Masculinity In Post-Princess Models Of Gender By Gillam And Shannon Wooden

Many of the largest children's films have been written, produced, and released by Disney for good reason. They have been able to define what childhood entertainment has been for generation after generation. Many people have been so captivated by these films that they chose to introduce their children to the films that have defined their childhoods and a vast majority of those films present masculinity as the savior and hero of the story, but recently Disney, and its subsidiary Pixar, have shifted how they present masculinity and its effects.

In Post-Princess Models of Gender, Ken Gillam and Shannon Wooden lay out their interpretation of Disney’s shift in the presentation of masculinity. After viewing both old and new Disney films, Gillam and

Through the lens of Pixar, the alpha males are often the protagonists, Gillam and Wooden use the examples of Buzz, Lightning McQueen, and Mr. Incredible. All of these men’s main goal in life is to save, earn, or defend something, that something often being an object or something objectified. With Buzz saving the universe from evil, McQueen earning the piston cup, and Mr. Incredible defending the city, their whole being is devoted to this cause, often to the detriment of their friends, family, and even more often themselves. This reliance on themselves often leads to a major element of their theory, emasculation. Emasculation is the process the Gillam and Wooden describe as “the devastation and humiliation of being defeated in competition, the wrath generated by power unchecked, the paralyzing alienation and fear inherent in being lonely at the top.” (Gillam and Wooden 61) All of these characters were emasculated in some shape or form and this leads to the process of becoming the new man, their next

In many of these films the main character has a male friendship that Gillam and Wooden describe as “homosocial relationships”. (Gillam and Wooden 62) These relationships are often the groups that the former alpha male must accept help from to achieve the goal of saving the city or winning the piston cup. Some of these examples include McQueen and Mater, and Woody and Buzz. Only by embracing these friends are the alphas able to reach their goals. Gillam and Wooden also describe the trope of a “feminized third”. (Gillam and Wooden 63) In Toy Story, Andy is the third person that Woody and Buddy compete for. Gillam and Wooden argue that these homosocial relationships are what keep the two men and the plot moving forward. They argue that in Cars, McQueen competes for many different thirds throughout the movie, some of which being Sally, the piston cup, and even a sponsorship from Dinoco. All of these thirds keep McQueen motivated to compete for them and this is what moves the story towards its