Wait, what?
Jul. 1st, 2012 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bobcatmoranThere's apparently this really weird thing going on where some people are getting their panties in a twist over the idea that Merida, the heroine of Brave, is a lesbian.
Okay, first of all, which movie did they see? Because it was clearly a different movie than I saw. The movie I saw was, if anything a coming-of-age story with a female protagonist. Merida is very much a teenager, moreso than any Disney heroine save perhaps Ariel (I feel safe saying this since I watched ALL the Disney animated movie canon last year. All of it. Even the ones that are obscure for good reasons like Saludos Amigos). She's rebelling against her parents — specifically her mother — and a good deal of the film's conflict is driven by how her mother wants her to be one thing and Merida wants to be something quite different.
True, Merida rejects her suitors and ends the movie still single, but I don't think that's because she's a lesbian. Yes, that is one of the main arguments that's being used. Instead, I think a good part of it is just because Merida is not ready, emotionally or otherwise, to settle down. And the scene where she settles the suitor-based conflict is definitely not her saying, "I don't want to marry any man, ever," it's a way of demonstrating how she's grown in wisdom and maturity, by coming up with a solution to a problem that could've had dire consequences. Also, note that she basically says, "I'm gonna marry one of you, just on my own terms."
As for the arguments that since she's more interested in archery and horseback riding than dresses and embroidery means that she's a lesbian (again, yes, this is a REAL ARGUMENT that people are using), all I can say is, "What?" I mean, all that does is slot her into a different archetype than, say, Snow White; the tomboy princess is practically a trope all on its own by this point (see: a large portion of the YA fantasy literature written in the past twenty years). Interest or lack thereof in girly things does not correspond to sexual orientation. Goodness knows I spent my elementary school years wanting to be a boy because they got to do all the cool stuff and didn't have to wear skirts when they dressed up, yet here I am, the only straight one of my sibs.
I can't believe this is even a thing that people are discussing.
Oh! Also! If you haven't seen the movie yet (which you should — it's not quite as good as most of the other Pixar films, but that's a ridiculously high standard, and by any other standard, it's well worth it), stay to the end of the credits for a nice little easter egg.
Okay, first of all, which movie did they see? Because it was clearly a different movie than I saw. The movie I saw was, if anything a coming-of-age story with a female protagonist. Merida is very much a teenager, moreso than any Disney heroine save perhaps Ariel (I feel safe saying this since I watched ALL the Disney animated movie canon last year. All of it. Even the ones that are obscure for good reasons like Saludos Amigos). She's rebelling against her parents — specifically her mother — and a good deal of the film's conflict is driven by how her mother wants her to be one thing and Merida wants to be something quite different.
True, Merida rejects her suitors and ends the movie still single, but I don't think that's because she's a lesbian. Yes, that is one of the main arguments that's being used. Instead, I think a good part of it is just because Merida is not ready, emotionally or otherwise, to settle down. And the scene where she settles the suitor-based conflict is definitely not her saying, "I don't want to marry any man, ever," it's a way of demonstrating how she's grown in wisdom and maturity, by coming up with a solution to a problem that could've had dire consequences. Also, note that she basically says, "I'm gonna marry one of you, just on my own terms."
As for the arguments that since she's more interested in archery and horseback riding than dresses and embroidery means that she's a lesbian (again, yes, this is a REAL ARGUMENT that people are using), all I can say is, "What?" I mean, all that does is slot her into a different archetype than, say, Snow White; the tomboy princess is practically a trope all on its own by this point (see: a large portion of the YA fantasy literature written in the past twenty years). Interest or lack thereof in girly things does not correspond to sexual orientation. Goodness knows I spent my elementary school years wanting to be a boy because they got to do all the cool stuff and didn't have to wear skirts when they dressed up, yet here I am, the only straight one of my sibs.
I can't believe this is even a thing that people are discussing.
Oh! Also! If you haven't seen the movie yet (which you should — it's not quite as good as most of the other Pixar films, but that's a ridiculously high standard, and by any other standard, it's well worth it), stay to the end of the credits for a nice little easter egg.
