Megara

By: Abbey Benotti

Analyzing Megara Through Girlhood

Girlhood has long been a subject of both literary and cinematic exploration, offering a lens through which societal expectations of women can be examined and challenged. As Jennifer Helgren explains, "girlhood is constructed by institutions such as family, youth organizations, as well as by religion, literature, and media (Helgren, 2020, p.841). This construction is especially evident in animated films, where female characters often reflect or subvert these norms, providing important commentary on gender roles.

One such character is Megara, or "Meg" from Disney's 1997 animated film Hercules. Portrayed as both a love interest and an independent figure, Meg defies conventional expectations of femininity. Her character blends strength with vulnerability, making her a compelling subject for analysis within the context of gender stereotypes and feminist themes. Her sarcastic wit, combined with a sense of deep emotional pain regarding her love life, challenges the traditional mold of the passive princess.

Girlhood Studies and Gender Expectations in Animated Films

Understanding Meg's portrayal also requires examining the cultural moment in which Hercules was produced. Set in a fictionalized version of ancient Greece, the film was released during the 1990s, a decade that saw a significant shift in the portrayal of women in popular media. This shift was not only noticeable in films, but also reflected in things like television or children's books.

While still adhering to some traditional gender roles, films of the 1990s began to introduce more nuanced female characters, offering a glimpse of changing attitudes toward womanhood and independence. In this context, Meg stands out as a figure who, despite relying on her appearance, ultimately challenges the conventional damsel-in-distress narrative. She represents a modern shift in animation.

This cultural shift was also deeply influenced by the role of third-wave feminism during the 1990s, which emphasized individuality, and the rejection of traditional gender norms. Media from this era, including Disney films like Hercules, began to reflect these evolving ideals. Although Megara is still shaped by earlier stereotypes, her character aligns with key values within third-wave feminism. Her emotional complexity, and resistance to romantic idealism position her as a more progressive and multidimensional female character compared to other female Disney characters. For instance, Meg's initial reluctance to fully embrace love with Hercules fully goes against the "princess waiting for love" trope.

Third Wave Feminism and Megara's Role

This paper explores two key research questions: How does Meg's character both conform to and subvert traditional gender stereotypes? And in what ways does Meg reflect feminist themes in the context of the 1990s?

Analyzing Meg's role in Hercules provides meaningful insight into the evolving representations of girlhood in 1990s media, demonstrating how animated films began to address and critique these gender norms. By examining Meg through these lenses, we gain a deeper understanding of how popular culture both reflects and shapes the portrayal of women in society.

Megara and Gender Stereotypes

Girlhood studies is a multidisciplinary field that explores the lives and experiences of individuals who identify as girls. It also examines how girls are represented in both popular media and academic venues (Pomerantz, 2020, p. 846). In animated films, particularly those by Disney, female characters often serve as reflections of societal expectations placed on young girls. These expectations are rooted in gender stereotypes about how girls should behave, what they should value, and how they should look. Gonick notes that the "ideal" girl is imagined as white, heterosexual, conventionally feminine and attractive, middle class, able bodied, secular, and a documented citizen (Gonick, 2020, p.852). These narrow cultural standards can be restrictive, limiting the ways girls and women are allowed to express themselves.

This limited framework impacts how girls form their identities and how they base their own roles in society. Media that portrays characters breaking from these "ideals" can offer a glimpse into a more realistic lifestyle. Meg, while fitting into some standards of the "ideal girl" through her physical appearance, also challenges those ideals with the personality of her character. Her complexity allows for a broader, and more inclusive look into what girlhood and womanhood can look like.

Stereotypes and Conflict of Representation

Hercules offers a compelling portrayal of girlhood through Meg, who both challenges and conforms to the gender norms typically assigned to female characters in animated films. Primo says that Meg "exemplifies gender stereotypes by the emphasis on her looks and sexuality" (Primo, 2018, p.6), reinforcing the societal expectation that women are valued primarily for their appearance. In the film, Meg is introduced as a strikingly beautiful woman, and her beauty becomes the central part of her identity. Society often upholds unrealistic beauty standards, using them as a way to judge women. Meg herself uses her looks to manipulate others, showing how beauty can serve as both an asset and a burden.

Meg's saying "I'm a damsel, I'm in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day." is more than a joke, it critiques the "damsel in distress" stereotype and the idea that women constantly need male heroes to save them. This line not only adds humor, but it also gives insight into Meg's self-awareness and resistance to be seen as weak or dependent. While Meg's beauty initially traps her within traditional gender expectations, Meg begins to break free of them as the film progresses. She evolves into a witty and independent woman, and her choice to sacrifice herself for Hercules at the end of the movie is driven by her selflessness, further challenging gender norms.

The concept of stereotype threat involves the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group as a personal characteristic (Xu, 2021, p. 329). This concept is evident in Meg's character. While she strives to defy traditional gender norms, she remains trapped by them in certain aspects. The stereotype that women must be physically attractive and romantic to be valued is a recurring challenge for Meg throughout the film. Despite her efforts to assert independence, she continues to face societal pressures that reduce her worth to her appearance and romantic history.

Challenging the "Damsel-in-Distress" Trope

Meg also represents evolving feminist themes of the 1990s, a decade when female characters in media began to reflect more complex and diverse portrayals of femininity (Liu & Yang, 2021). While Meg still navigates some traditional gender expectations, her character stands out as an early example of a more empowered female figure in animation. Her independence and self awareness challenge the damsel-in-distress trope, yet her story arc also contains contradictions. Her backstory, sacrificing her soul for a man who ends up leaving her, adds depth to her character but also complicates her feminist portrayal. This is further reinforced by her being oversexualized. Primo mentions how in the movie Hades tells Meg she has the "right curves" to throw at Hercules and encourages her to "handle him like a man" (Primo, 2018,p.6), implying that her worth relies heavily on her physical appearance, rather than her intelligence or independence. To young girls watching this film, this can portray the message that being desirable to men is more important than your character itself.

Meg's character highlights a broader conflict which is often discussed in feminism, the pressure put on women to look a certain way while also being seen as strong and independent. This creates a tough situation where women are supposed to care about how they look but also not be judged just for their looks. In the 1990s, third wave feminism tried to deal with this by saying that women could choose to embrace their looks and still feel empowered. Meg shows this mix. Even though some characters in the film, like Hades, only focus on her physical appearance, she still manages to show confidence, self awareness, and emotional strength. Her story shows how the media can send mixed messages about what it means for a woman to be powerful.

Meg and Hercules

Meg's relationship with Hercules reveals even more about how her character challenges these gender stereotypes. Unlike earlier Disney heroines, Meg is not "innocent" or passively waiting to be rescued. Instead, she is emotionally complex and skeptical when it comes to love, which initially sets her apart. Her interactions with Hercules provide a contrast between traditional masculinity, portrayed by Hercules, and a more nuanced vision of femininity, embodied by Meg. One of the dominant themes in portrayals of girlhood is that a woman's appearance is valued more than her intellect (Towbin et al., 2020, p.12), and this belief is both reflected and challenged through Meg's character. While her beauty is emphasized and weaponized by others, Meg's real strength lies in her emotional evolution. Her act of self sacrifice ultimately helps Hercules understand that heroism is rooted in compassion rather than in physical strength, positioning her as a catalyst for change. In this way, she influences the male lead's development. Her ability to remain emotionally grounded, despite her past, highlights her strength and vulnerability, an important theme in both feminism and girlhood studies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this paper explored how Megara, or "Meg," from Disney's Hercules (1997), both conforms to and subverts traditional gender stereotypes, while reflecting on the feminist themes of the 1990s. Through an analysis of Meg's characters and relationships, it is clear that her character offers a layered portrayal of femininity that both challenges and embraces social expectations. Meg's strength, wit, and vulnerability add complexity to the typical animated female character and reflects a cultural shift towards more empowered female representations in media. Meg's presence in Hercules highlights the transitional moment in feminist media during the 1990s, a moment when women in film began to reflect real life identities. Her character reminds audiences that combating gender stereotypes is still a work in progress.

Work Cited

Gonick M.(2020) "Girls" In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies, edited by Daniel Thomas Cook, 841- 845

Helgren, J. (2020) "Girlhood," In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies, edited by Daniel Thomas Cook, 852-855.

Pomerantz, S (2020) "Girlhood Studies " In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies, edited by Daniel Thomas Cook, 846-850

Primo, C. (2018). Balancing gender and Power: How Disney's Hercules fails to go the distance. Social Sciences, 7(11), 240. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7110240

Towbin, M. A., Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, T. S., Lund, L. K., & Tanner, L. R. (2004).Images of gender, race, age, and sexual orientation in Disney Feature-Length AnimatedFilms. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19–44. https://doi.org/10.1300/j086v15n04_02

Liu, Y., & Yang, M. (2021) The transformation of female images in Disney animated films from the 20th to 21st century in the context of American feminist movement. In Proceedings of the 2021 4th International COnference of Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2021) (p. 1034-1039). Atlantis Press. https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/ichess-21/125967014

Xu, M. (2021). Analysis of the influence of female characters in Disney films. Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2021), 327-331 https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/isemss-21/125959763