Disney - Sexist?

Taking a Writing 101 class with a large focus on exploiting and evaluating the villainy within Disney films, it’s no surprise that we have already delved into the topic of sexism and racism within the movies.  Before this course, I was unaware and uneducated regarding the underlying sexism messages.  However, this has become a known problem discussed in society.  

Recently, Alicia Keys, who has been "outspoken before about the pressure women and young girls feel to be "perfect" all the time,"  commented on Disney's poor representation of female characters (http://www.glamour.com/story/alicia-keys-refuses-to-let-her-sons-watch-sexist-disney-movies).   Refusing to let her sons watch some of the Disney classics, specifically Snow White, she claims "It’s totally sexist, misogynistic–she’s cleaning for seven dwarfs. There’s nothing wrong with a woman who chooses to stay at home with her family, it’s a hard-ass job, but it’s the way it's spoken about."  It's true that in most Disney movies, especially the earlier films, the female protagonists are often seen doing housework.  Since Disney is such a popular and powerful company, I think that it's very respectable that Alicia Keys is using her status as a public figure to express her own opinions and take a stand against the negative depictions of women in seemingly innocent films.  Since Alicia Keys is viewing the movies from the point of view of a mother trying to raise her young boys to be good men, I feel that it is very relatable, especially for parents who express the same concerns.

Alicia Keys's views are shared by many.  According to https://www.bustle.com/articles/137901-are-disney-princess-movies-sexist-male-characters-spend-way-more-time-talking-than-women-do-says, studies show that women are not only seen performing  stereotypical housewife tasks, but actually talk much less than men.  Contrary to popular belief that Disney movies are increasing the role and power of female characters, "Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty feature women speaking more than men, and Snow White is about 50-50. But in the five films following The Little Mermaid, men spoke three times as often as women on average."  Since earlier movies like Cinderella mainly show Cinderella washing the dishes, doing the laundry, and performing other menial tasks like cleaning, I am very surprised that the females are more vocal in those films than more recent ones.

In fact, Frozen, which is largely seen as the most progressive Disney film in terms of female power and independence is still lacking in female speaking roles.  As stated in the Suzannah Weiss’s article, "even 2013's Frozen, known for its empowering message of sisterhood, had women behind only 41 percent of the lines."  I wonder why male characters tend to dominate the screen, especially in recent movies where there are multiple female leads, such as Frozen.

In my own analysis of Disney movies, most of the films do not depict any maternal figures. Mothers, largely shown in the media as the stronger parental figure, are usually briefly mentioned in Disney films, or not even referred to at all.  In fact, in its plots, Disney kills off the mothers before the start of the movie, so that they are never actually featured and only exist in the one or two lines they are referenced for the whole movie.  Not only are these important females not depicted, but also Disney establishes strong, close relationships between father and daughter.  Why is it that men have more influence than females in these children movies?  Not only do typical princess depend on the prince, but even without the presence of the prince, the lead female characters are cared for and parented by only a male figure.

Although I do love all the Disney movies, even the ones that can be viewed as sexist or racist, I think that this is a serious problem within Disney’s company.  Regarding Alicia Keys’s concerns, if Disney wants to increase its popularity and build loyal consumers, it should assume its social responsibility and portray men and women more fairly, especially if their target audience is children.  Children should be exposed to films where males and females have equal or close to equal roles – including screen time, words spoken, and actions.  Since children often pick up ideas and actions from what they see in the media, they shouldn’t just associate women with housework and men with more power.  To make more equal films, Disney should merge the concept and portrayal of females in Frozen with the amount of talking in Snow White. Even though most Disney princess films depict some degree of sexism and changing classics are not feasible, it’s not too late for Disney to change its ways for the future and start producing films that give women more of a voice. 

Summary of Sexism Shown in Disney Princess Movies