The Role Of Gender In Animation

Gender has always been somewhat a significant role in animation, both in animated works and the industry itself. The representation and treatment of women in media has always been a topic that people like to tackle and for good reason. Women have been treated quite differently in the industry, and how they are generally portrayed in animated works that is affected by society’s views at the time. Over time the image of an animated female and their character has changed, most of the time for good with how society’s views change and the demand for better representation. This is also the contrast between eastern media, with how much of an influence it can have on its own culture, and almost how toxic the otaku culture can be because of the portrayal
In the earlier days of animation, much like most media, female characters were given the stereotypical role of always needing to be saved by the male hero of the story. Like how most early Micky Mouse cartoons that involve Minnie, usually involves her needing to be saved by Micky in some form. However, a very good example to look at when looking into the role of female characters, is Disney’s Princesses. They tend to have a huge impact on the younger generation, mostly with how they are aimed towards that audience. One of the main jobs that a Disney Princesses can be considered to have is to act as a role model and someone that young girls can look up to and inspire to be. They are also very easy to market and is one the biggest marketing products out there when it comes to Disney’s merchandise. Despite the idea of a Disney Princess being role models, they have been accused of not being the best of role models with people claiming that they don’t really do anything. Which can be true in some cases, but at the same time isn’t. An example of character not doing much is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney, 1959). Even though the story is all about her, she doesn’t actually do much in the film itself and only has roughly 18 minutes of screen time. There is the argument that each character is a product of its
In fact, one of Walt Disney’s favourite tales was in fact Cinderella, with he can relate to the character with her hard-working nature in hopes that they are rewarded one day for it. Despite the criticism these characters may get, it is usually due to how they are in fact limited to roles that they are given during those times. Which means that as time moves on, the role of a Disney Princess has changed, along with the role of women in animated works in general with much more variety of roles given to them. The later Princesses are a lot more active and take much bigger chances than earlier Princesses, are actually go out and contribute a lot more to plot other than just being there to be rescued. For example, we gave Merida from Pixar’s Brave (2012). Her story is a focused a lot on her and the relationship she has with her mother, and we see how she grows as a character as well as watching her rebel against the typical treats of a Princess. She can be considered the new image of the Disney Princess, but she isn’t the only one or the first to do so. Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1990) is also a lot more curious about the world around her on land and she goes out and explores, and she even at one point makes effort to help and save the