It’s not politics; it’s just seeing the whole big world.
Well, the whole big world has a lot of little girls in it, too. And not all of them are princesses — and the ones who are princesses have plenty of movies to watch.
This article has been tossed around in a variety of fiery Internet discussions this afternoon. The boys town of Pixar is something that has been hashed and rehashed over the years with every new release. I think that the frustration expressed by gender-conscious bloggers stems not from the the question of why such an inspiring company has failed to produce a female heroine but more from why hasn’t anyone done so? And the answer is in no way because “theres not many good women storytellers anymore”.
Women are natural born storytellers. Dudes gave themselves the head start. Now, at this point the discussion could just turn into a “woe is me” diatribe on how very easy it is to feel permanently displaced as a woman in media but I won’t even begin. Because anyone worth her weight in Google can to find examples of how women are telling their stories to large audiences via a variety of outlets. Are things better than they once were? Yes.
But are influential corporations taking responsibility for their influence on the next generation of female voices? Not yet.
Take it from the daughter of Lesbian mothers who was not allowed to purchase Barbies if the dolls did not possess professions. I once rolled my eyes at the aging feminists that surrounded me, thinking, as I was taught by our culture, that we girls had long-since overcome our hurdles as a gender. It’s difficult to see how simply overlooked we are through the steaming wet blanket tossed over the last embers of the feminist movement. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic?
Thank goodness for Reel Grrrls and non-profits like it, or else I would have serious doubts regarding the next generation’s abilities to adequately express themselves in evolving media. Too often young women are taught that their voices do not matter.
Guilt is a useless emotion, but ignorance and arrogance are as real as irony.
