Gender Stereotypes In Mulan

Disney movies feature female characters in a variety of roles, from a damsel in distress needing a man’s help to a woman who becomes her own hero. Mulan is one Disney character who has a seemingly feminist role. The movie features an unordinary girl who is meant to bring honor to her family by being the perfect woman for a man to marry. However, that’s not who she truly is. When her father gets summoned to serve in the military, Mulan poses as a man and takes his place. She trains diligently and becomes an impressive soldier who eventually saves China from the Hans, almost single-handedly. In the end, she becomes a national hero, brings honor to her family, and starts a romance with the soldier who trained her. However,

Mass media not only reflects gender stereotypes but also plays a role in changing them. Females used to be portrayed as less brave and more dependent. Now there are strong, independent female characters like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and intelligent, brave female characters like Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Like women’s changing positions in society, more aggressive and dominant females are being featured. Mass media molds new stereotypes but not all the ideas that are communicated are positive.

The media portrays stereotyping and prejudice on the television, radio, and newspapers. What people read and watch easily impacts their perception of the world, studies show that “regular televisions viewers reveal a strong association between their exposure to the local or national newscast and their racial attitudes and perceptions” (Parrillo, 2016). The biggest stereotype I’ve witnessed in the media is specific gender roles, for instance, males are associated with the work-oriented and masculine characters and the women are associated with the love and family-oriented roles. Not only does the media portray gender roles but they also portray race related parts. For example, African Americans play the unfortunate criminals who are always violent, and white people play rich, content, and outgoing characters. If the media didn’t portray such a negative perception of certain ethnics and races, I truly believe fewer people would act in prejudicial way and stereotype other

Mulan is an animated film that was released in 1998 from Disney during third wave feminism, which features an Asian woman protagonist. She is a Disney princess, but at first glance you wouldn’t think so. Mulan is introduced as a clumsy tomboy who did not think she would ever bring honor to her family. In order to accomplish said honor, she would have to by being the perfect bride, in accordance with the matchmaker. The film has a great amount of feminist ideals, however, it doesn’t leave out stereotypical gender roles and several examples of overdetermined ideologies. Patriarchy is very prevalent in this film, from the woman characters positions, down to the songs they sing throughout the film, patriarchy is a theme that cannot be missed. This paper will discuss how feminine and masculine stereotypes are conveyed in the film, how gender stereotypes are portrayed, and of the patriarchal themes included in the film.

Men, Women, or transgender we are all human. Each human can act in whichever way they please. However, does this break a traditional gender norm? A traditional gender norm is the types of behaviors which generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for people based on their actual perceived sex or sexuality. Gender norms can be seen in various television shows, movies, and music. However, how do we know if these gender norms are okay to be seen in these forms of entertainment? In the movie Mulan directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook they illustrate how traditional gender norms can be broken by showing that Women can prove themselves as worthy as men, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Abby Cadabby is comfortable wearing dresses, and in the mainly male dominant cast, she is the female voice. Does this do little girls more harm than good? The Rise of Enlightened Sexism, might say: yes. Although, Abby’s girliness might be an acceptable amount, hyper-femininity might be the real issue. In movies, women are either start off hyper-feminine or end the movie more feminine than they started. In Legally Blonde, Elle proves that she is good enough to be in law school by winning a case using knowledge all women should know, you cannot wash your hair 24 hours after getting perm. Elle starts the movie as hyper-feminine, however she tones it down because she realizes if she wants to succeed in a male dominated world, she has to have the correct amount of femininity. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Enid Wexler. Enid Wexler is the movies feminist, who plays into the stereotype of the time: lesbian, man hating, anti-feminine, and

We are living in a world where your identity is influenced by the media. Media is involved in our daily lives. Media has represented on what people think about topics, one of the most common ones is gender roles. Media indicated their messages into our consciousness at every opportunity that it had. Gender roles are a set of norms dictating the personality and actions of people based on their biological sex or what they identify. Gender roles in media are used in delirious stereotypes can cause self-image in young adults, causing loss of confidence, mostly in women. Many authors had expressed their opinion about gender roles in media through non-fiction articles. For instance, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, who wrote, “The Confidence Gap,” confronts the lack of woman’s confidence impacting their performance. Another example is given by Cordelia Fine, who wrote, “Why Toys so Gendered?” in which she says that gendered toy marketing doesn't create gender stereotype, but it reinforces them. Lastly, Allison Lantagne, who wrote, “Gender roles in Media,” says that is up to the individual to decide what type of role they are going to adopt. She also includes that media reinforces social norms because the public accepts them. I agree with Allison Lantagne says that the media has an influence on our beliefs and attitudes toward gender because of its perfected image of genders, projects what a woman and a male should do, and what abilities each

In Mulan, there are a number of times where there is a constant enforcement of male and female stereotypes. The first song, “Honor To Us All” reads “A girl can bring her family great honor in one way...and serve her emperor, by striking a good match” (6:09-9:06), and when Mulan’s true gender is revealed in front of the other soldiers and general, she is told that “there was something wrong with her, [because] she is a woman!” (1:00:26). In fact, when she arrives at the Imperial City to warn her friends of the enemy’s arrival, her own sidekick Mushu reminds her that nobody is going to listen to her because she is “a girl again” (1:08:28). Throughout the film, there is a hidden message that regardless of what Mulan has achieved, women are going

Disney’s animated film Mulan captured the hearts of many of the corporation’s fan’s hearts when it first arrived in 1998. The film is based on one of China’s most beloved poems entitled “The Ballad of Mulan,” which tells a similar story of a young woman dressing up as a male in order to enlist in the army to protect her father. Disney’s Mulan focuses heavily on the individual struggle of main character to find out who she is and where she fits into society, which deviates away from the original storyline drastically. The differences are formed due to the large differences between the ancient Eastern culture that is trying to be portrayed and the Western ideals that Disney incorporated to make the movie more relatable for the modern Western viewers. While this movie is full of imagery that paints a picture of a strong female lead that conquers evil by being her “true self,” it also contains many gender stereotypes that stem from the culture of the ancient Chinese belief system. Upon examining the movie further, it becomes obvious that the importance of accepting and conforming to gender roles that Mulan represents is not only rooted in Chinese culture but also finds origin in the cultural views of the West.

Women have been misrepresented in the media for many years. Stereotypes have been around forever in media, but were portrayed more visibly in the earlier years. Although this misrepresentation of women is less subtle, the outcome of this issue is extensively impacting consumers and women in general. The impact of these stereotypes discourage women to pursue their goals, cause self-esteem issues, and hurt their chances at bigger roles in the business and political world. This also gives others false ideas and expectations. Some primary examples of concern include the value of women and girl’s looks over their personalities, the false imagery of the LGBT community, and society not taking women in politics and news seriously.

“Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.”

From the minute one is born the division between genders is placed. The phrases “act like a lady” or “be a man” become everyday practices and lifelong slogans. Fairy tales are always focused on women who play the beautiful damsel in distress persona and on men who play the handsome knight coming in to save them. Whether you are female or male, it is important to remember that these fixed characteristics placed on genders are never to be reinforced. In a world full of gender stereotypes, the Disney movie Mulan challenges the societal construct of masculinity and femininity by proving that gender roles are not fixed traits, but socially constructed views that can be changed.

However, Disney’s movie Mulan countervails these stereotypes as the main character and protagonist, Mulan, acts as a symbol of resilience by resisting the gender roles placed on her by society and as a result, is seen as a hero.

Stereotypes have become a prevalent issue in our media. They, without our knowledge, prevent us from moving forward as human. In this essay, I will discuss the effects of stereotypes in media on gender roles, religion, and race.

An animated Disney movie called "Mulan," was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook in 1998. The moral of the story is that women can be just the same as men can. I support the general meaning of the movie. I believe men that and women should be treated equally and that women should not be seen as weak or frail. Women are more than just wives or slaves and can-do jobs that have traditionally been set-aside for men. They can be successful and bring honor to their families in other ways.