A Feminist Perspective on Disney’s Brave (2012): Challenging Traditional Gender Roles

Abstract

[eng] This paper examines Brave (2012) from a feminist perspective and how Merida, the main character, breaks away from gender barriers by being portrayed as a modern princess in the Disney/Pixar production. Judith Butler's concept of performativity will help to understand the evolution of female protagonists in Disney films, from the extremely traditional feminine roles in the 1950s to the unanimously acclaimed as the first princess embodying feminist values, Merida. The power of social transformation of the Walt Disney Company since its origins will be analyzed and a deep examination of Disney’s role models for young girls will be conducted by shedding light on the strict gender roles they portray. Attention will be paid to some of the most emblematic female characters in Disney’s filmography (princesses), how these characters have evolved in their portrayal from passive women to heroines, and how Merida is the first example in this sense as she represents a female role model more prone to the current social context. This paper aims at providing a feminist reading of Brave and at demonstrating how the main character is portrayed as a female heroine that destabilizes traditional gender norms in a patriarchal society.