Disney Movies Praise “The Privileged One”
Did you ever notice the sexism in Disney princess movies as a kid? Probably not and neither did I, because as kids we are too young to understand or question the intentions or motivations of Disney movies. Most boys and girls are manipulated into believing a fantasy of love, where only the male is superior and more important in the movie than the female, even though it may not seem like it because they are portrayed as completing one another. The male character ends up being “the privileged one”. The privileged one, or “prince charming” is mostly viewed as the hero in the princess movies. The female character, or princess, always seems to be portrayed as hopeless and have to be saved by the prince. The female character usually needs some type of saving or rescuing by the male character in order to improve or fulfill her life with happiness. She is usually in need of or looking for a man for romance, but also for the financial stability from the better known, “privileged one”.
In our society, women are usually treated or seem to be reflected, whether in the media or in real life, the same way as they are in Disney movies. Our society wants us to believe that it is okay for women to be inferior to men and accept them as “the privileged one” by treating men as superior and dehumanizing and lowering the status of women by glamorizing patriarchy in Disney movies. In chapter 5, “The Concept of Man”, of Genevieve Vaughan’s “For-Giving: A Feminist Criticism of Exchange, she describes the position of women in the system of “the privileged one”, when she says, “Abstract thinking, aggressiveness, individualism, leadership, independence (qualities having to do with competitively achieving the one position) appeared to be ‘human,’ and women seemed to be ‘inferior humans’ because that was not their focus”.
Our society as well as Disney movies seem to make the idea of males being known as privileged and superior to females, especially in relationships or marriage, acceptable and normal in our society. Because of patriarchy, we are just supposed to accept the fact that the male is the privileged sex and the female is the weaker,inferior, and non-individualistic sex. Disney movies, whose targeted audience are children, try to hide the sexism and “the privileged one” system by creating an illusion for romance that gives hope for a relationship or marriage with the happily ever after. Even though the movies are animated in a fantasy world, little girls, for example, view the female charactes as role models or wish to have a happily ever after just like the characters. What they don’t realize is that they are looking up to characters who are actually being portrayed as downgraded humans. Little boys and girls are being shown that it is okay for a woman to be weak or a “damsel in distress” and dependent on a man to provide her with a better future without being capable of doing it on her own. Disney movies also give the false impression to little girls that a women should be valued and rewarded by her looks and not her mind or personality. It’s okay to portray a romance in a Disney movie, but it should do it without degrading a women’s identity and position in society.
