WGS Frozen Paper
September 12, 2014
Highlights Magazine
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to you today regarding an issue in today’s society of social construction of gender in media. As you may know, the media has a very powerful effect on today’s modern society and culture. People tend to believe that birth is where gender is formed, which technically isn’t right. The self-identification of being male or female (sex) is shaped through cultural and social conditions. Through these cultural and social conditions, we set these ideals for gender performance that then sets a societal standard for both women and men. In the Disney Princess film of Frozen, one can agree that there is social construction of gender throughout the film. Social construction of gender is a process by which gender differences are taught and reinforced in social interaction, which then leads off to the concept of gender roles. In the film Anna is portrayed as a weak woman yet her sister Elsa, a strong woman. Disney Princesses are never typically portrayed as evil yet in this film Elsa was due to her strong being and her magical power. Elsa was born with magical powers, which as a child, she attempts to “conceal and not feel” just as her father would constantly tell her but of course her magical powers are then revealed when Anna removes her glove causing an ice/snowstorm scene. This scene then portrayed Elsa to be an evil queen just because she had something that no one else had, magical powers. In no Disney movie has there been a female character that owned her magical existence and remained “good” but as for Elsa she did when her act of true love melts the town and saves her sister due to the act of true love with not a man or lover but her sister, Anna. Now what does this have to do with social construction of gender? Due to the way we are brought up to think about gender roles, we and the characters in the film believed that Anna being saved through an act of true love was a true loves kiss
Highlights Magazine
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to you today regarding an issue in today’s society of social construction of gender in media. As you may know, the media has a very powerful effect on today’s modern society and culture. People tend to believe that birth is where gender is formed, which technically isn’t right. The self-identification of being male or female (sex) is shaped through cultural and social conditions. Through these cultural and social conditions, we set these ideals for gender performance that then sets a societal standard for both women and men. In the Disney Princess film of Frozen, one can agree that there is social construction of gender throughout the film. Social construction of gender is a process by which gender differences are taught and reinforced in social interaction, which then leads off to the concept of gender roles. In the film Anna is portrayed as a weak woman yet her sister Elsa, a strong woman. Disney Princesses are never typically portrayed as evil yet in this film Elsa was due to her strong being and her magical power. Elsa was born with magical powers, which as a child, she attempts to “conceal and not feel” just as her father would constantly tell her but of course her magical powers are then revealed when Anna removes her glove causing an ice/snowstorm scene. This scene then portrayed Elsa to be an evil queen just because she had something that no one else had, magical powers. In no Disney movie has there been a female character that owned her magical existence and remained “good” but as for Elsa she did when her act of true love melts the town and saves her sister due to the act of true love with not a man or lover but her sister, Anna. Now what does this have to do with social construction of gender? Due to the way we are brought up to think about gender roles, we and the characters in the film believed that Anna being saved through an act of true love was a true loves kiss