Animating Binaries: Disney

Movies & Gender

Kiah McConnell
Kathleen Knight
Oregon State University

Agenda
Why Disney?
Sexual and Gender Dimorphism
Disney and the Gender Binary
Gender Transgression
Disney Constructs of Good and Evil
Gender, Race, and Bodies

Why talk about Disney and Gender?

Disney provides a rich medium to analyze social identities, systems of
power, and social norms. Disney is both beneath critical analysis and above
reproach.
Disney is both a producer and a reflection of cultural norms and dominant
ideologies. Disney exists in popular imagination as a monolithic myth.
Disney has been described as a source of cultural capital. Disney is a
capitalistic institution that sells norms and values to children and adults.
Although not all children watch Disney, Disney movies are frequently
watched.
There is an assumption that Disney is safe to show.
(Bell, Haas, and Sells, 1995)

What is Sexual Dimorphism & Gender

Dimorphism?
Gender Binary: the organization of gender into two rigid and
polarized categories of male or female. (Understanding Gender)
Sexual Dimorphism: the degree to which males and females of a
species differ in their phenotypes. (Wade, 2013)
Gender Dimorphism: the degree to which males and females of a
species are socially constructed as different (assigning gendered
meaning to physical bodies) (Cohen, 2013)

Males and females of some species are nearly impossible to tell apart.

Some really differ.

Blanket octopus

Skeletons in the Closet: A Historical

Example of Gender Dimorphism
-Natural law played a significant role in political thought in 17th and 18th century Europe.
-The rise of scientific empiricism meant that supposedly objective facts and evidence could be used
to justify dominant ideologies.
-Understandings of sex differences existed for hundreds of years in the Western/European
philosophical tradition.
-Scientific evidence was used to change how the assumptions about sex differences were understood.
-Before the eighteenth century the bodies of men and women were understood as blank slates that sex
organs had been placed upon.
- In the early to mid-eighteenth century a call for detailed examinations of sex differences emerged.
-Sketches of female skeletons were one of the ways the gender binary was solidified in the European
imagination.
-These sketches were part of a scientific movement that not only reinforced the gender binary, but also
created an ideal for the male and female body and justified social inequalities.
(Schiebinger, 1986)

Other Examples of Gender

Dimorphism
1) What are some other examples of gender
dimorphism?
2) How does assigning gendered meaning to
physical bodies contribute to the gender binary and
gender norms?

Myth of Opposite Sexes

Instead, we obsess over gender differences. We search for them in scientific studies,
scour religious texts for hints from a higher power, and extrapolate from the behavior of
our friends and loved ones. We write and read a seemingly endless stream of books
counting and discounting the evidence. We argue over whether the differences we think
we see are caused by nature or nurture. (Wade, 2013)

The idea of opposite sexes is a product of gender dimorphism. This norm is

supported by institutions and dominant ideologies. Disney feeds into a long
standing practice of creating gender binaries and the myth of opposite sexes.

Gender Dimorphism in Disney

There are many examples of how Disney
genders characters. We are going to analyze just
a few examples of Disney characters.

Gender transgression
Transgress:
1: to violate a command or law : sin
2: to go beyond a boundary or limit
(Merriam-Webster)

When we are talking about gender transgression, we are usually talking about
moments when a person violates a gender norm dictated by society.
(McGuffey and Rich, 1999)

Gender transgressions in Disney occur in the way a character behaves, but

gender is also drawn into the form and bodies of the characters.

Small Group Discussion

In group of 2 or 3 make a list of Disney
characters that you think transgress gender
boundaries or norms.

Good, Evil, and Gender Transgression

Characters who are good and transgress gender boundaries tend to be positions of
servitude or positions with little social power. Most importantly, they do not seek power
for themselves and work for a cause greater than themselves. Characters who are good
and step outside of the gender binary are often (but not always) used for comic relief and
the entertainment of the audience.
Examples: Genie, Mulan, Timon and Pumba
Characters who are bad and transgress gender boundaries tend to have more social
power, but they are outcasts in some significant way. What defines them from good
characters is the fact that they seek power and do not want to assimilate into society.
Examples: Jafar, Scar, Ursula, General Radcliffe

Progression of Disney?
A lot has changed since 14 year old Snow White and the movies release in
1937, but has Disney progressed enough?
19 year old Tiana works hard for what she wants and doesnt focus on
finding a man to change her world, but the movie ends up focusing on
her relationship with a Prince whom she does end up marrying
While Brave and Frozen, considered more progressive, involve the two
strong female characters of Merida and Elsa whose roles arent centralized
around men.
Yet, gender stereotypes are still strong within Disney, maybe just less so.
Its not just the creators but also the people and the audiences who
continue to reinforce such roles (Markovitz & "Disney's Frozen - Elsa and
Asexuality).

Conclusion

Gender Dimorphism
The Myth of Opposite Sexes
Gender Transgression
The Construction of Good and Evil
Why Disney Matters as a Cultural Narrative
Disney and Systems of Power and Oppression

References
Bell, Elizabeth, Lynda Haas , and Laura Sells . From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film Gender, and Culture. 1st ed. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press,
1995. 21-71. Print.
Cohen, Philip. "Help, My Eyeball is Bigger Than My Wrist!: Gender Dimorphism in Frozen." The Society Pages. N.p., 17 12 2013.
Web. 1 Apr 2014. <http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/12/17/help-my-eyeball-is-bigger-than-my-wrist-gender-dimorphism-in-frozen/>.
"Disney's Frozen - Elsa and Asexuality." The Asexual Visibility and Education Network. N.p., 25 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/97999-disneys-frozen-elsa-and-asexuality-major-spoilers-follow/>.
McGuffey, Shawn, and Lindsay Rich. "Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone: Race, Class, and Hegemonic Masculinity in Middle Childhood."Gender and Society. 13.5 (1999):
608-627. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Markovitz, Adam. "Could the Heroine of Pixar's 'Brave' be Gay?." Entertainment Weekly. N.p., 24 June 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
<http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/06/24/pixar-brave-gay-merida/>
"Merriam Webster." . N.p.. Web. 1 Apr 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transgress?show=0&t=1396621323>.
Schiebinger, Londa. "Skeletons in the Closet: The First Illustrations of the Female Skeleton in Eighteenth-Century Anatomy ."
Representations. 14. (1986): 42-82. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
"Understanding Gender." Gender Spectrum. N.p.. Web. 1 Apr 2014. <https://www.genderspectrum.org/understanding-gender>.
Wade, Lisa. "Sex Shocker! Men and Women Aren't That Different." Salon. The Society Pages, 18 09 2013. Web. 1 Apr 2014.
<http://www.salon.com/2013/09/18/sex_shocker_men_and_women_arent_that_different/>.