I always saw myself as a strong and independent women, but after I dated for the first time I was shocked to discover how traditional I was. I felt that I had to cater to him and his interest. I found myself downloading his favorite bands, and reading his Twitter Posts. (I am extremely adverse to twitter). He never asked me to do any of these things, but I felt like in order to be a "good" girlfriend I should take an interests in what he likes regardless of whether or not I liked the things he did. I found myself agreeing with him even if I thought he was wrong. After a few months we went our separate ways, and I looked back on our relationship and was horrified with myself. Twitter really? Why did I do those things, and why did I not speak up for my beliefs?
After some soul searching I realized that I was the one monitoring my own behavior. After years of watching Disney, I subconsciously acted passively and never challenge his thoughts. I realized that I was the one repressing myself. I acctually believed that I had to be passive in order to be liked. This was a big eye opener to me, and I realized the long term effect of my Disney and Chick-flick addiction. I don't blame the media for my lack of self-confidence, but that was the image I had in my head. I just forgot that those movies aren't real. I still feel embarrassed about how juvenile my beliefs were, but at the same time it made me realize how important Feminism is.
Being a Feminist doesn't mean you have to be marching up the steps of the capital screaming for equal pay, (although if you do that's great!), it means standing up for yourself.
That's why I like the Princess and the Frog and Enchanted--in those Disney movies, the girls are the strong ones! Tiana in tPatF is a hard worker and sassy and dedicated, and Giselle is a little loopy at the beginning--but her transformation into being really human is I think a really good narrative. She gets less cartoony as she starts understand what anger and sadness are. And in the end of both movies, the girls save the guys AND are in good, equal, healthy relationships.
ReplyDeleteI need to see Princess and the frog everyone tells me its really good!
ReplyDeleteCAROL! I am surprised you haven't seen it yet. I went to it on opening night I think... haha! I went with my roommates and our friend Tiara, and she was pumped because Tiana is close to Tiara and I guess she's been writing letters to Disney for several years about how they needed a black princess... It's great, you will LOVE it!
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