Core Response #3

In reading the Jeffords article about masculinity I began to think about the femininity that must mirror the masculine roles of the early 90s. In the example of Beauty and the Beast discussed at length in the article in order for the Beast to become human again he must be loved by a woman and learn to love her, but when examining Belle we aren't allowed much of a view into her character beyond the stereotypes of femininity, with the possible exception of her reading. She is kind, gentle, patient, in need of protection, but we aren't allowed to glimpse her flaws, unless her one flaw is reading books.

The article made me think about how femininity is an expectation in order to mirror masculinity, in order for the Beast to become what he truly is Belle must allow him to protect her and love her. While she teaches him about eating properly and dancing in matters of life and death she cannot protect herself. Belle is required to bend to the will of the Beast, he gives orders rather than making requests, such as at the beginning of the film where he tells her if she does not have dinner with him she will not eat at all. She is saved from a night without dinner by the kindly servants, the two who take charge both male.

What the article made me wonder is how does the ideal of femininity change to fit the ideal of masculinity? Obviously both ideals change, but do they change together, as one sex becomes weaker the other becomes stronger? My thoughts after reading the article tend to be that the ideal woman is always weak to some extent, while ideal men are given more flexibility in their roles. Women will never be idealized as protectors, and even when men are expected to express emotions they are also expected to protect women from evil.