Nature of Gender in Mulan
"A Girl Worth Fighting For" Song Analysis:
This song categorizes women as possessions, much to say that there is a cat waiting at home, but it is a woman instead. Even the warrior who said he did not care about what she wore or what she looked liked, he cared most about her cooking abilities which are a stereotypical “female” job. Their idea of a girl worth fighting for is someone who will dote and fawn over them, and someone who is beautiful in societies mind. Even when Mulan tries to pipe in and say How 'bout a girl who's got a brain, Who always speaks her mind?, she is hastily shut down with “NAH”. This further proves our point of tradition societal values in between genders and how women are supposed to be seen and not speak, they are not there for their verbal contributions rather as arm candy.
Sexism and the role of Women:
Sexism as defined by Rathus is: The prejudgement that because of her or his sex, a person will possess certain negative traits. In Mulan, our heroine is stereotyped for being a woman in a sexist society. It is believed that for a woman to bring true honor to her family she was supposed to be a model daughter who becomes a doting housewife. These assumed negative traits prevent women from straying from this lifestyle to pursue a different way, in Mulan’s case, the Chinese army. She states, “Children develop stereotypes about the differences between “man’s work” and “woman’s work”. Women have been historically excluded from “male occupations” and stereotypical expectations concerning “men’s work” and “women’s work” filter down. For example, the appropriate punishment for the crime that Mulan committed is DEATH. Women have no place in the army, no matter what the circumstance. Mulan’s own father feared going after her, because he knew that if he did she would for sure be killed for her actions.
Statements said to Mulan by her Father like : “Please help Mulan impress the match maker today”- when speaking to the ancestors, and “We are counting on you to uphold the family honor”, instill a thought of duty of being a housewife
The belief that women are sub-standard to men holds true throughout the whole movies, depicted through the character of the Emperors Counselor. When the counselor first comes to Fa Mulans town and Mulan tries to stop her father from taking the war script he says, “Silence! You should teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence.” When the army finds out that she is a woman after she becomes injured in a battle where she “saves the day” the counselman still has the inability to see her as a hero, rather, “Treacherous snake, high treason, ultimate dishonor”. Even at the end of movie, once Mulan has “saved the day”, his firm beliefs on the in-superiority of women holds true when he states, “Stand a side, that creatures not worth protecting. “She’s a hero.” She’s a woman’s he’ll never be worth anything!
This song categorizes women as possessions, much to say that there is a cat waiting at home, but it is a woman instead. Even the warrior who said he did not care about what she wore or what she looked liked, he cared most about her cooking abilities which are a stereotypical “female” job. Their idea of a girl worth fighting for is someone who will dote and fawn over them, and someone who is beautiful in societies mind. Even when Mulan tries to pipe in and say How 'bout a girl who's got a brain, Who always speaks her mind?, she is hastily shut down with “NAH”. This further proves our point of tradition societal values in between genders and how women are supposed to be seen and not speak, they are not there for their verbal contributions rather as arm candy.
Sexism and the role of Women:
Sexism as defined by Rathus is: The prejudgement that because of her or his sex, a person will possess certain negative traits. In Mulan, our heroine is stereotyped for being a woman in a sexist society. It is believed that for a woman to bring true honor to her family she was supposed to be a model daughter who becomes a doting housewife. These assumed negative traits prevent women from straying from this lifestyle to pursue a different way, in Mulan’s case, the Chinese army. She states, “Children develop stereotypes about the differences between “man’s work” and “woman’s work”. Women have been historically excluded from “male occupations” and stereotypical expectations concerning “men’s work” and “women’s work” filter down. For example, the appropriate punishment for the crime that Mulan committed is DEATH. Women have no place in the army, no matter what the circumstance. Mulan’s own father feared going after her, because he knew that if he did she would for sure be killed for her actions.
Statements said to Mulan by her Father like : “Please help Mulan impress the match maker today”- when speaking to the ancestors, and “We are counting on you to uphold the family honor”, instill a thought of duty of being a housewife
The belief that women are sub-standard to men holds true throughout the whole movies, depicted through the character of the Emperors Counselor. When the counselor first comes to Fa Mulans town and Mulan tries to stop her father from taking the war script he says, “Silence! You should teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence.” When the army finds out that she is a woman after she becomes injured in a battle where she “saves the day” the counselman still has the inability to see her as a hero, rather, “Treacherous snake, high treason, ultimate dishonor”. Even at the end of movie, once Mulan has “saved the day”, his firm beliefs on the in-superiority of women holds true when he states, “Stand a side, that creatures not worth protecting. “She’s a hero.” She’s a woman’s he’ll never be worth anything!