SuzannahRL

It is always very interesting to me, as someone who loves Disney and who grew up on it, to look back and reflect on the (more often that not) hazardous representations of women in Disney films, and how they’re more progressive as the years go on because we are becoming increasingly aware of how poorly women are portrayed in media. With the addition of Merida, and now Moana, there is a much more conscious effort to have the female protagonist be assertive, adventurous, and successful without the help of a knight in shining armor. It is surreal to look back onto old princesses and see what was considered the height of diversity, even if they do portray women as masculine=good, and paint a picture of femininity=bad, that is quite undesirable. I hope that as the years go on, and media continues to listen to society, women in Disney films won’t have to sacrifice their femininity to be heroes.

As someone who has never seen this show (I know I know! What am I doing??) I find this to be really refreshing, it seems to have an incredibly diverse spectrum of gender roles, and new/reversed portrayals of ever present stereotypes found in just about all other media. Such a great thing for everyone to be exposed to, not just kids! I’m looking forward to sitting down and binge-watching the whole show!

In my experience, there are always moments in books that are newly discovered when re-reading. In many cases, reading a book for the first time — especially if it is a highly anticipated one — can be a rushed thing; excitement on behalf of the reader clouding the smaller, more nuanced parts of the story. I find that once the text has been concluded, and the anxiousness of finding out the ending has dissolved, it allows for a more leisurely read-through, and so many small things that one might have skipped over in the first read can be brought to light! I always love rereading books, and return to my favorites as a sort of comfort every now and again. Wonderful article!