The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are two Disney films made in the early nineties. Both movies tell the stories of individuals who wish to live a better life than the one they are living at the beginning. These movies enforce a lot of stereotypes and roles for both males and females despite being made in “modern times.” The actions and language enforce the roles used in the movie, presenting a view of what people should expect from the roles played by different genders. The generation that grew up on these films (and others by Disney) beliefs are expected to be liberal concerning what roles males and females can play in society, and yet these films display characters acting in ways that are extremely similar and typical of the stereotypes set up by society. Even the antagonists in the films are living models of old stereotypes but they are exaggerated and twisted aspects of the heroic characters of the films.

Gender roles are extremely typified in these films. The father figure dominates the daughter until a hansom young man comes along and “takes her away” from him. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin both incorporate this idea and marriage is extremely important to this. After all, is that not what happens in the actual wedding ceremony? Concerning marriage there are “three modern Western culture-bound preconceptions: (1) that marriage for love or persona attraction is morally superior to marriage for money or power…; (2) that authentic union must be underwritten by emotional attachment...; and (3) that personal autonomy or individual desire in the selection of a marriage partner should outweigh the claims of the family” (McDonald 265-266). While these are all taken into account in the Disney films, it also needs to be kept in mind that the third point does not explicitly apply, since while Jasmine and Ariel could marry without their fathers’ consent they do not. Both seek their fathers’ approval for the unions despite having decided whom they are going to marry. Between the two films, the female’s roles are limited to daughter, princess, wife, and arguably, in the future, mother (leaving the role of ‘witch’ out, which will be discussed later). The roles of daughter, wife, and mother are specifically significant because they are roles that are constantly subjugated to another role, such as father and husband.

The “alpha generation” is the generation that was heavily influenced by these films as children. Dan Kindlon, the author of Alpha Girls argues, “Women…have often had to compromise their personal ambitions to fulfill more traditional domestic roles. But our sense was that if members of the alpha generation choose to stop working when they have ids it will be a choice, not a necessity that has been forced upon then” (213). Despite that generation’s apparent “choices,” the media is still portraying women having only those “traditional domestic roles.” Jasmine and Ariel, while they are free to make a choice, are only allowed to choose between one male influence and another. They cannot be independent of male dominance, as Kindlon would suggest they have the “choice” to. This greatly influences the “choices” modern females have, since generally the only choice that is acceptable is marriage. Considering neither Ariel nor Jasmine has a period of “singleness,” separated from their father and without needing or wanting a man, it is apparent that the idea of a woman being single is still greatly frowned upon. Feminine roles have not changed for the better, as many would like you to believe.

Most people would think that these particular Disney films celebrate the independence of women with their headstrong princesses who take control of their situations. However, this is not the case. In The Little Mermaid, for example, Ariel may at first seem independent by rebelling against her father’s orders, but she only does this in order to be with another man; replacing one controlling figure with another in the end. Sey Chassler’s article on how men have not changed discusses this very idea of the male figure as the controlling or dominant figure. Chassler wrote this article from his own experiences based with his wife and said the following, “It means that everything that occurs between us, everything we do together, is monitored by me” (135). Jasmine, in the movie Aladdin, demonstrates the same, moving from her role as daughter to the role of wife without any stage in between. Furthermore, the marriages in both movies are poorly prepared for. It is the marriage itself, not the relationship that is important. Both princesses hardly know the men they are becoming involved with: Ariel has only known Prince Eric for three days by the time they marry and Jasmine’s relationship to Aladdin is equally as short.

“Authority in the early modern family rested finally with the father…the principle that the woman was “the weaker vessel” and consequently dependent on the superior judgment and ability of her husband…gave the father uncontested rule over his wife and all members of the household” (McDonald, 259-260). It is clear from the passage that male dominance has been around for a long time and, subsequently, the subjugation of the female. The male authority in these films is the father figure (who is also ruler over their people, adding another power dynamic to their role). The Sultan in Aladdin expresses a concern that his daughter has not found a suitor yet and one of the main worries he expresses is “I just want to make sure your taken care of…provided for.” Again, the idea that a young female cannot take care of herself and needs a male in her life to take “care of” or “provide for” her is enforced. Granted, Jasmine scoffs at the idea but this is mostly because she does not approve of any of the suitors and wants to be free of any sort of obligation. She even goes so far as to say, “Maybe I don’t want to be a princess anymore.” Despite the fact that the Sultan does not pick Jasmine’s husband, he does change the law for her so that she can marry the man she chooses.

A better example of male dominance is actually Ariel’s father, King Triton, in The Little Mermaid. He constantly forbids her certain activities, especially those that involve the human world. Chassler expresses this idea in his article with the words “Men still make the moves…Someone makes the rules, someone else does as she is told” (pg 130). King Triton is noticeably intimidating because he is the only merman that plays any role in the movie. The father, being one of the only males in the very dominant female world, implies just how much influence a father has over her daughter. But the fact that Ariel goes against his wishes repeatedly to flirt around with the full man, Eric, says a lot about the control men have over women as expressed in the film.

Of course, more dominating than the fathers are the future husbands in the films. Eric is a full human male as opposed to Ariel’s father who is part “mermaid.” Eric is the one who actually holds Ariel’s freedom in his hands, not her father, because if he does not kiss her within three days she belongs to Ursula instead. By this point in the film, King Triton’s control has been completely stripped from him and is fought over by Eric and Ursula. Aladdin has a similar vie for power in Aladdin with Jafar. Aladdin only wants Jasmine while Jafar wants the position of ruler and Jasmine would just be an added bonus. It is not just about winning Jasmine over but also controlling her and her actions. This is what Jafar hopes to accomplish by having her, which Aladdin does not.

Jafar, the antagonist in Aladdin¸ and Ursula, the antagonist in The Little Mermaid both express desires similar to their protagonist counterparts. However, their desires are twisted versions of the protagonists and incorporate extreme gender stereotypes. The two are destroyed at the end of the film, a sign that society frowns on the characteristics exhibited by them.

Ursula is called many names in the film: “witch,” “demon,” “monster,” none of which are very feminine. Even her appearance reflects her monster status. She is a large woman with grey skin and black tentacles that could easily crush a man. Ursula’s tentacles play on the fear of a woman’s ability to “ensnare” someone, more specifically a man. However, the first person she ensnares in the movie is Ariel. She uses Ariel to get to not only Triton, but Eric as well. It is not really Ursula’s appearance that makes her so feared. It is the idea of an older woman with power that makes her the object of such fear. The idea that a woman of Ursula’s apparent age could have the power to “rule the oceans” without a man being involved is an uncomfortable idea for our society, even today.

Ursula is also extremely seductive. Her conversations with any of the characters in the film are accented by her husky voice and she is constantly invading personal space to get close to them, caressing and manipulating them with her words. If Ariel’s character is the pure hearted saint in the movie then Ursula is the seducer who wants to ensnare the others. This trait has been played out since before Shakespeare’s time, and while the idea of women using their sexuality is not as frowned upon today, Ursula uses her sexuality for the wrong reasons. She wants to dominate instead of being sexually vulnerable, which is how Ariel presents herself. After all, Ariel makes the wish to become human and in doing so obtains the very organ that will make her sexually vulnerable, the vagina. As Laura Kipnis points out in her own book, “a vagina is also an extremely costly attribute to lug around and makes a woman forever vulnerable” (123). The most disturbing quality is the overtly sexual overtones Ursula uses around Ariel as well. She is constantly caressing and treating Ariel as an object to be conquered. In this regard, Ursula’s role is much more masculine. Again, the overtones here are not at all compatible with the image one would normally want to see in association with young girls. Ursula is made into the villain because of this explicit relationship where she ensnares Ariel with her advances. Ariel is the only character around that Ursula even has the capacity to dominate despite the fact she is a powerful witch.

Jafar makes his own advances in Aladdin, but instead of going after Jasmine for her body and appearance (as Aladdin is), Jafar seeks Jasmine first for her position. Much like Ursula is attempted conquering of Ariel, the only reason Jafar wishes to wed Jasmine in the movie is so that he can increase his own public power. Both villains are seeking to overthrow the established power of the ruler. There is also the fact that Jafar is considerably older than Jasmine, just as Ursula is considerably older than Ariel. However, Jafar’s age is remarked on a lot more frequently than Ursula’s. So, his quest for power to obtain the throne and get Jasmine on the side becomes a rather perverted gesture. This is more of a comment on the age of a man than on his gendered role, clearly Aladdin is the better choice for Jasmine because he could produce heirs and have a successor to the throne. Jafar, on the other hand, is an old man who would probably have a bit of difficult producing any such heirs. However, this does not stop Jafar from attempting to claim Jasmine sexually. One of his attempted wishes is for “Princess Jasmine to fall desperately in love with me.” Jasmine uses Jafar’s lust for power against him, but there is no denying that the scene is extremely provocative in nature. It is a little odd that we are supposed to admire Jasmine’s actions in seducing Jafar into thinking he has won. Jasmine uses her body and good looks to her advantage and, as one might expect, ensnares Jafar in much the same way that was frowned upon for Ursula. This introduces the double standard of older women not being allowed to express their sexual desires while women of a younger generation are practically expected to do so.

Both Ariel and Jasmine are beautiful young girls in the movies with slim waists, gorgeous hair and, in Ariel’s case, a beautiful singing voices. They are part of what is known as the “beauty myth” referred to by Naomi Wolf in her book of the same title. “A beautiful heroine is a contradiction in terms, since heroism is about individuality, interesting, and ever changing, while “beauty” is generic, boring, and inert…Culture stereotypes women to fit the myth by flattening the feminine into beauty-without-intelligence or intelligence-without-beauty; women are allowed a mind or a body but not both” (Wolf, 59). While at first both Jasmine and Ariel seems to have both beauty and intelligence, at the end of both movies it boils down to their bodies and not their minds being the important factors. This is especially the case with Ariel who loses her voice in the movie, the only way she can speak her mind. Instead, Ariel must rely on her looks to get what she wants from Eric. Jasmine, too, falls into the same trap by the scene mentioned earlier to trick Jafar using her own sexual appeal. She does not attempt to outwit him or anything; she merely seduces him and distracts him with her body from discovering Aladdin stealing the lamp.

Jasmine and Ariel’s actions are mere reinforcements of the gender stereotype of the ‘damsel in distress’ myth. Aladdin is the one to save the day in the end of Aladdin, trapping Jafar after Jafar wishes to be a genie himself. Granted, this is Aladdin’s movie so being the hero is a little more acceptable. However, in The Little Mermaid it is not Ariel that saves the day and destroys Ursula. Instead, it is Eric, who rams the pointed end of a ship into the giant Ursula’s body and finishes her. Demonstrating that, in the end, even the most powerful of women will be taken down a peg and dominated by a man.

In the end, while both films depict a “happy ending” where the guy gets the girl, it sets unrealistic standards for children to look to in their own futures. The films depict cliché-gendered stereotype after cliché-gendered stereotype all while pretending that the female roles in the films present strong willed women who can do anything. In reality, however, those strong willed women end up in the same position as every woman: married and subject to a man.

Works Cited

Chassler, Sey. "Men Have Not Changed." Ed. Neal Bernards and Terry O'Neil. Male/Female Roles: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven P, 1989. 130-136.

Kindlon, Dan. “Alphas in Love.” Alpha Girls Understanding the New American Girl and How She Is Changing the World. New York: Rodale Books, 2006. 213-238.

Kipnis, Laura. “Vulnerability.” The Female Thing; Dirt, Envy, Sex, Vulnerability. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. 123-163.

McDonald, Russ. "Men and Women: Gender, Family, and Society." The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 253-77.

Wolf, Naomi. “Culture.” The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: Anchor Books, 1992. 58-85.