Snow White & Gender Representations

1. Qualities in women:

• Fair
• Beautiful
• Naïve
• Able to take care of the house, cook, clean, make the beds, wash, sew and knit
• Able to take care of men
• Quiet
• Submissive
• Gullible

2. Undesirable qualities in women:

• Smart/Intelligent/Cunning
• Ugly
• Average-look
• Resistant
• Opinionated
• Vain
• Unable to perform house duties
• Loud
• Selfish

3. Important male characteristics:

• Handsome
• Controlling
• Powerful
• Confident
• Opinionated
• Strong
• Smart
• Hard-worker

4. The film 'Sleeping Beauty' is teaching its audience that the roles of women and men are completely different and that they are to do very different duties. Although both gender's are expected to be attractive, many personality traits are to be completely opposite to allow the man to be more dominant than the woman. They are teaching that the women are to be in the kitchen and cleaning all the time and if you don't, like the wicked Queen, you would end up as a cranky and ugly step-mother who has no life.

5. Snow White's relationship with:

• The Wicked Queen: is full of tension. Snow White was in trusted to the Queen because she is her step-mother. The Queen has a lot of envy and prejudice for Snow White's beauty and therefore has a drive and a thirst to kill her. Snow White seems to be running away from The Queen most of the time which makes it clear that she is frightened and scared of her. 
• The Dwarfs: is a weird relationship. Although, the dwarfs are very reliant and dependant on Snow White, they have a lot of control and tell Snow White what she has to do. As soon as Snow White was found in their home, they immediately asked her to take care of the house without question. She did not open her mouth to express any objection. It could have been a selfish reason to save Snow White every time 
• The Prince: is quite awkward. The first time Snow White met the Prince, he told her that he was marrying her and she didn't object. This is evidence of the male taking dominance over the woman. Because Snow White is the most beautiful girl in the land, the Prince wanted to take her body home as a prized possession.

6. This story gives a totally unrealistic representation of the gender roles. The stereotypical actions and roles of the genders are completely over exaggerated but if they were placed into the story in a more subtle way, the gender roles are still apparent. Only to a small extent are the characteristic differences between men and women are true and evident in the real world.

7. People in the media portray gender stereotypes, sometimes without even knowing it. In the music industry, Meghan Trainor is a big artist that uses stereotypes in her songs. The brand "Victorious Secret Music" is huge on showing women all around the world "what they SHOULD look like" and how they "would look if they bought their products". Other Disney movies that send gender stereotypical messages are: Sleeping Beauty (Men are saviours), The Little Mermaid (You should change who you are for a love interest), Cinderella (Outward beauty is what makes you special) and Beauty and the Beast (weight determines temperament)