lasnoaventuras:

thinkivykink:

thaatdude:

No it isnt. This is the kind of shit we teach little girls and make them accustomed to putting their needs behind other peoples. dafuq disney 

I mean this is coming from a snowman dangerously close to a fire, so clearly this guy’s in no position to give anybody advice.

but what if it also teach them to search for love in someone that put the girl’s needs before his (or hers)? what if not everything in the world is pro-man and sexist? WHAT IF?

That’s perfectly valid if Disney (and the greater institution of children’s media) actually drove that point. But instead what we’re left with is a culture that stresses this quality in women and often doesn’t address it in men. 

So often, the quality of sacrifice is considered the cornerstone of the female martyr archetype and often revolves around not only men, but family. The woman is tied to the home and proves her strength as a character by placing the needs of her loved ones ahead of herself. Let’s think about the movie Anastasia, where the title character – a plucky, exciting girl who is certainly teaching little girls not to take any bullshit – chooses her love over her opportunity to live as a princess. She is given her happy ending, but she has to make a sacrifice to have it.

Male characters in children’s movies, shows and books are prized and rewarded for striking out on their own. Ash Ketchum’s mother laments that “all boys leave home someday” at the beginning of the Pokemon games, and Ash is lauded for leaving his small town and single mother to go compete in the Elite Four. The game does not end with Ash returning home to split the proceeds with his mother. Ash’s departure is a moment of self-actualization. And while for female characters, like Anastasia, this self-actualization is so often in the realm of sacrifice, for Ash Ketchum, moments of strong character come as a result of his unwillingness to sacrifice for his family.

So, no, maybe not everything in this world is pro-man and sexist. But when we are living in a media culture that teaches women that her character-defining moments are those where she puts herself aside, we could perhaps do with a little less being told to put someone’s needs first and a little more with being told to do for ourselves once in a while.