able to stand up for
herself, but herself in risk of a stranger. Mulan was able to fight off an entire invading Hun army
and save her country. These new Disney princesses were a different kind of role model for young
girls. Disney uses princess (female heroines) more often than male heroes for numerous reasons.
According to them it is easier for men to indentify with a female power figure than a male. It
allows powerful females to remain more in contact with their weaknesses and insecurities, where
typical male heroes are often portrayed as hard and consistently strong. Disney princess provides
a universal role model for viewers of both sexes, whereas a Disney prince may be more difficult to
make accessible to a wide audience, according to Dr. Richard Sherman of Miami University. b.
Male characters in Disney movies - Very masculine, "the rescuer" Disney movies have
unquestionably displayed men and women in stereotypical roles and in stereotypical body forms.
Some critics would suggest that this is the result of hidden motives, while in reality it is only a side
effect of common public norms and the very nature of animation. Disney movies could be seen as
a very sexist influence on children only starting to form their views of the world. However, when
considered with the society that created them, Disney movies fall in line with the sexual biases
that exist in society. It seems that the role model for any leading character is a father figure
whether the main character is male or female. Most of the cases when it is a male role model, he's
either a King or an important figure. For example, let’s look at the prince in Snow White. He rides a
horse. He even gives the Snow white back a life by giving her a single kiss. This shows how
almighty a male character is portrayed in the Disney animation. There is another animation that
portrays a male character as important and even superior. In 'Aladdin,' Aladdin survives with his
wits, agility and street smart. Aladdin is even portrayed as fearless man. He fights a gigantic snake
even with only a small sword and dozens of bad guys in animation. He is also showing masculinity
by wearing a vest revealing most of his upper torso, including his six pecs. As one can see in those
animations, male characters have been portrayed as masculine and even superior in Disney
animations. c. Elaboration the Female Role in Disney Movies, and Another look. Kathi Maio , a
Boston Journalist, wrote an article called, “Disney Dolls” on Disney gender roles for the online
Magazine, New Internationalist. Maio takes a deeper look into films we’ve already been
discussing. It is important to take a look at Snow White, being the first full-length animated film
Disney produced. It helps lay out a theme for later movies, and the roles females will play in them.
For example, Maio discusses the fact that Snow White is a “young, virginal, and pretty, sweet
natured and obedient.” She also explains that domestic work does not faze her since she knows
 her prince will come to her rescue. Maio argues that this is the making of a typical Disney movie,
the young women portrayed in a majority of Disney films are happy homemakers, and wait for a
man to give them a reason worth living (1). While most of the young women in Disney movies are
“happy homemakers” she also touches on the point that most of the older women in Disney
movies, such as the Stepmother in Snow White, or Ursula in The Littler Mermaid, are portrayed as
evil characters (1). Maio does however also recognize that throughout the years, Disney Princesses
have matured in their independence. Many still rely on men to rescue them as there is usually a
romance of some sort in the film, but many of the female characters, such as Pocahontas and
Mulan have found a new independence where relying on a “male rescuer” is not as essential as
before. For another look into Disney Gender Roles and Princesses, please look at an article written
by Cassie Schmidt for “The Daily Campus.” She looks at how many of these princesses are not only
okay with “home-maker” role, but also the “love at first sight” role. She argues that before calling
these young princesses role models, one should take another look. You can read her article here:
http://www.dailycampus.com/commentary/disney-princesses-are-not-the-role-modelsthey-
appear-to-be-1.1080977 III. Concentrate on Specific Films Female Disney heroines are traditionally
placed in one of three positions: that of an idealized teenage heroine, wicked middle-aged beauty
or nurturing post-menopausal woman. These are the main stereotypes. a. snow white - an
example of teenage heroines Snow white takes on the mother role in the film, we see her doing
domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, washing, and taking care of the seven dwarfs. She does
this all while smiling and singing or humming along. Snow White does all these things without
complaining at all. It conveys what “proper” gender roles of the time were, being released in 1937.
b. The Little Mermaid - Ariel : more independent than older princesses In “The Little Mermaid,”
Ariel, the mermaid, exemplified the stereotypical passive female role. At the first glimpse, it seems
that Disney did not pay much attention to the Women's Movement. For example, Ariel is the same
as the earlier Disney heroines, except that she is sexy and wears a bikini made from shells. Also,
everything she is interested seems to be all about getting her lover, the prince. As shown in the
animation, Ariel seems to be willing to do anything in order to make the prince fall in love with
her. She even gives up her voice so that she can have legs, which can make her look better in front
of the prince. Even though the animation has happy endings, and Ariel gets her voice back and
keeps her lover, she has to leave behind her home, family, and friends. This shows that she, a
female character, gives up everything for her love. This ends up with happy endings. However,
Ariel who gives up everything including her family and career just for her romance would have
somewhat negative influence on young girls who have to study and think about their careers in
the future. Works Cited http://www.dailycampus.com/commentary/disney-princesses-are-not-
the-role-modelsthey-appear-to-be-1.1080977 c. Mulan After spending a lot of time on how Disney
princesses lack independence, it is important to look at how history has brought upon the more
independent Disney female character, and what not a better way than to look at one of their most
independent character – Mulan. Mulan is a more contemporary character in Disney animation and
is based on a true story. It is said best when she is described as braver, more independent, and less
focused on finding a husband than other female Disney characters.(Disney Archives) Unlike some
of the previous animated films, Mulan transforms herself into a man in order to enter the army in
her ailing father’s place. She cuts her hair and dresses as a man and through discipline and
determination is able to become one of the best soldiers in the army. Mulan did not wait for a
man to come to her rescue, but instead, became the rescuer herself. For another view of a more
modern Disney Princess please check out Andy Klein’s article, “Disney’s Mulan: A More Modern
Heroine,” written for Animation World Magazine in 1998. . Works Cited Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft
and Barry Cook. Perf. Ming-Na, Lea Salonga, and Eddie Murphy. Walt Disney Home Video, 1998.
Klein, Andy. "Disney's Mulan: A More Modern Heroine." Animation World Magazine July 1998: n.
 pag. Web. 10 Jun 2010. . Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Perf. Ming-Na, Lea Salonga,
and Eddie Murphy. Walt Disney Home Video, 1998. d. Pocahantas In Pocahontas, Pocahontas is
almost invariably being raised by a single father with no sign or mention of a mother or mother
figure, ever. The heroine’s motherless life serves to accentuate her own feminine virtues and
independence, since her father is invariably domineering, feeble, and/or ridiculous. Also, there is
no “competing” feminine figure to suggest that the heroine needs any support or guidance. The
female character, Pocahontas, shows that her potential as a leader is complicated by her position
on the margins of tribal life. When she meets and falls in love with John Smith in the forest, she is
forced to keep the encounter secret, giving her pleas that the white men can be reasoned with
little weight. Her secrecy indirectly causes the death of Kocoum at the hands of one of Smith's
friends, thus leading her tribe and the English to the brink of war. Her courageous act of shielding
Smith from her father's club with her body, however, is an act of self-sacrifice, and she does it
knowing she risks further alienation from her tribe. Pocahontas thus serves as an example of a
female character with a more important role in Disney movies. Works Cited Pocahantas. Dir. Mike
Gabriel and Eric Goldberg. Perf. Irene Bedard, Judy Kuhn, and Mel Gibson. Walt Disney Home
Video, 1995. The way Disney's animated movies represent women, race and other cultures has
changed as you can see in the above. In the Disney's early age animations, female characters with
minor or even inferior roles didn't really give a good message to young girls today, in the 21st
century. However, as gender roles have changed, the female characters in Disney animations have
also changed with gaining more importance in their roles. I, as a woman, hope this change can
have positive effect on young girls of today's society.