Disney Gender Roles

I was unable to attend the class period when we watched Mickey Mouse Monopoly. However, I was required to watch it for a previous psychology class and recently have discussed the documentary in my sociology of gender class this semester. Looking back on Mickey Mouse Monopoly I can’t help but relate one of the main themes regarding gender roles to a movie I watched with my little sister over Thanksgiving break; it was the 2007 Disney film Enchanted. Mickey Mouse Monopoly researchers explain the problematic damsel in distress theme, “However strong and powerful a female character may be she still needs to be rescued by a male. In the world of Disney, females not only get into trouble easily they also lack the ability to save their own lives.” (Mickey Mouse Monopoly). Enchanted depicts today’s stress on equality by allowing Giselle (the lead female character) to save Robert (the lead male character) from the transformed dragon version of Queen Narissa (the villain). As the characters climb a skyscraper during the climax Giselle appears with a sword ready to fight the dragon.

Queen Narissa as the dragon: Oh my, this is a twist in our story! It's the brave little princess coming to the rescue. I guess that makes you [looking at Robert] the damsel in distress, huh, handsome? Keep up with me dear it’s time to take our tale to new heights.

Here, the film breaks the barriers held by every princess story in Disney’s past. Even the villain openly admits a change of gender roles. Realistically, males cannot always flock to the rescue. Personally, I enjoyed Enchanted because it enables young girls, such as my 14 year old sister, to see a confident, determined woman triumph adversity and save the day without the help of a male. With the personal beliefs and teachings my parents used to raise my sister throughout her young childhood I firmly believe that she enters her time as an adolescent understanding that women do not have to rely on the competence or even the checkbook of a man in order to succeed in our current patriarchic culture. Unfortunately, living on a college campus it is clear that some parents have failed to teach their daughters this mind-set. Just the other day I saw on a friend’s dresser a small coin bank which read on the front, “I'm savin' up for a rich husband!” She then openly admitted to me that she is only attending Mizzou to receive her “Mrs.” degree. Obviously her parents failed somewhere.