More seriously, it’s true that Mulan spends most of the film ‘passing’ as a woman and not acknowledging her true identity. But hey, at least they’re trying to impress women and not get them drunk at parties. The song “A Girl Worth Fighting For” does not 100% avoid objectification of women. Naturally, there are some criticisms that can be lobbed at Mulan. The implications continue: When Mulan straps on the Big Golden Weight-Thingies and climbs the big ol’ Pole of Masculinity to get the Arrow of Toughness (or whatever), do you think that kids are led to believe that women should earn 70 cents on the dollar? When Mulan singlehandedly wins the battle in the mountains against the huns, is a woman’s place in the home? At the climax, when five of China’s greatest warriors put on dresses and save the country, do traditional gender roles really matter in the preservation of national greatness? I allow you to decide, dear reader. Hopefully we can strive to be as advanced culturally as 10th century China.
In fact, the direct implication of Mulan seems to be that gender freedom and equality will prevent the collapse of society. But Mulan definitely implies that women, and people in general, can dress however they want, work the jobs they like, and define their gender however they want and society will not collapse. If anyone has any problems with what this movie says about the potential role of women in society, I won’t start with the implications for transgender people. Enter Drag-Mulan, dressed and working in society as a man, 24/7. If that’s not the makings of a great experiment in gender theory, I don’t know what is.Īnd in Mulan, as in life, things only get interesting when the cross-dressing starts. Consider this: in about the space of five minutes, Mulan gets literally struck by the government for speaking out (symbolism!), fails her appointment with the Matchmaker to make her entrance into society as a traditional debutante, and steals her father’s sword and armor to join the army.
She just does.Īnd then, about five minutes in, Mulan decides to blow patriarchy to hell. Nothing about Mulan’s appearance suggests that she has to be butch or masculine to do a man’s work, and do it well. At the same time, she appears the ideal form of femininity: graceful, lithe, elegant. The insanity! Consider Mulan as we meet her: helping her father to run the home and manage the estate. Even the idea that a woman is entitled to do all the work a man does. Mulan encourages the idea that a woman can do all the work that a man can.
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