Disney /Sexism

[amiheartless]

Isis just fun in a childs film, or harmful to their basis of gender roles from a young age.

alot of vids on youtube concerning this, my sishappend upon one, I found them interesting. By the amount of videos talking about the evils of disney alot of people must have their concerns

do you feel this?

do you think its an over reaction?

how do you feel about kids watching it??

[LDNmummy]

My dissertation that I am currently writing is about gender in fairy tales. I just wanted to mark a spot on this thread so could find it again, will try to come back with a good response.

[MrIC]

No, I agree - and it's not just about gender roles. The reinforcement of class/race roles, the worship of physical beauty and wealth above all else, the denigration of intellectual (e.g. magical) pursuits - they are all present in classic Disney, and often the source material, and I find them pretty toxic.

[SmellsLikeTeenStrop]

When I saw Toy Story 3 I was shocked by a scene in which several toys are sitting round playing a game and at the same time digging at a Ken Doll because he is a 'male' toy that is played with by a girl. The inference being that 'male' toys should not be played with by girls, that girls toys are inferior to boys toys, and that Ken was of an inferior status to the other toys by being a girls toy. IMO that is pretty blatant sexism and enough to make me not watch that film again.

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

I agree.

I love Jungle Book, but the fact that one of only three female characters sings a song which reinforces gender stereotypes, is portrayed as a naive seductress and described as being "nothing but trouble" makes me want to spit.

The other female characters are mother figures, who barely feature.
(Although one does undermine her pompous husband rather brilliantly at one point - but it's not enough to redeem the gender set-up!)

Pah.

I still love the songs though (apart from "My Own Home"....)

Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber is a pretty good antidote to the traditional fairy tale genre.

[zikes]

Dreamworks did this bloody awful film with Seinfeld "A Bee Movie".

All the worker bees were male [head-desk]. What ticked me off most was a scene with two female fan bees fawning over the pilot-bees after they came in to land. Whaaaaaaat? Not only were the female bees removed from the frame and their real-life role in a beehive erased, but they were imported back in as groupies!

[ForkfulOfTabouleh]

Will look at the youtube links later but there is an awful bit in Toy Story 2 where some of them are driven round the toy store by Barbies and Mr Potato Man is all flustered about the attractive women etc.

Really unecessary adult theme IMO.

I think that rather than "banning" these things my approach with DS (who is 3.5) is to try to ensure he has a wider range of DVDs and to comment (in an age appropriate way) on inequalities.

So I just thought of this - next time he watches Wind in the Willows - I will say "oh it's a shame that none of the animals are girls".

[silverfrog]

can't view the links right now, as on phone.

but wanted to mark my place.

dd2 - just turned 4 - is turning into a very girly girl - Disney princesses, the lot. (no idea where this has come from, as I couldn't be less interested if I tried, and dd1 has no concept of any of it (severe ASD))

anyway - we took them to see Tangled a couple of weeks a go, and afterwards I was trying to explain the (overly) complicated plot to dd2, and fell at the first hurdle of why the wicked old oman wanted ot keep Rapunzel locked up in the tower (so she could stay young and beautiful forever). I stumbled my way through it with a "because she isn't very nice", and my heart sank at the work ahead of me - to try to counteract all the ridiculous notions that dd2 is now busy filling her head with.

[zikes]

Hmm, has anyone read this book: 'Feminist Fairy Tales' by Barbara Walker?

There's also 'Don't Bet on the Prince' by Jack Zipes which has some bedtime stories for children in, apparently. I don't know if either book is any good 'tho.

[LadyBiscuit]

I really object to Disney films on the whole. The Princess and the Frog was supposed to be a reworking of a traditional tale - the princess is a black working class hero. But she has to choose between her dream (having a restaurant) and love in the end so of course she chooses love.

Really fucked me off.

Toy Story is a lot more about that low key insidious sexism which is a lot worse in some ways because it flies under most people's radars

[amiheartless]

Disney al though is riddled with sexism, all the princesses are pretty flimsy. & dull and the villans are the most interesting characters so Mean women /men are more intersting than nice people so in some ways whilst being sexist its shows how utterly ridiculous these roles are

Beauty & the beast? Gaston is a pompous concieted idiot, althought other women fawn Belle undermines him so i thought that was one redeeming feature.

The biggest bugbear with me is that practically every villian in British!!!!

[Indelible]

Can anyone recommend any good, non-sexist films for young kids (stuff that would appeal to 4 or 5-year-olds)?

[babyapplejack]

Toy Story 3 is a great film for 4/5 year olds. If you are going to pick this film apart because it has a couple of jokey comments in, then I don't think any film is going to please you for one reason or another. Calling this film sexist is just over analysing the dialogue IMO.

[Youllskimmer]

What about Jesse the cowgirl?

[LadyBiscuit]

I like How to Train your Dragon :)

[Youllskimmer]

Thinking about it, calling Toy Story sexist is going a bit too far and won't do the cause of feminism any good just make it look ridiculous, and even humourless.

[Youllskimmer]

That is why I used the word 'humourless' before you start playing feminist bingo. To call Toystory sexist enhances the stereotype of humourless feminists. I think it's entertaining, I'd be more concerned about Twilight or Sex in the City.

[SmellsLikeTeenStrop]

''That is why I used the word 'humourless' before you start playing feminist bingo. To call Toystory sexist enhances the stereotype of humourless feminists. I think it's entertaining, I'd be more concerned about Twilight or Sex in the City.''

Yeah yeah yeah, and hating pornography makes you a prude, and not liking McDonalds makes you a food snob. Zzzzzzzzzzzz

[Adair]

I like P and the frog - she gets love AND her restaurant (and her 'prince' works in it for her too)


We stopped watching so much Disney (even with commentry) when dd watched Enchanted and cried at the end 'because she didn't get her prince' . We did explain she gets her 'true love' (and the film is about her getting to know each other etc. And cheesy romance too. But I do like that the prince is a hopeless romantic too. Good role model - sort of - for my son).

We counteract and try to have a variety in this house. Lots of Studio Ghibli and our recent find - Powerpuff Girls! Girls who are 'girly' AND great!

[Adair]

Oh I love wizard of oz - the beautiful good witch Glinda.

Agree re body image - it's just so unnecessary. We laugh about the way barbies and disney princesses are so thin. I think/hope dd gets that it's not real. And just a way of drawing (though if i draw them for her, I do give them normal waists!)

[zikes]

LadyBiscuit, I really liked 'How To Train Your Dragon' too, but I do have reservations about the way Astrid(?) became the prize/trophy girlfriend who took her cues from boyfriend Hiccup towards the end.

She was feisty, competitive and interested in other things than blokes to start with. She even had a conversation with another female character about something other than a man, so the film even passed the Bechdel Test.