It’s no secret that Disney hasn’t been the most feminist in their views and movies in the past, and while great strides are being made, we still have a long way to go. One of the more feminist themes in these films is the archetype of female villains. This opens up a great discussion, showing that women are just as powerful and evil as their male counterparts are often depicted. It’s not the most flattering image, but let’s run with it. However, even in their female villains, Disney still offers shallow and non-feminist villains who are only evil because it relates to one area: beauty. Sure, there are a few exceptions to this rule, but our most classic female villains exist only to follow this law; for example: Lady Tremaine (Cinderella), the Evil Queen (Snow White), Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmations), and Mother Gothel (Tangled).
When dissected and analyzed, these women all have the same motive: they feel ugly and old, and therefore treachery must occur. For instance, Lady Tremaine is the strict mother of two hideous daughters, as well as the stepmother of one humble, beautiful daughter. When looking at the situation, there’s no real reason for her to treat Cinderella the way she does - other than the fact that she is far more attractive than her daughters. But she can’t let her know this or even think it, so she unloads grunt work upon her to keep her weak and small.
The Evil Queen is arguably one of the most aggressive and blatant about her evilness -- it’s right in her title! She is the stepparent to Snow White, who is coincidentally ‘the fairest of the land,’ a title that the queen previously held. There could have been many ways to deal with this. She could have been bitter about or she even could have chosen the emotionally abusive route that Cinderella’s mother did. Instead, she flat out decides to have her own stepdaughter killed just to remain at the top of her kingdom’s Hot or Not list.
Cruella de Vil is another go-getter that isn’t interested in hiding her nefarious intentions. From the get go, she is obvious in her intent to do one of the most disgusting, terrible acts: killing puppies. Oh but don’t worry, she has a good reason, or so she convinces herself: fashion. Dalmatian puppy fur is so soft and silk-like that it makes it both beautiful and valuable. It could be argued that her intention is money, but this is one devil that put beauty on the top of her motive list.
Mother Gothel is Disney’s newest female villain and boy, were we excited to see a new icon for feminism...only to have the same trope thrown at us. However, Disney does put a new spin on things by making her seem like a loving mother...almost. Mother Gothel’s obsession with beauty does not actually stem from jealousy like the other two stepmothers, but instead it’s all about procuring it for herself through the continued manipulation of her ‘daughter.’ To keep Rapunzel loyal to her, she constantly berates her emotionally and makes her feel insecure and lonely, guilting her into staying with her forever. Well, what’s wrong with this, you ask? Nothing, aside from the fact that she is willing to stop at nothing to keep the magical hair all to herself, including kidnapping a child, attempting to send at least 3 criminals to their deaths, tying Rapunzel up and forcing her into submission, and let us not forget that she stabbed and killed a man all to hoard Rapunzel’s magic.
The tactics may change here and there, and yes there are some exceptions, but Disney keeps promoting the idea that women will literally kill to be beautiful. Even more so, beauty is the only thing women are capable caring about so much that they would become evil. It extends the idea that women are superficial and obsessed with beauty and nothing else - a trend that needs to stop being shown to impressionable young children. I love Disney with all my heart, but that doesn’t mean I won’t get mad at false feminist icons.
