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Full-Text Articles in American Studies
Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover
Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
This research explores cultural shifts in the popularity of the Disney princess in American culture, especially its postmodern resurgence, as well as the complex relationship between Disney’s recent representations of women in the 1990’s and post-feminist ideology. My project begins by analyzing the historic appearance of the Disney female in relation to the women’s movements. I also examine lingering anti-feminist backlash in representations of what I call “New Wave” Disney heroines. Finally, I examine the implications of post-feminist discourse and advertising for young female viewers.
Re-Masculating The Vampire: Conceptions Of Sexuality And The Undead From Rossetti's Proserpine To Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck
Re-Masculating The Vampire: Conceptions Of Sexuality And The Undead From Rossetti's Proserpine To Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
This paper explores the relationship between sexuality and the undead from Victorian England to present day vampire narratives. Specifically, I examine the shift in the vampire narrative from the frightening Dracula to the extremely sexualized nature of vampires in the early twenty-first century. My results are concerned with the nature and exchange of fluids between vampire bodies and their victims (or lovers) and the power associated with that exchange. My conclusion implies that re-masculating the vampire is a return to a patriarchal dominant discourse promulgates the heteronormative status quo, unlike their early predecessors, which tend to undermine heteronormative sexuality.
Beauty-Ful Inferiority: Female Subservience In Disney’S Beauty And The Beast, Jeremy Chow
Beauty-Ful Inferiority: Female Subservience In Disney’S Beauty And The Beast, Jeremy Chow
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
The ubiquity of Disney movies has certainly transformed the American cultural landscape. The Disney zeitgeist manifests itself as generations of children actively seek Prince Charmings, unrealistic fairy tale relationships and the omnipotent, happily-ever-after. One such Disney favorite, Beauty and the Beast (1991), reveals typical Disney themes such as the power of altruism, the transformation of the anthropomorphic, and the catharsis of true love. Yet, under these benevolent-seeming Disney themes lurk more sinister, subliminal messages. Beauty and the Beast promotes female subservience and subjugation in addition to the glorification of abusive relationships. Belle, the female protagonist, embodies these gendered disparities and …