So, as I get older, I start to notice how just...shittily misogynistic/sexist American culture is. Or how many awful stereotypes are perpetuated, constantly. And, strangely, how many ...positive? stereotypes are perpetuated too.
But that's not why I'm complaining today, it's the sexism part.
Movies are notably bad with female roles, even when they manage to submit non-awful female characters. Let's talk Disney, because I like Disney movies and grew up in the Disney renaissance and everything was great and fantastic and we impressionable girls have strong(er) females, like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She's a typical rebellious teen who just wants to get out and see the world and give up her voice to literally marry the first man she sees, because we all know women should be seen and not heard to land that man (that you know nothing about.) Look at her, all quiet and cute and she doesn't know what shoes are, or how to use utensils, it's cute that she thinks she's people. Hmm.
What about Belle in Beauty and the Beast, the intelligent (and beautiful) modern woman who reeeeeeeads. It's just unnatural. (Evidently no one else in town reads even though there's an established well-to-do bookstore in a "provincial town." Whatever, Disney.) It's almost as if Disney is lampooning all the Gastons who think women shouldn't be educated, yay Disney! And then... she gets Stockholm Syndrome for her awful captor who refuses to meet her basic needs (i.e. food) because she trespassed and also doesn't want to eat dinner with her asshole captor. Well, good for you, unimaginatively-named-female-protagonist, you shouldn't kowtow to guys who think you should love them because they're...present? And I know the point of the movie is that he's beautiful on the inside (somewhere?) even though he locks her up, denies her basic needs, strikes her, demands that she love him, and this is...starting to sound a lot like a really abusive relationship, Disney, how the hell are we supposed to like this guy? Why the hell should she fall for him, he's proven that he's incapable of controlling his anger and isn't exactly concerned for her safety or well-being. It's not even like she's trying to save the rest of the inhabitants of the castle who were cursed because a sorceress decided that a ten-year-old boy prince with no parents or authority figures was a jerk for not letting a complete stranger in the castle. No, she just decides she wants a fixer-upper and there has to be a good person somewhere in there, and this is what she decided was "more than [her] provincial life." She gives up her only family, any hope of travel, all other society, any kind of productive activity, all to read books all day and play nursemaid to a guy with ulterior motives and free reign to be abusive. Yeah that sounds healthy.
Nala, the only female character of note in The Lion King (unless you count Sarabi's "up yours" one-liner?) She pretty much exists to nag a self-professed nihilist into doing his job. And being the main...wife, I guess, of his harem. Oh, also, to get him into trouble when he's young, because that's what women do, they give men bad ideas and lead them astray and they're just good for popping out kids. And nagging. I did not realize, until this very moment, how misogynistic this is, wow. Maybe I can blame that on the source material...
Sadly, it's not getting any better. I just saw Frozen the other day, and it's rife with the same kinds of problems. [SPOILERS! Not that I care much cause, come on, it came out like four months ago.]
Anna most looks forward to the castle gates opening so she can...find a man. I mean, romance. She absolutely falls (figuratively and literally) for the first man she sees and agrees to marriage. (At least her sister tells her she's stupid.) Then, her sister Elsa accidentally curses the whole city (province? country???) because she is literally incapable of controlling her emotions. I mean, magic powers. She also ditches the whole place after being queen for like, two hours, but I think that's more a personal character flaw rather than a commentary on women being unable to handle power. Oh, wait, nevermind. Anna goes after her after she acquires a man to keep her fragile/stupid self safe, and is also chastised by that man for getting engaged to a man she just met even though he's pretty much a blatant hypocrite later. Like, "Sorry, Anna, we can't allow you to run around without a man, that's just unsafe and uncouth. You need constant supervision and protection because you have zero hope of taking care of yourself." I was so SO happy that they decided to subvert the True Love's Kiss trope with Anna's self-sacrifice. At least I feel like they did something right.
[END SPOILERS I guess maybe.]
The saddest part is, I get this shit leveled at me in real life, too, and no matter how often I notice how depressing it is that random strangers and co-workers expect me to be married, have 2.5 kids and a yard with a white picket fence already (and actually check on my relationship status at regular intervals,) on some level, I feel like I am failing as a woman because I haven't conformed to the status quo. The unspoken social pressure is sometimes subtle, but always there, and I'm just waiting for someone to come around and invalidate my woman card and/or relabel me a spinster. Even my sister has said, off-hand, that she was "further along" because by the time she was my age she was already married and had a house, as if there are some sort of cosmic landmarks that I'm not reaching. And I don't think that's how she meant it, and I don't think that's what she really believes, and I know I'm a product of my culture too, and I'm sure I inadvertently perpetuate these stereotypes and sexism, I'm just...trying not to. I hope someday I can kick the habit and retrain my brain, but I'm not sure that that's an attainable goal.
I like to think that it is, though, and that we as a culture can start appreciating people as individuals and stop trying to categorize people into ridiculously defined boxes.
Click the link if you want to hear different people point out things that you probably notice on some level but don't stop to think about.
http://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-modern-world-way-more-sexist-than-we-realize/
(P.S. No one asks my boyfriend when he's getting married, ever. I find this unfair. Why am I an unnaturally unattached woman, but no one cares if he's a bachelor forever?)
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