A Girl Worth Fighting For: A Critique of Freedom and Domination in Queering Disney’s Mulan

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies Interactive Paper Session

Abstract

Disney, a company internationally renowned for its family friendly programming, recently revealed that its Disney Princess character Mulan was bisexual on its prime time television program, Once Upon A Time. This paper critiques this queering’s dimensions of freedom and domination through the lens of critical rhetoric. In terms of freedom, Mulan’s queering represents a progressive step forward for Disney, as the company previously had no LGBT characters. The choice of Mulan is also examined in its dimensions of domination. Disney’s choice of the most masculine princess as a bisexual reinforces harmful stereotypes about LGBT women, while its choice to only permit a LGBT character on a program aimed at adults neglects its role as a moral educator of children. A suggestion of the creation of an original animated lesbian or bisexual princess is offered as a means of overcoming the oppressive nature of Mulan’s queering.

Author

• Adam Matthew Key, Tennessee State University