Abstract
Princess Merida, the “tomboy” princess in Disney/Pixar’s Brave, won praise for escaping the strictures of femininity and maternal demands for feminine propriety. In addition to her overt defiance of gender roles and demand for agency, Merida also enacts hegemonic masculinity by mocking her suitors during an archery contest in which she is the prize. The ridicule is the prelude to her dramatic, winning bullseye that feminizes the men, in a scene rich in symbolism about gender and power. In enacting the final phase of the tomboy paradigm, however, Merida reverses her trajectory as her rebellion against femininity ebbs. She then resolves conflict by displaying vulnerability rather than performing brave deeds. This marked shift to a more traditional gender role raises questions about her stature as a model of autonomy able to withstand the pressure to conform.
Highlights
The influence of Disney productions in socializing children has prompted significant discourse about what their content teaches young viewers (Giroux 1999; Zipes 2015), especially with the advent of the Disney Plus network
Merida’s archetypal tomboy trajectory ends in her succumbing to what she had initially rejected. Her spirited independence seems to have been doomed when she followed the script of hegemonic masculinity, accentuated by her emasculating bullseye
She confirms the need for parental guidance, breaking the illusion of autonomy
Summary
The influence of Disney productions in socializing children has prompted significant discourse about what their content teaches young viewers (Giroux 1999; Zipes 2015), especially with the advent of the Disney Plus network. In discussions of Merida’s influence as part of the Disney princess collection, the importance of her prowess in archery has been largely overlooked, even though promotional material and products generally feature her with her bow and arrows (see for example (Hine et al 2018a), or Merida products such as t-shirts on Amazon.com). This attribute distinguishes her from other princesses whose identities are not linked to a sport. This article argues that her tomboy trajectory affirms rather than defies traditional gender roles that the film reputedly eschews
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