It's only natural for a woman to desire a man...or is it?

My favorite Disney movie was Lady and the Tramp. Although this was the most replayed movie in my household, I still remember all of my toys growing up from princess Barbie dolls to princess collectibles. I will always remember my 5^th birthday when Belle came to my house in the form of a giant Belle cake. I have always lived within a reasonable distance of Disneyland and so visited multiple times as I was growing up. I could easily relate to all of the princesses as I did have the same coloring as many of them. The idea that other little girls could not relate to the princesses never crossed my mind until I studied abroad last semester. There was one holiday in Spain where everyone would dress up in costumes and most of the little girls chose to be Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, or some kind of princess. I thought how amazing this was- that Disney is an American company which can still appeal to so many little girls all over the world. That these girls in Spain and Portugal could relate to Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

But after we spoke in class I realize that I was most likely wrong. Maybe these girls did dress up as their favorite Disney princess but underneath all of the costumes they truly could never see themselves being a princess because they don’t look the same. I can’t believe it took me this long to realize but I see now how I was stuck viewing the world from my own perspective and never really put myself in any of their shoes. And just like I had the realization that Disney wasn’t entirely fair in their portrayal of women (thin, beautiful, light-skinned princesses), I also realized Disney embodies and reflects the same issues which exist in our society- the main one being that a woman needs a man in order to be respected, successful and overall happy.

It traces back to distant origins, but one place in American history I see the parallel to this societal issue is the Salem Witch Trials. Most of the women burned, drowned or beaten were women who had no mean in their lives- whether they were old maids or women who had been promiscuous without a husband. The witch-hunt turned into a hunt for women who never settled down with a man or were unordinary in their society. Just because they were different allowed for them to become scapegoats to an entire mass murder. Although these practices no longer exist, our societal media reflects the idea of how a woman should behave, should act, or what a woman should want.

Television shows like Sex and the City illustrate the idea that women need men in order to be happy in their lives. Instead of focusing on work or other relationships, the entire foundation of the show is based on finding men. While one can argue this is only a natural desire, others argue that maybe women like these shows so much because they grew up with the idea that they need a man- tracing all the way back to their childhood, all the way back to Disney. I wonder what would happen if Disney had been reversed- if all of the women held the power and it was always the men chasing the women. If the women in the movies didn’t have to sacrifice their voice or their pride, if it was actually the men who had to do these things. Maybe the way women view relationships and men would be entirely different. Or maybe it really is a natural instinct to want these things and those reversed movies would have never been popular with young girls because they don’t appeal to our natural desires (of chasing and wanting men). It seems silly but with all of the outside influence from movies and culture, it is hard to know natural desire opposed to implemented societal values. Maybe we’ll never know…unless Disney makes yet another movie.