“I can’t watch the earliest Disney movies. I feel terrible, and I understand that it was a different time, but I just hate seeing women in those submissive roles”
I don’t understand this confession. Lady Tremaine is a woman and she wasn’t submissive at all, neither were the step sisters. The evil queen is a woman and she was not at all submissive. There were more women in non-submissive roles than submissive, as I pointed out. And both girls who are in the “submissive” roles break free.
^ THIS. And when Snow White broke free, she laid the law down on those dwarves. She was clearly running the show. And Cinderella was being abused by other women! Wendy and Alice are too young to make out one way or another their submission beyond their submission to their parents/elders. Mrs. Darling seemed to have a lot of say too. She knew how to get what she wanted and Mr. Darling certainly seemed to treat her with respect. Honestly, I’m having a hard time finding someone who fits the role of “submissive.” Aurora is only submissive to what the FEMALE fairies expect of her because it’s her royal duty to go back and be a princess. There’s a difference between responsibility and submission.
I’m glad most the responses have been pointing out everything wrong with this confession, because it makes me SO SO MAD.
It hits on two of my most hated things: hatin’ on old school Disney and the complete hypocrisy of new modern feminism. Okay, so if you don’t like it for the character designs or voices or something, then whatever. Different strokes. But because the women are in submissive roles? EXCUSE ME? Let us count the ways you are wrong:
- The underdog story is not only common in Disney, it’s a popular one in any medium. Male and female.
- I would hazard that the person who wrote this just loves “new” Disney movies. Well, guess what? Rapunzel was “submissive”. Tiana cooked and cleaned. And they both ended up with smarmy playboys, so put that in your moral pipe and smoke it.
- If you’ve ever actually watched Snow White, it makes it pretty clear she’s the HBIC. Heck, she’s more pushy than a pushover, bustin into someone’s house and telling them how things are gonna be from now on.
- Disney or real world, I respect anyone who can do any job, especially a crappy one, with a smile on their lips and a song in their heart. Lord knows I can’t.
- As the others above have pointed out, those oppressing the women in this are OTHER WOMEN. If anything, those early ones were not about men at all. They did nothing. Unless they were also minorities, like dwarves or fairies or deer.
- The feminism thing. Or more like sexism disguised as feminism. I could acutally go on about this forever, but for now, I will just go with how infuriating it is that SOMEONE SOMEWHERE decided that everything women used to do was misogynistic. Cooking, cleaning, wearing dresses, having kids, being nice and caring and nurturing: OH MY GOD HOW DEGRADING.
I will stop there since I am calmer now. Now excuse me while I go clean.
