The thing I find creepiest about Disney's sexism is that they've often taken the original tale and made it *worse* - e.g., in the original Little Mermaid story she's trying to get a soul, not a man; in the original Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is kind and gentlemanly and Belle has to overcome her initial aversion to realise this, and that's why she loves him, rather than the Disney-fied "if you love a jerk, he'll change" version. And Beauty and the Beast is one of the *better* Disney stories, sexism-wise.
I also find the whole Aladdin thing really interesting because I wouldn't have thought twice about it until I started living with a girl from India, who is willing to explain in precise detail how and why it's racist as hell; she was in elementary school in America when it came out, so she had to deal with a lot of "do you wear clothes like that at home?" stuff. The worst thing about that one, I think, is how they made Aladdin look like Tom Cruise because making him look Indian or Arabic wouldn't make him attractive enough to be a Disney lead. Gah.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-10-18 08:50 pm (UTC)I also find the whole Aladdin thing really interesting because I wouldn't have thought twice about it until I started living with a girl from India, who is willing to explain in precise detail how and why it's racist as hell; she was in elementary school in America when it came out, so she had to deal with a lot of "do you wear clothes like that at home?" stuff. The worst thing about that one, I think, is how they made Aladdin look like Tom Cruise because making him look Indian or Arabic wouldn't make him attractive enough to be a Disney lead. Gah.