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some info about the pop culture of the films background

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helpful insight of the topic being discussed in the film

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The first time I saw Disney's "Mulan," I was a 7-year-old, fifth-generation Asian American living in San Francisco, surrounded by people who looked like me. My Chinese American father had already told me the ancient legend of Hua Mulan, which Disney's film is (very) loosely based on, so it's safe to say I didn't feel the full effect of Disney's first Chinese "princess": When I saw "Mulan" in theaters, I didn't think, "Wow, finally!" I thought, "It's about time." Still, as the movie anchored itself firmly into the hearts of Asian Americans, I understood that "Mulan" and I were bound by blood. She was the VHS tape whose plastic spine I rarely cracked open, but that I always had as part of my collection. It was filial piety.

But nearly 20 years later, my perspective shifted: At a friend's birthday party in early 2017, I watched Disney's "Mulan" for the first time as a queer, nonbinary trans adult. In the darkened living room, I found myself holding back a sudden swell of tears as I listened to the lyrics of Mulan's iconic solo, "Reflection":
I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter Can it be I'm not meant to play this part? That if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart.
For the first time ever, I truly heard and understood the song's themes - of not living up to family expectations, of longing to be seen for who you truly are - and I related... hard. As an Asian American, yes, but also as a queer and trans person.

Disney's "Mulan" is, however unintentionally, a queer narrative that explores both gender identity and sexual orientation. It is not, as it is often simplistically described, a story about a disempowered woman who becomes empowered by masculinity. It is a story about a young person who doesn't fit the rigid constructs of womanhood or manhood, and who must instead carve her own path.

Mulan's gender journey over the course of the movie feels very familiar to me as a nonbinary trans person. First, in " Honor to Us All," the village women attempt to sculpt Mulan into an ideal woman - and more specifically, an ideal wife. It surprises some of my friends that this has always been my favorite scene in the movie, and that as a child, I longed to dress as Mulan in full bridal garb for Halloween. But this actually fits my experience navigating gender: I was a child who was excellent at embodying girlhood and wanted badly to become a beautiful, graceful, feminine woman... but it just wasn't in the cards for me. Mulan, too, fails the test of womanhood when her meeting with the Matchmaker goes horribly awry. As Mulan acknowledges this failure in "Reflection," she poses a question that most trans people know intimately: "When will my reflection show who I am inside?" And what exactly would that reflection be? If Mulan isn't a woman, then who (or what) is she?

When I was at Smith College and coming into my own gender revolution, I thought, "I'm pretty sure I'm not a cis woman, so maybe I'm a trans man." I started binding my chest and wearing Oxford collar shirts and sweater vests (it was New England, so I thought I looked cool). I kept a secret Tumblr blog under a male alter-ego named Levitt, for Joseph Gordon-Levitt - which is very embarrassing to admit now. At that birthday party, I saw this version of myself in Mulan, as she prepares to convince everyone she's a man - practicing her swagger, affecting her voice to a lower register, and scrambling to settle on a "boy name." In " I'll Make A Man Out of You," Mulan-as-Ping progressively works her way toward achieving manhood, which is defined by catching fish, carrying heavy things, and, of course, wielding a big stick. She later fails the test of manhood when she is revealed as a woman - or, rather, as someone who is not a man. Ultimately, Mulan is able to defeat the bad guys by playing on their misperceptions of her gender, and - in an unfortunately transmisogynistic scene - getting her friends to transgress gender, as well. Through a queer lens, the message of Disney's "Mulan" is something I learned as I came into my nonbinary identity: By rejecting society's limited ideals of "womanhood" and "manhood," you can become your most authentic self.

Then there's Li Shang, the handsome young general who falls for both Ping and Mulan, and who has been meme-ified as a bisexual icon. Between the women in the rice paddy blushing and giggling as Mulan-as-Ping passes by, and Ping and Shang's awkward flirtations, even the sexuality and romance in Disney's "Mulan" is queer.

Because of all this, and because I've come to read Disney's "Mulan" as a queer Asian American narrative, I feel apprehensive about the upcoming live action adaptation. With reports of major changes to the original - including a new villain, a new love interest, and no songs at all - it seems like the live action movie will be nothing less than a total departure from its animated original. This is a blow to anybody who loves the 1998 version, but especially to queer Asian Americans. Without Shang or the original soundtrack, there will likely be no bisexual love story or genderqueer introspection. Considering that 2015's "Cinderella" and 2017's "Beauty and the Beast," the only other live action Disney princess adaptations that have been released so far, both stay extremely faithful to the characters, songs, and even the shots of the animated originals, it feels particularly othering that Mulan - one of the only Disney "princesses" of color - is getting an extreme makeover.

I admit, I take this all a little personally: I submitted to audition for the role of Mulan in the live action film. And while I was not invited to audition, I was excited and hopeful that they would cast a tomboyish Asian American rising star who would bring honor to us all. When I found out the job had instead gone to Liu Yifei, a Chinese actress known for her "sweet and delicate image," and that the rest of the cast would be mostly Chinese nationals, as well, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. More and more, it seems like this live action adaptation will completely erase the queer Asian Americans who love the original so much.

As a kid, I watched Disney's "Mulan" and felt I didn't need it - but now, 20 years and several gender identities later, it is one of the precious few instances where I've seen myself represented. Queer Asian Americans are still waiting (I'm gonna say it) for our onscreen reflections to show who we are inside. But I'm hopeful: In the original film, when Mulan was in need of comfort, her father pointed out a closed bud on a flowering tree and said, "Look, this one is late. But I bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all." Hopefully, the wait is worth it.
Jes Tom (they/them) is an actor, writer, and weird queer comedy babe. For more opinions & narcissism, follow Jes on Twitter @jestom, and Instagram @jesthekid. Get Shondaland directly in your inbox: Subscribe Today

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The Groundbreaking Queerness of Disney's 'Mulan'

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The first time I saw Disney's "Mulan," I was a 7-year-old, fifth-generation Asian American living in San Francisco, surrounded by people who looked like me. My Chinese American father had already told me the ancient legend of Hua Mulan, which Disney's film is (very) loosely based on, so it's safe to say I didn't feel the full effect of Disney's first Chinese "princess": When I saw "Mulan" in theaters, I didn't think, "Wow, finally!"

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article has some good bits of info utilize it

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How 'Mulan' helped me accept my sexuality and gender

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Paul Tran is a proud Vietnamese-American queer writer who wrote this piece for espnW in honor of the 20th anniversary of Disney's "Mulan."

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How Disney’s “Mulan” Brazenly Challenges Gender and Sexuality | Features | Roger Ebert

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An essay on the subversive tendencies of Disney’s “Mulan.”

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might use some small bits of this article

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offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases or premieres, or occasionally our own inscrutable whims. Because it's 1998 Week here at The A.V. Club, we're looking back at some of the movies of that bygone year.

It's been 20 years since Mulan got down to business to defeat [gender norms with its tale of a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a male soldier to take her father's place in the battle against] the Huns. The Disney classic was widely lauded as a celebration of girl power that showed its heroine proving to an oppressive patriarchal society-and to herself-that she was far more than the demure, passive citizen her country demanded she be. It presented Mulan's failures as the result of sabotage by the men around her, and her victories as the product of her own discipline, strength, courage, and wit. It showed little girls they had more to aspire to than snow-white skin and marrying up. And it turned out a couple of bangers in the process. But in a new era with new representation standards, does the film still look like a trailblazing feminist blockbuster?

To its credit, Mulan avoids the all-too-common pitfall of a lead female character who's a sort of blank canvas on which men can project themselves. Instead, it outfits its heroine (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) with both stereotypically masculine and feminine traits: She's passionate, brave, and strong, but she also has a softer side, one that moves her to save her father's life while risking her own and to rescue a little girl from her male bullies. While she does have to (literally) disguise her femininity in order to get down to business, it's done as a mockery of the notion that women have to become like men to earn their respect. Through all of that, Mulan follows her instincts and never once loses sight of who she is, instead discovering who she can be when she isn't restricted by gender roles.

But while Mulan herself is a wonderful role model, there are some elements of the film that don't hold up today. With the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For," Mulan implies that while a woman must be "one of the guys" to earn respect from a man, she must dumb herself down to a submissive, gracious housewife type to be desired by one. During the number, the men swiftly brush off Mulan's suggestion that a smart, outspoken girl is also worthy of love, while the meek women working in the fields giggle at the gawking men, perpetuating and affirming the norm.

And that is precisely what the film's predominately white-male creative team ends up doing. Though Mulan has proven she's capable of greatness and worthy of high honor, she ultimately makes the decision to go back home to societal expectations, and to court a man who's only just (reluctantly) come around to her. Nothing changes for the women of China. In fact, the emperor (Pat Morita) makes a point of saying that Mulan is exceptional rather than that she's proof that something needs to change when he tells her love interest, Shang (voiced by B.D Wong, songs by Donny Osmond), to go after her: "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty." The implication arguably discourages young women watching the film from believing they can be like her, because they're told she's a rare specimen. The door closes behind Mulan just as soon as she's opened it, but the audience is too washed up in the thrill of seeing all of China bow to her to notice.

Mulan also perpetuates the status quo by surrounding its female lead with men who are sold as likable but who are actually blatantly misogynistic. The least apparent of these is Mushu (Eddie Murphy), a walking metaphor for fragile masculinity, given the number of cracks made about his size, his defensiveness regarding it, and his inflated ego. Mushu is presented as a parallel to Mulan, an outcast who has to lie to get his chance at greatness. But while he does seem to genuinely support Mulan, he also assumes credit for her success before she's even found it, turns the camp against her, and boasts personal victory when she saves the day all on her own. Plus, he's kind of a perv. When he first meets Mulan, he makes a skeevy joke about being able to see through her armor. And when she, scandalized and angered, slaps him, he threatens to curse her family, forcing her to submit and apologize to him, the man who harassed her, because he's in a position of power over her. Naturally, the two become friends.

Like most hegemonic works, Mulan just doesn't hold up to a lot of scrutiny: Its tiny flaws start to manifest themselves over time, becoming more and more apparent as the world moves forward. That said, it's still, in a lot of ways, more successful even than many #MeToo-era Hollywood entertainments, offering a strong female lead with a purpose, one that furthers the plot and contributes to a clear, critical stance on misogyny and gender roles, rather than simply acting as a hegemonic checkpoint designed to assuage liberal audience members. So maybe the time is right for a Mulan remake. Niki Caro's upcoming live-action version has the opportunity-and the responsibility-to update the story according to today's politics, to reshape the message in a way that better empowers young women to show the world what they can do.

Availability: Mulan is available to rent or purchase from the major digital providers. It can also be obtained on Blu-ray and DVD from Netflix, Amazon, or possibly your local video store/library.

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Mulan's gender politics haven't aged so gracefully

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offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases or premieres, or occasionally our own inscrutable whims. Because it's 1998 Week here at The A.V. Club, we're looking back at some of the movies of that bygone year.

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Might use this as well

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"Popular culture has often been a kind of carnival, a place where ordinary people set aside the usual rules and hierarchies and, in fits of liberating bad taste, rebel against (or temporarily take place of) their kings and bosses and masters"
The premise seems clear: a girl transforms into a boy so she can pose as a soldier to protect her ailing father from having to serve in the army, and saves her country. Clearly, the normal gender hierarchy and rules are upended in this story, right? Wrong. Disney's Mulan, which takes place in early China, does not fight back against Chinese gender norms, despite appearing to do so on the surface; instead, it supports stereotypes and traditional roles. This movie is praised for its progressiveness and promotion of female empowerment, but nothing in society fundamentally changes through its duration. Mulan is only able to achieve success after posing as a man, receiving a man's training, and becoming accepted by other men. Furthermore, after she saves China, she returns to her prescribed female lifestyle. Mulan demonstrates how seemingly progressive aspects of pop culture are deceivingly good at reinforcing norms and hierarchies.

In order to examine how Mulan reinforces society's rules, we must first examine the work of Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin would oppose the argument this essay will present; in Rabelais and His World, he describes pop culture as a "carnival" where people abandon the principles that usually guide their lives. He defines carnival as cultural events in which "the suspension of all hierarchical rank, privileges, norms, and prohibitions" (87) occurs. Further, he claims that during carnival "a second life, a second world of folk culture is thus constructed; it is to a certain extent a parody of the extracarnival life, a 'world inside out'" (88). Bakhtin claims that society's typical rules and structures flip during carnival, which allows people and groups to play different roles than they normally do. Since Bakhtin thinks of carnival as cultural, it follows that he believes pop culture embodies these principles.

If Bakhtin's argument were fully correct, we would find a complete shift in social norms and hierarchy in Mulan. Superficially, this does seem to be the movie's premise. Scholars such as Nandini Maity argue that she defies gender norms:

Although the film Mulan has a very strong undertone of a woman's obligation, the main character takes on traits that are stereotypically for men and breaks the traditional stereotypes. Mulan can do more than cook, clean and look beautiful. She takes a direct role in her attempts to enter the world of man as opposed to passively waiting to be saved.[1]

Yes, the idea that Mulan is able to pose as a man, become a skilled soldier, and lead other men in saving her country from the Huns does seem to be the ultimate feminist storyline, does it not? However, let us look at this movie more deeply and uncover how it reinforces the gender constraints it claims to destroy.

One of the hit musical numbers from Mulan is the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You". During this song, Mulan transforms from a helpless failure into a skilled solider. All of the army recruits receive a proper man's education under the guidance of General Li Shang, who is the epitome of masculinity - a strong, strategic, unemotional solider. This "man's education" entails learning archery, hand-to-hand combat, how to shoot rockets, etc. While Mulan has already physically transformed herself into a man, this song is the point where she begins to play a man's role.

This transformation shows how this song is counter to Bakhtin's argument that pop culture undermines existing social hierarchies. While Mulan develops male qualities and skills, nothing in society has actually changed - the women are still viewed as weak, and the men are viewed as dominant. In this song, General Shang even asks the weak soldiers "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?"[2] If Bakhtin were correct and the norms were completely flipped, wouldn't the quote be "did they send me sons when I asked for daughters?" Mulan herself participates in a type of "subcarnival" in which she as an individual temporarily defies gender roles, but the roles themselves are not rethought or remade - she is only able to move between them because she is in disguise. Scholars have in fact noted, "Mulan's heroics occur mostly during the half of the movie that she serves as a male soldier, and only with indispensable help from [other] male characters."[3] That she must be masculinized to become strong shows that Bakhtin is incorrect - nothing about culture has been fundamentally changed, and if Mulan had not been trained to be a man, she would not have been able to save the emperor and the Chinese people.

Another song that refutes Bakhtin's thesis is the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For". In this song, the soldiers march off to war while singing about finding a girl who makes the war worth fighting in. The various male characters list off traits they are searching for in a girl:

I want her paler than the moon with eyes that shine like stars
My girl will marvel at my strength, adore my battle scars
I couldn't care less what she'll wear or what she looks like
It all depends on what she cooks like.[4]

When asked what she's looking for in a girl, the undercover Mulan asks "how 'bout a girl who's got a brain/Who always speaks her mind"[5] to which the responses are all "no". This shows that the respect Mulan has earned is artificial. If she were to reveal her true identity, the other soldiers would automatically begin to treat her as a subordinate. This is proven true when the other soldiers find out that Mulan is a woman after she saves them all from an ambush by the Huns. She is immediately shunned even without though her strength and intellect everyone would be dead. Thus, contrary to what Bahktin would say, nothing has even temporarily changed in how men and women are viewed; all that has changed is how Mulan is viewed because she is pretending to be something she is not.

Another important aspect of Mulan to consider is that after accomplishing unthinkable feats, the title character returns home to her domestic, feminine life. After she saves the emperor, he offers her a job but "she tells [him] that she must turn down his offer to serve China as a high-level council member, presumably to fulfill her traditional domestic role that has been portrayed as full of sexist prescriptions like beauty norms."[6] Additionally, after Mulan declines his offer, the emperor gives her a sword, which she immediately bestows on her father upon her return home. This demonstrates how everything that this "feminist icon" does throughout the movie is for a man. What about this is defying gender norms? This reminds the audience that she is nothing more than "a temporary impostor in the male world"[7] and nothing about women's role in society has changed even temporarily. Further, the movie concludes with her marrying a man and settling into the domestic life she was struggling to fit into in the first place. In fact, the entire journey she goes through actually eases her transition into domestic life - at the beginning of the movie, she is denied a match by the matchmaker because she is not an ideal wife with feminine qualities, but at the end, she is ready to settle into her wifely routine. This sends the message that if you let rebellious young girls have their fun for a bit, they will eventually settle into their preordained roles.

In thinking of how Mulan rejects Bahktin's ideas, one quote from the movie stuck with me. At the end, after Mulan saves China and leaves for home, the emperor turns to General Shang and says, "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty."[8] This is central to what I have been arguing - the idea that Mulan's heroics are so far outside of the norm for females proves that nothing in society has fundamentally changed during this movie. Even though Mulan saved all of China, she is only held in comparison to other girls, not other skilled soldiers. In addition, her identity is reduced to her prospects as a romantic partner. Why must she end up with any man at the end of the movie? Why, after earning the respect of all of her fellow citizens, is the conclusion of this movie that she is an above-ideal potential spouse? This is not flipping society upside-down as Bahktin would expect; this is showing that no matter what Mulan has accomplished, the standards by which she will be evaluated are still restricted. No wonder she falls back into a life of domesticity - if this is how others think of her after she saves all of China, how could she ever truly have a chance to escape the norms that entrap her?

While I have shown that Mulan reinforces gender roles and norms within its universe, these also extend beyond the movie and into our world. Mulan, along with The Princess and the Frog and Moana, is considered to be one of the most female-empowering Disney movies; all three of these films focus on strong female figures.

However, Mulan and The Princess and the Frog brought in significantly lower incomes than other Disney princess movies of the time.[9] While Mulan made a relatively strong income in theaters - "$121 million gross domestic total, all-time domestic rank: 446, and much greater foreign box office receipts of $184 million"[10] - the movie made significantly lower revenue in merchandise than other Disney princess movies. Further, The Princess and the Frog did not see major box office success, bringing in $104 million. This is less revenue than Mulan even including inflation occurring because of the more than decade-long gap between these two movies' release dates.[11] The subsequent Disney movies that were released brought in significantly more - Tangled made $201 million domestically and Frozen made $401 million domestically.[12]

The implications of this are startlingly clear: even though a deeper analysis has revealed that Mulan is not actually a feminist movie, the idea that it appears to be so on the surface correlates to lower popularity. Having a seemingly strong female character makes people less interested in the film, and thus reinforces the norms that the movie seems to defy. Furthermore, we have already discovered that this movie does not actually flip these norms internally, but reinforces them. Thus, if the movie perpetrates gender standards and hierarchies internally and contributes to them externally, there is no way that Bakhtin's argument could possibly be correct. Until the day comes where a male character dresses up as a woman to defend his country, the gender roles that Mulan demonstrates will persist.

Bibliography

Barber, McKenzie. (2015: Nov 24). "Disney's Female Gender Roles: The Change of Modern Culture." Indiana State University. Retrieved from http://scholars.indstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10484/12132/Barber_McKenzie_2015_HT.pdf?se

Cook, Barry & Tony Bancroft. Mulan. (United States: Walt Disney Pictures, 1998).

Duncombe, Stephen. Cultural Resistance Reader. (London & New York: Verso Books, 2002). Chapter 3. Contains excerpts from Bakhtin, Mikhail. Rabelais and His World. 1965.

Dundes, Lauren & Madeline Streiff. "Reel Royal Diversity? The Glass Ceiling in Disney's Mulan and Princess and the Frog." (California: Hastings College of the Law, University of California, Dec 17, 2016).

English 117: Introduction to Cultural Theory. (Williamstown, MA: Williams College, Fall 2017).

Maity, Nandini. (2014, Oct). "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Retreived from https://people.ucsc.edu/~cjgoldma/E0191032831.pdf

Youngs, Gillian. (1999). "The Ghost of Snow White." International Feminist Journal of Politics. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/146167499359970

[1] Nandini Maity. (2014, Oct). "Damsels in Distress: A Textual Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films." IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Retreived from https://people.ucsc.edu/~cjgoldma/E0191032831.pdf. Page 30

[2] Barry Cook & Tony Bancroft. Mulan. (United States: Walt Disney Pictures, 1998).

[3] Dundes, Lauren Dundes & Madeline Streiff. "Reel Royal Diversity? The Glass Ceiling in Disney's Mulan and Princess and the Frog." (California: Hastings College of the Law, University of California, Dec 17, 2016). Page 1.

[4] Barry Cook & Tony Bancroft. Mulan. (United States: Walt Disney Pictures, 1998).

[6] Dundes, Lauren Dundes & Madeline Streiff. "Reel Royal Diversity? The Glass Ceiling in Disney's Mulan and Princess and the Frog." (California: Hastings College of the Law, University of California, Dec 17, 2016). Page 4.

[7] Gillian Youngs. (1999). "The Ghost of Snow White." International Feminist Journal of Politics. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/146167499359970. Page 312

[8] Barry Cook & Tony Bancroft. Mulan. (United States: Walt Disney Pictures, 1998).

[9] Dundes, Lauren Dundes & Madeline Streiff. "Reel Royal Diversity? The Glass Ceiling in Disney's Mulan and Princess and the Frog." (California: Hastings College of the Law, University of California, Dec 17, 2016). Page 2.

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"I'll Make a Man Out of You": Carnival and Gender Roles in Disney's Mulan

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"Popular culture has often been a kind of carnival, a place where ordinary people set aside the usual rules and hierarchies and, in fits of liberating bad taste, rebel against (or temporarily take place of) their kings and bosses and masters" The premise seems clear: a girl transforms into a boy so she can pose as a soldier to protect her ailing father from having to serve in the army, and saves her country.

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might use this

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Why Patriarchal Masculinity is Problematic...

We are taught from a very young age that there is a difference between masculinity and femininity. Baby boys are dressed in blue, and baby girls are dressed in pink. As the children continue to grow older we see that boys are told to like sports - such as baseball/football/soccer/basketball, but not dance/cheer - play with race cars, and not to like the color pink because it is "gay", etc. Boys are taught not to like girl things because that is not what being a man is about. When analyzing patriarchal masculinity on a deeper level, I see how the enforcement of the masculinity role can be detrimental to both men and women. When reading Joane Nagel's "Masculinity and Nationalism: Gender and Sexuality in the Making of Nations" the reader is informed that the meaning of manhood has been presented in a negative aspect in terms of "what men are not". Nagel talked about how the definition of masculinity has been defined as: "being a man is not being a woman, and no man would ever want to be a woman" and "being a (white) man is not being a 'Jew', or an 'Asian', or an 'Indian' or a 'black'". By enforcing this negative meaning of what it means to be a white masculine man, it can be detrimental to men who do not associate themselves as masculine and women. While women are expected to fulfill certain gender roles, it has been proven over time that women can do things that men do and succeed beyond their gender roles to demonstrate that women should not be confined to feminine responsibilities. Women can break gender roles. In this article I will take the overlapping ideas from Joane Nagel and Angela Davis to write about how Disney took a real life story and made it into an animated film where a woman defies one of the ultimate gender roles, and I will also talk about how patriarchal masculinity can create social consequences.

Breaking Gender Roles

Mulan is a Disney animated movie that takes place during the Han Dynasty where the Emperor asks one man from each family to join the Chinese army after they have been invaded by the Huns. The problem Mulan had about the Emperor's request was that their was only one man in her family - her elderly father who was sick; as a result, Mulan disguised herself as a man by chopping off her hair and taking her father's sword and armor in order to take his place in the army. I also want to point out that at the beginning of the movie, Mulan met with the village matchmaker to see who she would be a suitable wife for. The movie demonstrated how women were expected to prepared for marriage because their role was to be a wife who would maintain the house. The only honor that the women could bring to their families was by becoming a wife who was calm, obedient, working fast paced, and having a tiny waist. However, Mulan's tomboyish-klutz personality lead to the meeting with the matchmaker to be a disaster where the matchmaker ultimately tells Mulan she is a disgrace and that she will never bring honor to her family. Mulan experienced an internal conflict because she felt that she could no longer bring honor to her family after the matchmaker scolder her, but she did what no other woman had done before by joining the army while keeping her identity a secret. It is important to remember that this movie is based on a real folktale because people can argue that this is fiction, but it is not just a fictional story. In order to prove my point I want to tie in Nagel's article where she mentioned how the construction of manhood included that only "men go to war" to defend "their freedom, their honour, their homeland and their women". Patriarchal masculinity told women that they can not do any of that. Women were the ones who stayed at home because that was the place they were expected to defend. Mulan did the complete opposite of what was expected of her. Mulan broke gender roles because she proved that women can be tough and endure the pain and sacrifice men did when going to war. She challenged the idea about what makes a man. Mulan not only fought for her father, but she also fought for herself because she wanted to proved that she was more than just a housewife. Mulan wanted to be a warrior who fought for her homeland, her family, and herself. In the end, Mulan and the Chinese army defeated the Huns and she was told by the Emperor that she has brought the greatest honor to her family. The movie proves that men are not the only ones capable of war and that women (and men) should not conform to gender roles because each individual is capable of doing things that are both "masculine" and "feminine".

Consequences of Patriarchal Masculinity - Broken Into 2 Parts

In the previous section I wrote about how Mulan was being prepped as a bride for a potential suitor, and that concept goes to show how women were expected to fulfill certain gender roles. Being a housewife was one of those expectations. In this next section I want to talk about two specific problems that have been created by patriarchal masculinity: (1) women have been confined to housewife roles because some men believe that a woman's place is in the house, and (2) the harsh realities gay men face because they are not perceived as masculine. Patriarchal masculinity restricts women from being anything other than feminine in the sense that women will always be below men;on the other hand, men who do not relate to this cruel gender role are attacked (both physically and mentally) by the masculine men. The separation between masculinity and femininity has created gender roles for both men and women, and one of the roles I want to talk about that women have been expected to live up to is being a housewife. In "Women, Race and Class: The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A Working-Class Perspective", Angela Davis talked about what it means to be a housewife and how this role can viewed as "domestic slavery".

In Angela Davis' article "Women, Race and Class: The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A Working-Class Perspective" she talked about what it means to be a housewife and how this role can viewed as "domestic slavery". Davis addressed the endless chores that women have to do which includes cooking, cleaning, washing, doing laundry, and taking care of the children. While Davis does not specifically talk about why being a housewife is a consequence, I found her idea to overlap with Nagel's idea because Nagel talked about how femininity differed from masculinity because women are given traditional roles of "supporting their husbands" and "raising their children" which ultimately are ideals that housewives must uphold. In addition, Nagel's and Davis' ideas overlap when Davis mentioned how housewives' work is "virtually invisible: 'no one notices it until it isn't done'". I came across this online article and it talked about television shows from the 1950s, such as I Love Lucy and Father Knows Best, and how those shows demonstrated strict gender roles of the "rule-making middle-class father" and the "doting housewife who was thrilled to wake up every single day and clean the house and cook all of the meals". Shows that enforced strict gender roles influenced boys because they saw how "real men" were supposed to act, and the shows also depicted women as the subordinate. The differences between men and women in these shows captured the culture of the 1950's, and part of this culture never taught men/boys that being feminine was acceptable. The men made the rules, and the women had to follow those rules because if they disobeyed their would be consequences. The enforcement of these gender roles is problematic for women because it can lead to violence because "violence against women is directly connected to hyper-masculine socialization". Men who feel they are not living up to the role of masculinity can lead them to find an escape through the pleasures created by alcohol; as a result, alcoholic husbands have taken out their aggression on their wives because it allows them to feel dominant - and after all, being dominant is a characteristic of patriarchal masculinity.

Women are not the only ones who experience the consequences of patriarchal masculinity, so does the LGBT community members such as gay men/boys. For example, a 13 year-old gay teen from Australia named Tyrone Unsworth committed suicide after enduring many years of bullying. One of Unsworth's friends, Gypsie Kennard, talked about how Tyrone mentioned to her how the bullies at school kept telling Tyler to go kill himself. Gypsie also mentioned how Tyrone "loved girly things, he's chosen dresses for [Gypsie] and his mum to wear, he's asked to use make-up". I find the previous statement of things Tyrone enjoyed to do to be evidence of what patriarchal masculinity is not. Masculinity has cynically defined that "being a man is not acting 'feminine' and/or not being a homosexual". The enforcement of masculine gender roles amongst men is detrimental to the gay community because straight (masculine) men see gays as targets who do not live up to what it means to be a man. Patriarchal masculinity is a threat to the LBGT community because Tyler is not the only one who has committed suicide, there are many others who have committed suicide or are bullied, killed, endure depression, and face many other physical and mental problems.

Stopping Gender Roles

The idea of masculinity needs to be redefined because it teaches women that they should limited in what they do and shows non-masculine men that they are weak. Women can be strong and providing for their families, and men are allowed to be emotional and not feel ashamed for it. On another note, while patriarchal masculinity has been enforced for many years, this has not stopped women from breaking free of what is expected of them. Women have proven to be more than just housewives because there are many women today who are successful in the medical field, as lawyers, educators, engineers, politicians and war veterans. The most recent gender role that I saw broken was when Hillary Clinton was nominated as the Democratic nominee in the recent election. Even though Clinton sadly lost, she broke one of the highest glass ceilings in history as she was the first woman nominee for President of the United States - a position that has only been held by men. Clinton is one of the many examples of how women are capable of achieving more than what is little expected of them by the ideology of patriarchal masculinity.

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Mulan is One of The Many Women That Has Proven That Women Should Not Conform to Gender Roles

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Why Patriarchal Masculinity is Problematic... We are taught from a very young age that there is a difference between masculinity and femininity. Baby boys are dressed in blue, and baby girls are dressed in pink.

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ill use a bit of this information for my research paper not sure yet

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I might use this but im not entirely sure

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By SARAH TAN

Exploring lessons from yet another fictional character, today we travel back in time to ancient China to look at one of Disney's well known and well-loved animated characters Fa (or Hua) Mulan.

Inspired by a real legendary figure, Hua Mulan, people believe that the origins of this story are from a poem written about her, titled The Ballad of Mulan.

In this movie, Mulan takes her father's place in war, as she fears his age and fragile health will be greatly disadvantageous to him.

Accompanied by her trusty horse named Khan, a little dragon named Mushu, and a lucky cricket named Cri Kee, she sets out to war as her male alter ego Ping.

Mulan is someone with a great love for her country, she has filial piety, and a determined spirit - despite her headstrong and stubborn characteristics - and there are many things that we can learn from her.

Here are a few (warning spoilers ahead):

1. Don't ever let limitations stop you

Mulan: No one will listen to me

Mushu: Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?

Mulan: Mushu!

Mushu: Hey, you're a girl, again.Remember?

Fa Zhou: I am ready to serve the emperor

Mulan: Father! You can't go!

Fa Zhou: Mulan!

Mulan: (to the recruiter) Please, sir. My father has already fought for...

Chi Fu: Silence! (to Fa Zhou) You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence.

Despite living in a time when it was generally believed that women should be seen and not heard, Mulan didn't allow such gender inequalities and social pressures to stop her from doing what she believed to be right - fighting for her family.

Likewise, there may be many obstacles out there to stop us from doing what we believe in.

However (given that they are ethical and moral), we should be like Mulan and first believe in ourselves. Once we do, no external limitations can stop us.

2. Bravery opens doors of opportunities

In the famous scene of her transformation, Mulan is shown cutting her hair and putting on her father's armour before going to war.

While some people may depict Mulan as somebody who is eager to go out and fight, this may not be necessarily true at the outset.

Personally, this part of the movie showed me how a brave young woman took on a great task that could potentially have cost her her life, out of love for her father.

Mulan's act of bravery not only leads her to meet the man of her dreams and firm friends, but it plays a crucial role in saving China and bringing honour to the Fa family.

In life, sometimes all we need is the bravery to step up and act on things that we believe in, and maybe the doors of opportunity that have been closed will even open to us.

3. Persevere through tough times and never give up

In yet another famous scene in the movie, Shang challenges his soldiers to climb up a tall wooden pole to retrieve an arrow that he shot to the top.
This might interest you: The Math In Perseverance - More Than Just Working Hard
(Shang hangs two bronze disks on Yao's wrists)

Shang: This (pulls one disk up) - represents discipline... and this (pulls another disk up) ...represents strength. You need both to reach the arrow.

While everyone rose to the challenge, not everyone had the determination to see it through.

After a long day of training, all the trainee soldiers gave up and returned to their tents, with Shang telling Mulan to return home.

However, determined to accomplish the task, she stayed up all night to climb the pole, and eventually reached the top to retrieve the arrow.

All of us will face challenges in our lives - be it in the workplace, or in our own homes.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember: don't let them get the better of us; don't give up.

4. Be creative and think out of the box

(Mulan uses the last rocket, then points it at the mountain behind Shan Yu)

Mushu: (from on top of the rocket as it soars away) You missed! How could you miss? He was three feet from you!

(The rocket hits the mountain and causes an avalanche)
This might interest you: Raise Your Game: Creative Leadership In Challenging Times
In the battle scene at a mountain, the Hun army attacked Mulan and her troop. With only one rocket left as their means of attack, Yao gets prepared to fire it at Shan Yu who is leading his army.

However, Mulan innovatively handles this crisis by grabbing the rocket and firing it at a nearby mountain instead, causing an avalanche that buried the Hun army.

Likewise, we shouldn't allow our limitations to dictate what we can or cannot do. In certain situations, a little optimism and creative thinking can go a long way!

Mulan is one of Sarah's favourite Disney heroes. Share your thoughts with her at editor@leaderonomics.com. For more Movie Wisdom articles, click .

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Self-Reflection: 4 Life Lessons From Mulan

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By SARAH TAN Exploring lessons from yet another fictional character, today we travel back in time to ancient China to look at one of Disney's well known and well-loved animated characters Fa (or Hua) Mulan. Inspired by a real legendary figure, Hua Mulan, people believe that the origins of this story are from a poem written about her, titled The Ballad of Mulan.

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Ill use a bit of this for my paper

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I have an unhealthy Disney obsession. My entire room is filled with Disney memorabilia, plushies, pins and paintings that I've made. My wardrobe consists of several Minnie Mouse ears, Disney inspired bows, Disney Shirts and even Disney purses...hell, I even have a Disney tissue box! Why do I love Disney so much? Because it makes me happy. Simple as that. Because of what was "started with a mouse" is a constant reminder to remain positive and to "just keep swimming" and take "Hakuna Matata" to heart.

There's a particular movie (and especially the heroine) that calls out to me. It also happens to be my all time favorite movie: "Mulan".

Mulan is not only a total bad-ass (who saved all of China may I add), but she's the perfect example of a true feminist. She's a person who believes in equality for all, and always stays true to her beliefs ("My Duty is to my heart").

The Movie "Mulan", since its debut in 1998, has encouraged little boys and little girls (and us adults) that nothing is impossible and that our gender should never stop us from achieving our dreams and attaining success. There is a multitude of life lessons that we can recount from "Mulan" and some of the following are my favorite:

1. Accept Others

Whether it's to a grouchy little man with a Napoleon complex (Yao), or a quirky, spunky grandmother (Grandmother Fa) Mulan displays countless acts of affection and acceptance towards everyone she encounters. She is kind yet does not allow anyone to belittle her.

2. Family is Important

Mulan literally risked her life and snuck into the army disguised as a man in order to save her father's life. She knew that the penalty for her "crime" could have been punishable by death, but she did so anyway. Her undying devotion and courage towards her father and his well being is inspiring and memorable.

3. You are stronger than what you give yourself credit for

It's corny but undeniably true: strength manages to find itself even in the darkest and toughest of times. When Mulan was just about ready to give up, she found herself saving the life of the general and becoming the most skilled warrior in her camp. She shows us that determination and perseverance is key to success.

4. Always follow your heart

Nothing is more honest and raw than following your heart. (Again, corny, but true!) Only YOU know your deepest desires and Mulan teaches us to stop and think "Hey, who/what's stopping me?" YOU are in charge of your own destiny and you owe it to yourself and your heart to be happy.

5. What are gender roles?

Who said women can't kick ass? Who said that a man can't rock a dress and lipstick? Who said that a miniature talking dragon can't make a healthy breakfast!? Whether you're a male or female, Mulan teaches us to look beyond the superficiality of what we look like or what our sexual organs are, and reminds us that gender roles are nothing but obtuse "rules" made up by society.

Mulan, besides having a fabulous soundtrack, attests to some of my deepest beliefs: the belief that we are all equal and should be treated as such. That we are capable of anything and nobody deserves to ever tell us no.

We are "a [person] worth fighting for!"

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I have an unhealthy Disney obsession. My entire room is filled with Disney memorabilia, plushies, pins and paintings that I've made. My wardrobe consists of several Minnie Mouse ears, Disney inspired bows, Disney Shirts and even Disney purses...hell, I even have a Disney tissue box! Why do I love Disney so much?

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im not to sure if i want to use this, but ill add it on here

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this had some helpful insight on gender and sexuality.

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How 'Mulan' helped me accept my sexuality and gender l GMA Digital

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wanted to see the other perspectives, form other sources.

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I not to sure if ill be using this video. But I wanted to make see the reaction people from china had on the new film coming soon.

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The Chinese React To Disney’s Mulan Trailer | ASIAN BOSS

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I thought that this would provide me some insight on gender roles, this film provided for its audiences.