Gender Norms In Cinderella

These concepts are depicted within the classic Disney princess film Cinderella directed by Clyde Geronimi. This film has ‘taught’ and/or shown little girls to stop everything they are currently doing and to become dependent on a man to save the day. Cinderella can be seen as the ultimate example of a “damsel-in-distress” because she gets saved from being “abused, humiliated and a servant in her own house to her stepmother and stepsisters” (Cinderella). However, the film does not fail to mention how despite this Cinderella still remains “gentle” and “kind.” The usage of ‘gentle’ and ‘kind’ rather than ‘understanding’ pinpoints the societal gender norms in action— according to these, a woman should be compliant and quiet. Professor Jane Ward

However, this ‘beauty’ comes from the clothing and the societal class she appears to belong in. Clothing that is flattering is seen as vital to a woman’s success; while for men it is to display success and high status (i.e prince of the kingdom). The transformation of Cinderella going from rags and low class to riches and royalty is seen as ‘beauty’ because she is doing everything expected of her— keeping her physical appearance and having the ‘natural’ dependency on a male to save her from her slave-like lifestyle. All which, according to Maity, is a “socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women’s most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain” (3). Cinderella goes from rags to riches all just for going to a ball, wearing a sparkly dress, and being pretty. The film Cinderella can be considered the ideal Disney fairy tale since Cinderella fits perfectly within the criteria of a princess: blonde hair, pretty face, slim figure, sings very beautifully (when one bird wants to chime in, another bird hushes it in order to hear her