The Construction of Gender in The Little Mermaid

The Construction of Gender in The Little Mermaid

When watching John Musker and Ron Clements’ The Little Mermaid (1989) I was shocked at the lengths the heroine Ariel went to be with the hero Eric.  She abandoned her family and her voice to pursue the first human she saw.  This made me wonder what message this was sending to children, and encouraged my analysis of the portrayal of gender in The Little Mermaid.  Gender roles are taught to children in The Little Mermaid through the masculine Eric, the beautiful Ariel, and the over feminine Ursula.

In The Little Mermaid, although the story is told through Ariel, we typically see her through a male’s perspective.  Throughout the film, King Triton and Sebastian watch Ariel, but Eric’s spectatorship is the most important.  Eric’s gaze turns Ariel into an object to be looked at.  According to Laura Mulvey’s article, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” the male gaze makes the subject of the gaze an object:

The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is stylized accordingly.  In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.  (Mulvey, 719)

An example of this in The Little Mermaid is in the middle of the film when Ariel is staying in Eric’s castle.  Before dinner, Ariel is presented to Eric in a beautiful dress.  An over the shoulder shot is used to exemplify Eric’s gaze upon Ariel (See image 1).  The camera cuts then between a shot of Eric’s staring eyes and a close-up of Ariel, suggesting once again that he is looking at her.  Ariel accepts this gaze turning her into an object.  This scene is a prime example of the male gaze in The Little Mermaid because Ariel is being displayed as a passive object, portraying a “to-be-looked-at-ness,” while Eric actively gazes at her.  The display of Ariel and gaze of Eric teaches young males how to view women.  It teaches them that women are objects that are meant to be looked at for their own pleasure.  

The male gaze in the song “Kiss the Girl” also has the ability to teach young boys how to treat women.  In the scene where “Kiss the Girl” is showcased, once again we see Ariel through a man’s eyes.  The camera always shows us how Ariel looks from Eric’s point of view.  Because this is shown through Eric’s point of view, we know that he is in power.  This emphasizes how much power is in the male’s hands, because this story is told through Ariel’s point of view, yet the male is able to take over the point of view of the film.  Through the exchange of the active/male gaze and the passive/female, and through part of the lyrics, we understand that Eric is in power.  The lyrics say, “[y]es, you want her/Look at her, you know you do/It’s possible she wants you, too/There is one way to ask her /It don’t take a word/Not a single word/Go on and kiss the girl” (Little Mermaid, 1989).  This song says that Eric, the male, has to take the initiative and kiss the female.  Ariel wants to kiss Eric, yet it is not expected of her to make a move or kiss him first.  All the pressure is put on Eric, teaching young males that they are responsible for making the first move.  This directly relates to the male gaze because it encourages men to be active and women to be passive.  Through the male gaze and lyrics, this film reinforces the masculine ideal that men are in power over women.

Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze leads to the idea that there are three gazes.  One of the male character, one of the director through the camera, and one through the audience watching the film.  In this case, the directors of the film hold hold their male gaze on Ariel and turn her into an object to be looked at.  As the directors, Ron Clements and John Musker choose how Ariel is depicted, and they choose to show her suggestively.  It is no surprise that Ariel is wearing only a bikini because of her mermaid lifestyle, but throughout the film she is shown as an object on display.  The most prominent example of this is after Ariel saves Eric from drowning.  A midshot shows Ariel on a rock being displayed (See image 2).  The most climactic part of the song happens when a wave of water erupts behind her.  It could be argued that this scene is epic cinematographically, but this scene is also very suggestive.  It can be seen as a male climaxing during intercourse along with Ariel.  This is in the film to attract male viewers.  These viewers are the third holder of the gaze, first held by the directors.  The viewers look at Ariel in this scene as an object to be looked at.  This film’s portrayal of Ariel encourages the male gaze, and women to be seen and behave as objects meant for men to oggle.

On the other side of the gaze, The Little Mermaid teaches gender ideals to young females through the heroine Ariel.  In John Berger’s article “Ways of Seeing,” Berger argues that a woman is split in two.  He says a woman is both the surveyed and the surveyor:

She has to survey everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.  Her own sense of being in herself is supplanted by a sense of being appreciated as herself by another. (Berger, 122) 

With this, the woman has to be the surveyor, to make sure people are noticing appreciating her by being surveyed herself.  An example of this in The Little Mermaid is when Ariel is having dinner with Eric.  Immediately when Ariel sees a fork, or a “dinglehopper,” she immediately starts combing her hair with it.  To her knowledge, that is what this tool is used for.  She combs her hair confidently.  The camera cuts to a confused Eric, surveying her actions.  The camera then cuts to an also confused Grimsby.  Upon surveying these men’s reactions, Ariel quickly changes her behavior to match their expectations.  She fits the role of the surveyor/surveyed because she surveys the men’s reactions to become how she thinks she should be surveyed.  Instead of using the information taught to her about “dinglehoppers,” she instead is influenced by the men’s reactions to her.  This shows children that women are supposed to be the subject of the male gaze and should meet their expectations.  This shows girls that they cannot be accepted if they do not meet male expectations.

The Little Mermaid teaches young girls that they are meant to be looked at by men.  In Karin Martin and Emily Kazyak’s article “Hetero-Romantic Love and Heterosexiness in Children’s G-Rated Films,” it is discussed that women use their bodies to capture men’s attention.  They say, “[i]mportantly, in all cases, sexiness is depicted as something women possess and use for getting male’s attention” (Kazyak and Martin, 161). The most prominent example of this is in the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” performed by Ursula.  In this scene, Ursula persuades Ariel to give up her voice in exchange for a human body.  Ursula reminds Ariel the “importance of body language.”  She suggests that Ariel can win Eric’s heart without the use of her voice, which would express her personality and her ideas, by using her sexualized body to win Eric over.  The lyrics of the “Poor Unfortunate Souls” emphasize this idea:

The men up there don't like a lot of blabber/They think a girl who gossips is a bore!/Yet on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word/And after all dear, what is idle babble for?/Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation/True gentlemen avoid it when they can/But they dote and swoon and fawn/On a lady who's withdrawn/It's she who holds her tongue who gets a man. (Little Mermaid, 1989)

Clearly this emphasizes the idea that a woman’s body is much more important than her mind.  A man is not interested in a woman’s personality, but only her body.  This emphasizes body image and silence upon young girls, making them once again the passive object of the male gaze.  If a girl wants to be accepted by a man, she must be silent and beautiful.

Beauty among young girls is also emphasized through the fairy tale structure of The Little Mermaid.  In The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, the youngest mermaid Ariel’s beauty is emphasized.  Andersen says, “[t]hey were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail” (Andersen).  Even in a children’s story, beauty is emphasized, reinforcing the idea that beauty is important and an attribute of a good person.  In Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Grauerholz’s article “The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales,” this idea is exemplified.  They say, “[m]ore detailed examination of physical beauty/handsomeness by gender and age reveals some interesting patterns...[W]omen’s beauty is highlighted more than men’s attractiveness and that beauty plays a more dominant role for younger women than for older ones” (Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz, 187).  Clearly it would seem that women’s beauty is far more important than men’s beauty.  This description is usually placed upon the female heroine.  In The Little Mermaid Ariel is a beautiful heroine.  The same goes for other films and fairy tales like Snow White and Cinderella.  Clearly beauty is associated with goodness.  Children accept the idea that beauty relates to goodness, and this is exemplified through the over feminine villain Ursula.

The Sea Queen Ursula is the villain in The Little Mermaid, and her villainy is formed through her confidence and exaggerated beauty.  Before Ursula’s musical number, she speaks with Ariel.  Ursula looks at herself in the mirror, applying bright lipstick and tells Ariel what she wants.  In this scene Ursula is confident in her actions and conversation, making her intimidating.  Her makeup is exaggerated, making rather scary.  This tells children that confident overly feminine women are evil or bad.  This once again reinforces the quiet passive heroine role. Merideth Li-Vollmer and Mark E. LaPointe’s article “Gender Transgression and Villainy in Animated Film” explains Ursula’s overly feminine qualities:

Ursula, the evil sea queen in The Little Mermaid was modeled after the drag queen Divine, according to the movie’s directing animator.  Ursula’s over-the-top musical number, in which she teaches Ariel how to behave and seduce like a human woman, functions, according to Sells, as a camp drag show.  Although she is outwardly labeled as female, the excesses of her femininity combined with her masculine aggression give her the nuances of gender transgression and reinforce her deviant nature. (95)

An example in The Little Mermaid where Ursula’s confidence and over feminine qualities become sexually confident is when King Triton learns of Ariels deal with the Sea Queen.  When confronted by Triton, Ursula confidently talks to him, gently stroking his trident (See image 3).  The trident is a phallic symbol, and with Ursula’s touch, she is displaying her confidence in her sexuality.  She exudes her power over Triton’s trident with this touch.  Clearly Ursula’s confidence and feminine qualities are seen as over the top, making her a villain.

John Musker and Ron Clements’ The Littler Mermaid constructs gender roles.  Masculinity is portrayed through Prince Eric and the use of the male gaze.  It shows children that men should actively gaze at females.  Femininity is portrayed through the heroine Ariel, telling children that women are meant to be passive subjects of the male gaze, and their bodies should be used to get a man’s attention, not their voice.  A negative portrayal of femininity is portrayed through the Sea Queen Ursula.  She is confident and over feminine, challenging and overpowering the male sex, making her a villain.  The Little Mermaid reinforces gender stereotypes that follow the dominant ideology typically seen in Disney films.

Image 1 (Still taken from The Little Mermaid)

Image 2 (Still taken from The Little Mermaid)

Image 3 (Still taken from The Little Mermaid)

Works Cited

Andersen, Hans. "The Little Mermaid." 13, Dec 2007. Web. 6 Aug 2012. <http://

hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html>.

Baker-Sperry, Lori, and Liz Grauerholz. "The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine 

Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales." The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, 

and Possibilities. Ed. Joan Z. Spade and Ed. Catherine G. Valentine. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: 

Sage, 187. Print.

Berger, John. "Ways of Seeing." Critical Visions in Film Theory. Ed. Timothy Corrigan, Ed. Patricia White and Ed. Meta Mazaj. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 122-124. Print.

Clements, Ron and John Musker, dir. The Little Mermaid. Walt Disney Pictures, 1989. Film. 6 Aug 2012.

Kazyak, Emily, and Karin A Martin. "Hetero-Romantic Love and Heterosexiness in Children’s G-Rated Films." Feminist Frontiers. Ed. Verta Taylor, Ed. Nancy Whittier and Ed. Leila

Rupp. 9th ed McGraw Hill, 161. Print.

Li-Vollmer, Meredith and LaPointe, Mark E.(2003) “Gender Transgression and Villainy in Animated Film”, Popular Communication, 1: 2, 95. Print. 

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Critical Visions in Film Theory. Ed. Timothy Corrigan, Ed. Patricia White and Ed. Meta Mazaj. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's,  2011. 716-720. Print.