Kudos

Mulan is a pretty young girl who disguises herself as a man and joins the Chinese army in place for her father. While in the army she has to become the “typical” man, brave and fearless. She fights in a war shows bravery and fearlessness; even rescuing the Captain. After being discovered she continues to show her bravery by not caring about what people think, she only has one mission and that is to protect the emperor. She tries to tell people about the Huns and even though no one would listen she decided to take matters into her own hands. He fights the head person of the Huns, Shan-Yu, to protect the emperor. She in return for her bravery and success of protecting the emperor she was honored by the emperor himself in front of China.

Disney usually portrays women as fragile, following and/or seeking dependence on some man; Snow White, Princess Aurora, Cinderella, and Ariel. They would do anything to “get their man”. They all were girly girls and played the part as did they men; strong, masculine, going through trials to save their damsel in distress. Mulan is somewhat the opposite. She does go through some obstacles to please her family and the tradition in which her culture sets. She ends up going against everything that her culture teaches them knowing full well that she could pay the ultimate price, her life. She did not even need the lust or want of a man to motivate her to make her decoction to join the army. She does it to save her father which shows that she cares for his wellbeing but yet shows that she’s brave. Then during the boot camp for the army she over comes the obstacles and proves to everyone that she can make. They all think that she is a man, a weak man at that but she shows them all. Then during battle she shows fearlessness and through this she saves many lives and takes those who are threating the Emperor. When she is discovered to be a woman after saving the Captain’s life she accepts her fate of death. In the end she does not receive the punishment. She still continues to show bravery till the end.

On the side of the men and how they are portrayed by Disney is slightly altered than their usual portrayals. Even though most of their men are brave and strong there are more feminine ones and are often make fun of.  They men strive to be buff and masculine, even tough. They even objectify women in a song. “A woman worth fighting for”, women are their motives for fighting in this war; to show that they are strong and brave. On several occasions they rely on Mulan for support.

I think that Disney switched it up with this film in a good way. The heroin is a pretty, strong, brave woman and there were different types of men to explore the different types. Kudos to Disney, I think that they combined the new and old thoughts of the genders and their roles through these characters.

Defining

“I am a writer who happens to love women. I am not a lesbian who happens to write.”

-Winterson

In the society of yesterday and the present time, gender and identity has been a big part on how a person is viewed. For example if something about you is different from the status quo of society it becomes the defining property of that person. Such as if a women is ambitious about her work and about excelling in the work place she is considered a bitch but when a man shows the same aspects he is just considered as being driven and focused. Why is it that when both a man and a woman who have the same aspects in personalities one is thought more highly than the other? Society has placed thoughts and ideas into our minds since we were children about how we are supposed to act or function in our society and if we stray from those “guidelines” we will mostly be looked down upon. Women are supposed to be mild manner, obedient, and are mainly looked at as a follower. Men on the other hand are portrayed more as more dominate, rebellious, and mainly a leader figure. These images on how specific genders are supposed to act and the roles that each of them have been set in, have been shown to society for a very long time. Therefore it has been heavily submerged into our culture.

We often add labels to others and ourselves based on what our accomplishments are and how that reflects on us. For example, when Hilary Clinton was running for President no one really in the media really listened to her speaks, not even to critique them. All they cared about was how she dressed and how her hair was styled. The media sure did pay attention when Obama or McCain had things to say. They listened to their political views on current events were and what they planned to do if they became President. Why is it that way? Is it because Hilary was a woman and therefore her views were not as important as Obama’s or McCain’s? This could be contributed to the gender labels or expectations that are so deeply imbedded into our culture.

Culture today puts the gender of a person as the defining feature of identity; instead of the person themselves as the defining feature of their identity. Sartre would say that “existence precedes existence,” and that is the way our culture must view itself.

Biblical

“Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin”

-                        -   Leviticus 18:22

Many Christians read this text from the Bible and automatically think that they have the right to say that homosexuals are going to hell. The so called “Christians” that give themselves the right to pass judgment on others are hypocrites. If they were true Christians and read the Bible and take it as it is then they would see that the One that their faith follows, Jesus, loved all no matter their social status or beliefs. Jesus was friend to the friendless and to those who needed the love and acceptance of others.

“Judge not, and you will not be judge; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven”

-                         -Luke 6:37

Therefore Christians should not judge homosexuals due to their life style “choice”. No one has the right to judge one another. God (if you believe in Him) will judge everyone when the time comes.

As an individual I try to live my life as a non-judgmental person. I try to see any person as who they are and not how they live or how they lived in the past. How a person is as an individual is none of my business and I choose to accept them for who they are. The Bible does not have many references about Homosexuals and Jesus but if Jesus was friend to the street walkers (prostitutes), the severely diseased, and even the evil tax collectors then I am sure that he would not have a problem being a friend to homosexuals. In my view Christian are supposed to try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as best they can.

“We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”

      - Romans 3:23

No one on this green earth is better than the other or has the right to look upon another with judging eyes.

Changes

In the image that was given to us basically show that if a women strays from what is expected of her as a female; she will raise her children in poverty and work miserably as a domestic or tavern work, selling in the street, and prostituting herself to soldiers. Then inside a triangle it shows a well-dressed, happy looking woman depicted next to flower and a large home.

The image shows that if a woman did not behave as they were supposed to according to society then they would end up in prostitution and living in poverty. Society wanted women to act prim and proper and to believe that they were property of the male figures in their lives.

Gender roles are not as strict as they use to be but they still have a strong influence in our society. Women are still expected to take care of the family and the household work even if they do have jobs outside of the home. Women nowadays are privileged that they could now apply for the same positions as men and even get the job. Women over the years have become more independent. They do not need to rely on men any longer.

Men on the other hand have been somewhat changing roles. Men are still more dominating in our society but I think that that is mainly due to our society putting the pressure on men to be masculine and sometimes to the extreme. Mea are expected to be the bread-winners, tough, and outspoken just to name a few. But nowadays men are able to switch roles in a sense without being looked down on. For example, men that are staying at home taking care of the children and the house. Even with the “approval” form some of the society there are also some the ridicule. Like if a man decides to stay home or is force to through some unfortunate problems, to care for their family may be given grief from their peers about taking the more feminine role in the relationship.

In my opinion the gender that has the problems in our society are the men. Men are forced to be the stereotypical image of what a man is supposed to be. If they deviate from that traditional view the men will most likely face more ridicule than acceptance.

Jane

Women in the 19^th century were given very little to no rights at all. Females were basically only there to give birth and raise children; take care of the sickly and do the household chores. When a woman got married she lost her “identity” and becomes the property of her husband. So if the woman does acquire a job then her wages automatically go to the husband. Women were low in the social classes. They were mainly thought of as merely property. Women did not receive education unless they were in the higher class.

In the book Jane Eyre written by Bronte, the heroin Jane was a governess for a little girl named Adelle and her father, Mr. Rochester, was in the in the classification of the elite. Therefore Mr. Rochester hired Jane to teach Adelle to be at an intellectual level as the elite. The role of a governess was just to educate the high class’s children which meant the governess would have to be well educated to the level of the elite. Even though the governesses were well educated they were still at the status of a slave. They were talked down to and they were supposed to be submissive.

Bronte made her heroin, Jane very strong willed and independent. These attributes are not characteristics of a respectable lady. A woman in the 19^th century that was “proper” was supposed to be soft spoken and obedient to orders that are given to her and the male figures in her life. Women were also not supposed to vocalize their thoughts. With a heroin with these characteristics bring to light the position of all governesses with Jane’s traits. Jane had the intellect of the elite and yet she was trapped in the social roles of her time. She could not communicate what she thought to the people of her own intellect.

In my opinion Bonte wanted her heroin to convey what women of her time could achieve with the act of taking her own life into her own hands. In the sense that Jane begins to make her own decisions that in turn change her life more towards to what she wants.

Lost in between

When a child is born as an inter-sexual individual what is to be done? Should the parents have the right to decide what gender the child should be? Or should that child be able to decide later on in life? My opinion on this subject is not a straight answer because this subject is not black or white. If a child is born as an inter-sexual, nobody had control over that. Therefore if a child is in danger of medical distress then of course fix the problem and choose the anomaly that is the most suitable for the child to have the fewest medical problems. If there are no medical problems that could be brewing then the child should be left the way they are and they should just be given the love and support that any child should receive. On the other hand not everyone in this world is loving or kind.

Society does not treat people outside the norms very well, but with each passing day more and more people slowly begin to open their minds to change. People in society are taught from a very young age that there are only two genders in the world, male and female and nothing else. But that simply is not the case. But the thought of only two genders is reinforced through everything in society like school test, applications for jobs and colleges, almost everything ask the question, Male or Female.

People in society should accept an intersexual with open arms. Everyone is unique in their own different way. Just because a child is born an intersexual which is an individual with the characteristics of both genders does not mean that they have no feelings or thoughts. They should be treated like everyone else.

Even though there are many people that are accepting of people that are intersexual, there are people that are not; sadly these are usually “religious” people. But even the religious people should accept an intersexual because the Bible does say to love everyone one even the different and non-accepted in the society, Jesus was a friend to the friendless. So those who call themselves religious and are not accepting or are judgmental against people that are different in any way are hypocrites. The only one to judge is God and that is in His own timing.

So if a child is born as an intersexual the parent should accept and raise that child to the best of their ability and show that child the love and kindness that it deserves as a human being. The parents should try to be an understanding and show support to the child especially during some of the phases of life of its life. 

Social Roles

From when I was younger I remember being told to help clean the house. I also remember asking my mom why I had to help dust, fold clothes, vacuum, etcetera. Her response to my question was that when I got older I would have a family of my own and I would have to do the same thing for them.

“Very young children learn their culture’s social definitions of gender and gender identity at the same time that they learn gender behaviors are appropriate for them.”

-Holly Devor

The roles for females for as long as the grass has been green women were supposed to stay at home taking care of the house and family. Keeping the house clean, having meals prepared for the coming of the hard working husband. The women were not expected to do certain things on their own; they were supposed to wait on the man to do that duty or activity for them. If a family member would become ill the female closes to that person would became the primary care giver.

As I grew older I began to become more independent, not really waiting for others to do things for me. I also like playing sports, more for fun and I don’t really like make-up. But I guess the feminine gender roles have been engraved in me because I still dream about the day I can take care of my husband and children. Having dinner ready for my family and cleaning around the house. I even want to stay home to take care of my children when they are young. But as the get older and begin school I do want to work.

Now that the day of starting my own family is fast approaching my fiancé and I have been discussing the roles he and I will be playing in our household. We both agreed to try to do the housework together. We even agreed to share the responsibilities of the outside/yard work. Our household is leaning towards the more traditionally social roles because that is how we both were raised but it will have a modern day twist. In a way both my fiancé and I resist the conventional roles but are somewhat still in them.