“Gender is the structure of social relations centered on the reproductive arena and the set of practices that introduce reproductive distinctions between bodies into social processes.” (Connell, chapter 1, 2009). Unfortunately, gender also involves hierarchy, where we examine inequality in terms of power, wealth, and privilege. One of the ways to learn about gender roles and the kind of social norms and expectations that exist in society is through movies. Since the socialization process begins from early childhood, Disney films are a great example in terms of discussing role portrayal. In this article, I will examine the representation of gender roles and stereotypes by comparing three Disney films: Snow White, Pocahontas, Frozen and I will try to explain how the representation has changed over time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before taking classes on gender stereotypes, I didn't pay attention to the movies I grew up with. When I go back to my childhood, I can't describe the happiness I felt watching Disneyland movies. There has only been one film that I haven't missed so far, the one made by Walt Disney. Even though my mother warned me that everything I see in movies is not the true or accurate representation of real life, I loved comparing myself to princesses and dreaming of being as beautiful as them. I now understand how the child's sense of self is structured by pop culture. Now I realize the kind of stereotypes in every movie I've seen. My analysis will start with my favorite Disney animated movie called "Snow White", released in 1937. From the first point of view, the movie shows how a princess has a good relationship with dwarfs and an interesting love story in the end of the film which ends happily with happy music in the background. However, if we go into in-depth analysis, we can see that this young woman portrays the expectations of women in society. She takes care of the cleaning and acts like a mother to the dwarfs by feeding them. She is so naive that she can accept an apple from the stranger, and most importantly, wait for the prince to save her. In the scheme of masculinity, Snow White can be associated with emphasized femininity because she has “a soft and docile personality that expresses such things as sociability rather than technical competence, fragility in mating scenes, acquiescence to male desires for tickling and caressing of the ego, as well as acceptance of marriage and raising children” (Howson, 2005). The prince who saves her from her stepmother is the ideal type of masculinity, which is hegemonic since he has all the characteristics such as whiteness, wealth, education, etc. On the other hand, the release date of the film allows us to connect the concept of the film with the first wave of feminism. Starting in the 19th century, women fought for equality. This movement spread, especially with the acceptance of the 19th Amendment (women's right to vote). However, it slowed in the late 1920s with the Great Depression. There were scholars like Simone de Belvoir who challenged this movement with his writings. According to him, women were the other and should be oppressed by culture. In my opinion, at that time men were afraid of losing their power in society and did not want to empower women in this sense. After Snow White, Disney made three films: Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the Little Mermaid. These three films were no different from the previous one with their scenarios, as they featured beautiful, weak, young women waiting for their strong, courageous male partners to save them from the situation they find themselves in..
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