Disney is an international film company that dominates full-length feature animations. Two feature long cartoons, Snow White (1937) and Mulan (1999), are good examples where a female character takes the central role, Snow White being from the first half of the 20th century and Mulan from modern times. Between the times when these films were made, one might expect the representation of women may have changed, (as female equality has improved) as well as some of the stereotypes of women that Disney has been criticized of conveying in the past. Before Mulan was created Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ had already marked a significant change in the portrayal of women, but it can still be argued that behind the audacious, attractive, and determined characters they are still happy homemakers just waiting to settle down.

Other traditional Disney heroines are characters like Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella. In many ways they are similar to Snow White and became examples of how to act, what to do, and what was accepted and expected as a role model or just a woman. All three of them are shy, p

Disney movies have undeniably displayed men and women in stereotypical roles and in stereotypical body forms. Some critics would suggest that this is the result of ulterior motives, while in reality it is only a side effect of common societal norms and the very nature of animation. Devoid of all other considerations, 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. A child that watches

It could be argued that there has been some progression in the portrayals of female characters in Disney over time. Belle of Beauty and the Beast is far more interested in reading books than in the overtures of the macho Gaston. Pocahontas saves the life of Captain John Smith and averts a war, not by her figure but by her words. Mulan saves the lives of Captain Shang and the emperor, and proves herself a war hero. All this is evidence, to support the fact that as society has changed, and so has Disney’s portrayal of women.

Significantly, it’s the heroines — Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jane — who are almost invariably being raised by single fathers 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, and there is no “competing” feminine figure to suggest that the heroine needs any support or guidance. The one non-absent mother is Mulan’s, but she only plays an inoperative role in the story and poses no threat to her daughter’s autonomy. I would therefore argue that Disney has not moved with the times, if Disney had we would expect mothers (older women) to have a more prominent influence and be role models as they often are in real life.

It is hard to imagine Snow White resisting society’s regulations. Snow White represents the submissive women before the feminist revolution and agrees to keep the house, cook, make beds, wash, sew and keep everything neat and tidy. She illustrated that the place for women was in the house, instilled in the domestic expectations of domesticity for women in society. Mulan does none of the kind. She instead charges off to join the army in the place of her father and takes her life in her own hands, rather than sitting around dreaming of romance. In this sense Mulan is a true liberated heroine; she is independent of anyone else, and makes decisions on her own.

Disney movies will be no more sexist than one that does not. In the end, all prejudices come from society as a whole and all children will be exposed to them, regardless of Disney. However, there are elements of Disney movies that can lead to the characterization that they impart sexist views on developing children. One of these elements is the timelessness of the movies. Compared to most forms of entertainment, Disney’s animated works have remained very much in the public consciousness despite their age. A sexist society produces sexist entertainment, even for its children. The two qualities of Disney animation, its age and its stylization, make sexism much easier to see, and have resulted in

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