My 11 year child has been asked to re write a Disney story of his choice but without the sexist/racist aspects. AIBU to write back..

[SecretsInSpitalfield]

That I will not have the teacher pushing her views on my child?

As far as he (and his younger DB) Disney has always been a POSITIVE thing! Fun films , cinema days and even a dream once in a lifetime trip to World Disney World.

I wouldn't have minded if they said 'do you think any Disney films are racist or sexist? If so, please elaborate why. But this has been set as if it's FACTUAL that they are and my child is just 11.

Please give me your honest opinions

Thank you 😊

All these films are a product of their times and can be watched as such. Look at Enid Blyton books, my most loved as a child growing up, famous 5, yes looking back was sexist and racist, but we never grew up as such. I personally am not a Disney fan, would rather stick needles in my eyes rthan visit their theme parks, but their films that most are talking about are from the 40s to the 60s, so probably a good thing to write about , how much society has moved on from then. Can't believe people stop their kids from watching them, if you are bringing your children up right, they wont turn into racist, sexist thugs for goodness sake, that comes from home life.
It's like my son loved little mermaid, he had the dolls,.the scenery, went to bed with them. He hasn't grown up wanting to be a bloody mermaid and living with a lobster.

Such miserable buggers around these days lol

Or maybe....it’s just people calling out racism and sexism when they see it?
Just you go back to your privileged bubble and never mind.

Jaffar not Jaguar 🤦🏻‍♀️

I thought you meant Bagherra. I could see that.

oureverydaylife.com/disneys-positive-effects-children-8191660.html

He hasn't grown up wanting to be a bloody mermaid and living with a lobster.

Yes, because those things are physically impossible aren’t they?

Thought you were going to say your child was being forced to rewrite a story using gender neutral language.

The Disney demystification is fine with me.

He hasn't grown up wanting to be a bloody mermaid and living with a lobster

How rude! He was a crab FFs

How did you ever cope in year one when your children were asked to consider the POV of the villain in classic fairy tales?

well to be honest, what’s a wolf to do with all these illegal pigs coming over here and building their houses...

Why do you think male characters talk more than female characters in Frozen OP? And every other Disney film but in Frozen it seems particularly bizarre. And why are more than 50% of the crown scenes male? Is there a reason? Other than sexism of course.

So what exactly do you think that proves, secrets? A badly-written, low rent opinion piece from what seems to be a random conservative Christian blog?

Nobody ever said that there was nothing positive about Disney or that enjoying it made you racist and sexist. But Disney media are racist and sexist. That is a fact, and one that children can't be protected from, so they should be informed.

So much white privilege on this thread.

THIS.

Good on the teacher.

A badly-written, low rent opinion piece from what seems to be a random conservative Christian blog?

@CmdrCressidaDuck thanks for taking a bullet reading that. I knew before I decided to not click it would be a Christian blog. I'm psychic!

So much white privilege on this thread.

To be fair, almost everyone is on the side of the angels on this thread. With some notable exceptions

"You can enjoy many things whilst being critical of them."

This. That's one of the reasons kids go to school: to learn to analyse and look at texts critically. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy them too. I love all sorts of books and films whilst also seeing their flaws.

Apparently, Disney themselves realise this and have a warning on some of their offerings on Disney plus (I'm not sure we have it in the UK, but the US moms are all subscribing).

@basilandparsleyandmint

Typical Mumsnet ranting - totally agree OP.

Thank you basil! I fully expected a lot of 'colourful' responses! And constructive criticism which is always great!

But wow! I've been called a racist, a brexiteer, a down and right racist' , I've been called 'thick', 'stupid' , 'smug' .. I've been accused of changing my changing my user name (completely untrue - that person later said they made a mistake but no apology) I've been called a 'puppet'

All from the very people who are so anti racism/sexism in films.

Sad really.

I love Disney, but the older films are of their time and are horribly sexist; it's only been the most recent films (Aladdin onwards) that have had female characters who actually have something about them.

My DD loves The Little Mermaid (she's two), but what we're watching is a 16 year old girl see a man for the first time, sacrifice her entire life to get a chance to be with him, and marries him having had not one conversation with him. That obviously goes way over DDs head, but as a mum, it's definitely made me wonder about what kind of message Disney films subliminally send out to young girls.

It's something I've never really thought about before since becoming a mother, and I don't think they've influenced me other than my love of a good sing a long, but it's something I'm conscious of now with my daughter, wanting to make sure she knows her value and sense self-worth will be based on her personality and actions, not whether she 'gets the prince' or how she looks.

Anyway, enough of the psychoanalysis on my behalf. If people think Disney is racist and sexist, fair enough, I see their point. I personally think they're a product of their time, and should be taken with a pinch of salt. It's all meant to be just a bit of fun and fluff at the end of the day.

Can't believe people stop their kids from watching them

1. many of them are purile crap
2. If you watch enough stuff, even if it is old and of its time, it will rub off on you.

I don't ban things, but I buy and offer better and more interesting things, so that they are watching a wide variety.

Alas OP, po-faced Brits were never going to back you up on this one I'm afraid.

I love Disney. Borderline obsessed. Still, I am fully aware that Disney is a) an evil corporation and b) has had less than savory characters working for it cough Mel Gibson in Pocahontas (including possibly Walt himself).

But do I think it's appropriate to push the blanket - and frankly grossly overstated - view on to children that "Disney is racist and sexist"? No. You may as well get them to write about how "The BBC is racist and sexist" by digging through the archives and pulling out some gems. Same for hmmm, Shakespeare? Dickens? Pretty much anyone that was alive before like 1995?

It's not critical thinking - since there are PLENTY of Disney films that are not racist or sexist - it's literally just virtue signaling.

I would complain that it's not specific enough, not age appropriate and that the teacher should back up her views before making such blanket statements.

there are PLENTY of Disney films that are not racist or sexist - it's literally just virtue signaling.

Name one.

Probably been mentioned - but it was nice to watch Brave. A Disney Princess who didn't want to get married or be given away by her Dad.

DS and I discuss sexism and racism in films we watch a lot.

He has just watched Fawlty Towers - definitely a product of its time. Still funny, but some of the language is very unacceptable now. It's great to hear DS discussing such stuff and being aware of things - although we have agreed to disagree on some things.

It's great for schools to get children to analyse stories and see things from a different perspective.

Name one

Brave?

Extra stereotyping.

Ursula is fat, she's bad and jealous of Ariel.
Lucifer is fat, he's bad.
Scar has a facial disfigurement, is bad.
Ed is mentally disabled and facially disfigured, and is bad.
Pumbaa is fat and smells.
Cruella de Ville is old and bad. And childless, rather than conforming to the 'be a nice little wife' lifestyle of the Darlings.
Hundreds of henchmen are fat and more stupid than the thin henchman. They're also normally quite unattractive and played by middleaged actors.

YABU- I watch them with my 7byear old and we discuss these issues with her- the films (and Disney branding) are still magical but for me it's important to understand why it's not OK to jump around asking what makes the red man red, and why the early princesses are so sappy- the characters definitely get better from the 90's on, but the fundamental storylines are often still pretty sexist
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