Mayim Bialik rants about Frozen’s sexism & Bratz-like animation

Mayim Bialik

If you would have ever told me that I’d write about Mayim Bialik twice in one week, I would have laughed like Sheldon in Big Bang Theory. That’s not very attractive. This pattern of wall-to-wall (former) Blossom coverage is a disturbing trend. I’m probably mistaken in giving Mayim a gossip platform for her Kveller columns. I’m amused by her “get off my lawn” antics. This could change at any moment.

Mayim last shook things up by complaining about Ariana Grande’s billboards. Now she’s trolling her audience by slamming the top kiddie flick of 2013. Unlike most kids, Mayim’s sons do not like Frozen at all (or so she says). Mayim goes even farther by writing a column titled, “Why my sons and I hate Frozen.” Hate is a pretty strong word (especially for a harmless Disney flick). Mayim lists her three main issues with the film.

1. Plot/Feminism? The search for a man/love/Prince is still the reigning plot line in the movie, as it is with pretty much all movies for young people which are animated. The sister’s desire to marry this guy she just met, and the other sister getting mad at her–we still have a plot about the identification of a woman being based on her desire and search to meet a man.

My issue is that this is a movie geared to small children who I don’t think need to be focusing on that as the main driving plot of a movie. These characters are young; certainly not old enough in my socially conservative opinion to be searching for mates! I’ve had just enough already with this finding a man business in most every kids’ movie. Disney classics were all about this and look where it’s gotten us! Naked billboards of singers and women still not paid equal pay for equal work and ridiculous standards of beauty and body image and campaigns such as “Why I Don’t Need Feminism” and tons of other things proving we still have a ways to go.

2. Denoument/Male Bashing? The Prince/hero turns out to be a scheming villain. He pretended to love her and then he double crosses her and she gets the lesson taught to her not to trust those nasty scheming conniving men. Because you know, men can’t be trusted? Meh. I know, you’re confused by me. Yeah, take a number. First I claim to be a feminist and now I claim to be against male-bashing. That’s because feminism doesn’t equal male-bashing. And this movie isn’t empowering because it shows that a Prince is a jerk and should not have been trusted. That’s weird too. It’s just confusing.

3. Women as Dolls?: OK, my biggest problem with this movie was the way the female characters are drawn and animated. The male characters look like cartoon men. They have some exaggerated features, sure. But by and large, they look like they have the proportions of human beings. Not so with our lead ladies. They have ginormous eyes. Like really ridiculously big. Teeny-tiny ski slope noses. Exaggerated delicate ski sloppiness, actually. Barbie doll proportions of their bodies in general: tiny waists, ample busts, and huge heads. They look like dolls. They don’t look like the same species as the male characters even! What’s up with that?! My sons thought the females looked like BRATZ dolls, truth be told. I kind of agree.

[From Kveller]

Mayim worked in another jab at those dastardly PG-13 billboards. Nice cross promotion. You know what? Mayim scores a few points for never making me bleep f-bombs in her columns. She is a little worked up over a throwaway movie. People remember the music of Frozen more than the actual story (Tangled was a better movie).

Almost all Disney movies focus on the girl trying to meet Prince Charming. Even their recent “groundbreaking” movies do this. 2009’s The Princess and the Frog focused upon a very ambitious woman who settled for a womanizing playboy. My problem with Mayim isn’t that she’s upset about the sexism in princessy Disney films. It’s that she expects to point her grievances out and have the problem solved. She doesn’t offer solutions. Perhaps I’m expecting too much, but Mayim is smart enough to hold a PhD. She could toss out some constructive criticism during her rant.

I do agree with Mayim’s point that Frozen‘s female characters looked like dolls. The filmmakers took a lot of heat for this point. Head of animation, Lino DiSalvo said drawing women is hard because they’re “sensitive” and “you have to keep them pretty.” Disney does not want any Claire Danes-style crying in its animation.

Mayim Bialik

Photos courtesy of WENN

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

211 Responses to “Mayim Bialik rants about Frozen’s sexism & Bratz-like animation”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. msw says:

    Bam. Shots fired!

    Frozen can never live up to the hype, but it is really well done, and the characters are surprisingly relatable. There are reasons they do what they do. I kind of agree re: the Bratz doll aspect, but it is not male bashing–there are two bad guys, and pretty much only two female characters whom the plot centers around. The movie is most definitely NOT about finding a mate, it was about isolation and loneliness. Pretty heady topics for a Disney film, actually, but it gave it a lot more substance than most of the films for kids. So…. Get over it, Mayim.

    • Kiddo says:

      LMAO @ Bam. Shots fired!

      ETA: I can’t stand the music from frozen, and the prince and princess storyline has been more than exhausted. I had to play with the dolls with my young niece, the marketing of this stuff is appalling if you think about it.

      • Candy Love says:

        Yes I watch Frozen for the first time last weekend and I can’t Stand the music had to fast fowerd the first half of the movie because of it.

      • Kali says:

        @ Kiddo: the only bit I like from the actual soundtrack was that opening “Vuelie” theme! Kept wishing they had reprised it more throughout the movie.

      • msw says:

        I am sick of ALL the over marketing from Disney. I don’t care if they make a film that ends famine and creates world peace. Every year there is a new film where my daughter wants to not only buy the movie, but buy the dolls, dress up costumes complete with crowns and shoes and gloves, redecorate her room, buy stickers and Valentines and pencils and birthday party themes and whatever other crap Disney stuck the characters’ faces on. Then the next one is out a year later and its like, smell ya later, Merida, I’ve got TWO dolls from the latest movie (which always come from indulgent grandma or from her own piggy bank). I don’t even take her to see the movies! She usually sees them for the first time at a friend’s house and then it’s game over.

        I can understand not digging the music. It’s very Broadway and not everyone likes that.

      • Mel M says:

        Aw, we love the music over here but I have two littles. I do think the female characters are really strange looking though but I think my son loves that he can clearly see there faces and expressions in those huge eyes haha.

      • lucy says:

        Thanks for posting!

        I have had a huge anti-Blossom anti-Bialik chip on my shoulder for superficial reasons for years. But the headline on this post drew me in because I share the sentiments and critiques Bialik makes here. I feel gratified that someone with a public platform is calling Disney out for its ill-proportioned version of women and its manipulative influence on kids. I do think she was constructive in suggesting the future Disney females be drawn to resemble humans not dolls, more in character with the way the Disney males are drawn. She’s not just complaining and leaving, her critiques are thoughtful and encouraging. Furthermore, Bialik clarifies her valid argument here at the onset and thus heads off the potential for others to misunderstand her and accuse her of hypocrisy. I’m impressed.

        I have not seen and will not see Frozen due to it being too full of the Disney slant: syrup and sexism. (And the intolerable music.)

      • MaiGirl says:

        I have a HUUUUUGE issue with Disney’s messages to little girls, and the way they market to children. I don’t even have kids, but I was a teacher, and the way these kids and parents get pimped every time there is a new film, or when an old film manages to escape the “Disney Vault”, is completely disgusting.

      • msw says:

        @lucy, If you haven’t seen the movie, how can you make an informed opinion about whether or not it is sexist?

      • lucy says:

        @msw, Disclosing that I have not seen Frozen is to let those reading my opinion know I’ve not thoroughly experienced the film firsthand. My opinion is based on observations through reading about the film and seeing the way the characters are drawn (i.e., especially the females)

      • msw says:

        OK, I figured. I just don’t think you can make an informed opinion about a film without seeing the execution, but that’s just me. I see nothing sexist in the film, personally.

      • Just Me (and my Bobby McGee) says:

        I can’t believe what I’m reading. And I’m not reading any further because it’s clear a lot of the commenters, including Mayim herself, didn’t actually see the movie. Or, atleast, wait it out to the end. This movie is actually about sisterhood. It paints a clear picture on naivety, and the mindset of choosing a man over sisterhood. There are strong female characters in this, and I’m really surprised by the backlash it’s getting in regards to feminism. I get it being overplayed at this point, and being tired of hearing the music, and the pop culture references, but sexism? Please go watch the movie first. Even my super feminist neighbor allows her little girl to watch this – and she won’t let her watch any other Disney movies.

    • L says:

      I just fail to see the male bashing. Is it because the prince ends up being a bad guy? If anything Sven is showing how it’s important to be friends with someone who loves you for who you are. And as other’s have said, its about the love between sisters-the love story is secondary.

      • Stef Leppard says:

        I agree, I don’t think there’s male-bashing. She realizes she fell in love with the prince for the wrong reasons and Sven is a better match. And also, I think they tried to make a big point of not having the “prince” rescue the “damsel in distress” at the end. The love between the sisters rescued Anna. So…baby steps, Blossom.

      • Candy Love says:

        I agee what male bashing the prince was a bad guy but the male snowman and the guy with the troll/Rock family was a good guy so where were they bashing men.

      • Mia4S says:

        I can’t believe I know this but Sven is the reindeer. Kristoff is the guy she befriends and falls in love with. (Olaf kept getting his name wrong). 🙂

        I have a million problems with Disney movies but not this one. Anna grows from her “must find a man!” beginning and doesn’t “settle”, Kristoff is actually lovely and in the end she kisses him, she doesn’t marry him. Elsa is just fine on her own, no love interest (or even a hint).

      • dromedary says:

        Having seen the movie now approximately 47 times, I feel compelled to point out that Sven is the reindeer. Kristoff is the guy.

      • Wilma says:

        Yeah, I don’t think she really understood this movie, even though it was pretty easy to follow. It kinda flies in the face of all the older prince and princess tropes Disney put out there. The prince is nt charming, love does not (always) happen at first sight.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I haven’t seen the movie, but my sister said it wasn’t about finding “true love” with a man, it was about finding that deep love and bond between sisters….then we hugged. 😉

      • Tara says:

        I agree. The man-bashing thing is a huge reach; I saw it more as a lesson about things that seem to good to be true and taking one’s time. And there are plenty of genuinely good males characters in the movie. The female proportions thing bugs me, but it’s all over the place… not just in disney films. At least these characters are dressed and their personalities front and center.

        SPOILER ALERT: Frozen surprised me as I saw it as disney busting its own myths… that it’s not about finding your prince, it’s about finding your strength. The end fascinated me as they were able to show that the “act of true love” that saved Anna was throwing herself in front of Elsa to save her… thawing Elsa’s heart and giving her the courage to let her sister’s love in. That thawed/saved Anna and the rest of the kingdom in its turn. A pretty awesome lesson, disney or no. and, yeah, my 4-year-old little guy loves it. I tend to like what makes him and his little friends happy as long as it doesn’t involve Nerds and switchblades.

      • Stef Leppard says:

        D’oh!

    • Anon says:

      My daughter has watched this a million times. Thought I should note that although Anna is the “lead,” Elsa is the character all the little girls look up to and want to be. I was confuse until someone pointe out that she has the awesome ice powers and is basically a female super hero. Now I am much more on board the Frozen bandwagon- we need more female superheroes. (Plus I love the storyline about sisterly love!)

      • littlestar says:

        I haven’t seen Frozen, but that is interesting. My friend’s daughter is obsessed with Frozen, and Elsa is who she wants to be!

      • insomniac says:

        I have to admit that when I finally watched the movie, I was baffled afterwards that Elsa got all the attention. Anna’s really the more interesting character, IMO. But your explanation makes sense.

      • Mixtape says:

        This is something I noticed as well–Anna is the main character, but the little girls in my life all strongly prefer Elsa. I wish it was due to the superpowers, but based on my interactions with them, it is because she has long blonde hair, the sparkly dress, an ice castle, and gets to sing Let It Go. On the bright side, it demonstrates they don’t put a lot of stock in the “desperately seeking prince” story line, which is Anna’s.

    • pantalones en fuego says:

      Aside from the Prince being the villain in Frozen, the movie shows more than just looking for prince for true love. The sister’s realized that they were the only ones who truly and unconditionally loved each other.

      Terrible movie, but she seriously needs to get off of her high horse and stop trying to shove her conservative agenda down everyone’s throat. And now I’m mad that I just took time out of my morning to write about damb Frozen.

      • tmbg says:

        Two thumbs up for your comment! I haven’t seen the full movie but it didn’t look outrageously offensive from the trailers and clips I saw. Mayim really needs to shove it. She is getting tiresome.

    • Lucinda says:

      I defended a lot of her points last time but this time I can’t. She clearly didn’t watch the same film I watched because it was not about finding a mate. Like you said, it was about fear of hurting those you love, isolation, and true love. Nobody is pretending that Disney is the bastion of feminism. But their films have come a long way. Think Pocohontas.

  2. The New Classic says:

    GO AWAY BLOSSOM!

    • mandygirl says:

      Yes! Please go away. She looks like my husband’s ex-wife. I twitch every single time I have to see this woman’s face.

  3. Sullivan says:

    Well, she’s right. Um, the photo with the rabbit is sweet. That’s all I can muster.

  4. Patricia says:

    I agree with her I guess, especially about the animation. When I saw that animation I said “uuuuuugh”. It’s so off-putting to me. My sister and brother-in-law (yes we are all adults without little kids lol) keep insisting I should watch it but I just can’t stand the look of the animation and I don’t want to sit through it.

    • Christo says:

      I like her a lot. I have seen her on TV quite a few times in interviews, and she never fails to be intelligent and thoughtful. That being said, that great brain of hers seems better-suited for more heady topics:) She would make an excellent co-host on the View if any of the other co-hosts fail to work out.

  5. TX says:

    I’m sorry….what?!
    1. The driving plot is Anna trying to find her sister. Her love life is a side story.
    2. Male bashing? so now we can’t have villains without being offensive because that is [insert group here] bashing…..?

    Let it go Mayim. Let it go.

    • idsmith says:

      I agree. I think the movie showed that you can’t just fall for a guy based on instant attraction and looks. Instead the sister found friendship with a guy, discovered her “true love” was the love of her sister and realized that getting to know someone as a friend first leads to love – not instant attraction. I didn’t think it was anti-feminist, I thought for the first time Disney was thinking about how they portray females. I agree on the animation though.

    • Ana says:

      Thank you!

      For me the real story and ‘love’ relationship was between Anna and Elsa and her sister bond. That in my opinion made it different from past movies because it was centered around the two of them, not just the princess and the guy.

      @idsmith makes an excellent point too!

  6. HappyMom says:

    I agree that Frozen wasn’t a great movie. But mainly because Olaf was like Jar Jar Binks. I love “Tangled”.

    • original kay says:

      I love Tangled too. I thought she was hilarious, that scene where she goes back and forth about leaving the tower for the first time!

      • CL says:

        I do the exact same thing when I do something I’m not supposed to! But since I’m 45, apparently it’s not as adorable.

    • Erinn says:

      I actually refused to watch Frozen because I saw how the Olaf character looked and KNEW it was going to be a jar jar situation. I loved Tangled though.

    • Audrey says:

      Olaf is awful. But my daughter loves that damn movie so much.

      Sorry but i like that the movie isn’t about finding a man really

      Anna ends up finding inner strength and Elsa discovers her true abilities and her control over her powers.

      I like that it’s not focused on a man, it’s a step in the right direction

      • Grant says:

        I thought Olaf was hilarious! That “In Summer” song cracked me up!

      • dromedary says:

        Yes I thought it was going to be a Jar Jar situation too, but I love Olaf! He has the best lines: “Why isn’t she knocking? Do you think she knows how to knock?”

      • iheartjacksparrow says:

        How could anyone not love Olaf? He’s the best part of the movie. I like to recite his lines about “summer, and sun, and all things hot,” which have been appropriate recently because of the over 100 degree temperatures in Los Angeles County. I would love to give Olaf some warm hugs!

    • FLORC says:

      It was a buget Tangled. And I think this movie wasn’t harmless. It showed Disney they can churn out junk and people will stll pay. The bar has been lowered.

      Also, can’t post link, but on youtube enter “Everything Wrong With Frozen”.
      It’s well covered at how the whole movie makes no sense.

      • msw says:

        The plot sounds like the stupidest thing ever. Where have we heard of a talking snowman before, right? Trite. But despite the silly plot, there are layers to the movie which make me really appreciate it–it’s a really emotional movie. That scene at the end of the “do you want to build a snowman” song, where the girls are sitting on opposite sides of the door mourning over their dead parents and Elsa is so distraught with grief her whole room is covered in ice sends me running into the other room so my daughter doesn’t see me cry. I also like that the double entendré of “ice queen,” and how Elsa seems to be unfeeling and uncaring to everyone, when she has to keep her distance to protect them from herself because of how emotional she is. At first, the sub plot of Anna getting engaged so fast bugged me, but now i like that they don’t try to make her a perfect Mary Sue like so many other characters in Disney, and they show both that it was a bad idea and that she was just doing it out of desperate loneliness.

        Of course, no one is obligated to like the movie, but those are some things that make it a cut above to me, despite the banality of the plot.

      • FLORC says:

        More to the point how did Elsa get the ability to create life in Olaf?

        It just made me frustrated. Her parents raising her to shut out fun from her life? That her powers only come out when she’s afraid and emotional so naturally they tell her the world is too much for her and she should remain in her room? Should she leave she will only hurt people again? Yea… It made little sense.

        The youtube video actually covered the 2 love interests and how Elsa went crazy in her castle unleashing that ice monster that could have easily killed her sister. Didn’t she care?

      • msw says:

        I agree there are some weird things in it, namely the parents hiding her away and the creation of Marshmallow. In guess I’m willing to suspend some doubt due to the other things I like in the film. Nothing can live up to the hype of these smash successes.

  7. Lilacflowers says:

    She explains why she hates it but are those really the opinions of her sons? I expect that when out of mummy’s sight, they launch into emotive renditions of “Let it go” like all the little boys in my neighborhood do.

    • Tara says:

      And i LOVE that little boys are into Frozen too. It’s an improvement over the industry assumption of the 80s that boys wouldn’t watch shows with female leads/heroines.

  8. BengalCat2000 says:

    Get over yourself Blossom. You make money working on one of the most offensive shows on tv. How about directing criticism to Chuck Lorre? You have a PhD, yet you choose to make (a lot more) cash on a show that, imo, makes you look like an ass. Ugh!

    • Hannah says:

      She may have a Ph.D. but you wouldn’t know it from her writing style. Why so many sentence fragments, trite expressions, and incomplete thoughts? Also, she could use a thesaurus. I can only assume this ghost written by Kaley Cuoco.

  9. Lisa says:

    Claire Danes style? Huh?

  10. Jaderu says:

    Between wishing they were watching Spongebob and booger eating, I seriously doubt her boys really had any useful “critique” of the movie. No offense, that’s just my experience with ankle biters.

    • FLORC says:

      Her sons , like herself and their father, are very intelligent. And not really in a know-it-all or snobby way. They are not “ankle biters”. I’ve only ever heard that used in reference to annoying small dogs.

      • Lucrezia says:

        @ Florc: I honestly don’t think that was meant as an insult. Ankle-biter is common slang in here Oz (though I think it was originally English slang?). Just means child. It’s fairly neutral in tone, it doesn’t necessarily mean an annoying child.

  11. Abbicci says:

    Did she miss the ending where the one sister sacrifices herself for the other instead of waiting on a man to save the day? Yeah, she must have missed that. Or it didn’t fit her ranty narrative.

    I am glad Blossom has a forum for her cranky ranty. Next she can tell us how not being vegan should be child abuse.

    I wish she would talk more about how we can get our daughters into math and science program instead of the ‘think of the babies’ screeching.

    • CK says:

      I think she only watched the first 30 mins. That’s the only way that you can sum up it as the search for a man/prince. By her estimation of what makes up a movie, Frozen could be about the glorification of parental death or violence among sisters >.>

      • Abbicci says:

        I guess when you are realize bashing things gets you more hits than possible solutions you have to go with what gets you attention.

        Some attention seekers use pop tart billboards on Hollywood Blvd some attention seekers use ‘THINK OF THE BABIES’.

        It’s such a shame, she’s a bright woman. Just goes to show all the degrees in the world don’t mean you are smart outside of your field. Shame they didn;t teach her about confirmation bias.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      “I wish she would talk more about how we can get our daughters into math and science program instead of the ‘think of the babies’ screeching. ”

      YES! I totally agree with this!

      • msw says:

        Right? You can’t shelter your kids from this stuff for long. If you think it sends the wrong message, talk to them about the right messages.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I am not a parent, but I love the blog A Mighty Girl so much! It recommends books and things that break the gender stereotypes about females like “Alexa the Architect” or “Erika the Engineer”. It always has stories about girls/teens/women who are making breakthroughs in science, math, etc. It is my guide when I go to buy presents for my nieces. I’ve liked them on fb, and always enjoy their posts. It gives me hope.

        I think it would be helpful if she supported things like that, instead of just attacking things she disagrees with.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        http://www.amightygirl.com/

        “The world’s largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls”

      • msw says:

        Me too! Love that site. I am a parent to two girls.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Yay, I am glad to hear someone else is familiar with it! 😀

        I was so happy for my sister when she found out she was having another girl…Having a sister was such a blessing to my life, I was glad to know her daughters would have that in their lives . Sounds like your girls are lucky as well!

    • Abbicci says:

      Thanks for the link, great site. This is why I love the comment section here, loads of smart people with smart ideas and even if we don’t agree we keep it smart.

    • Anony says:

      She’s an anti-vacc supporter, so I wouldn’t call her all that intelligent

  12. Sayrah says:

    Meh, I don’t think Anna wanted hans as much as she wanted out of the castle. Yes, Hans was bad but christoff was good. She wasn’t looking for love with him but found it. Elsa didn’t need a man. She wanted to rule and protect her kingdom. So try again blossom.

  13. Renee says:

    Awww, I still have a soft spot for Blossom, I mean Mayim. And I don’t think that she necessarily needs to have a solution in order to have a valid critique. She’s not an animator or film writer. I think that if enough people demand for things to be different Disney and Pixar and whoever else will change…they won’t want to lose any viewers/$$ because really all they care about is the bottom line.

    • Emily says:

      I agree.

      I don’t share her opinions in this particular case, but I too have a lot of prudish/”get off my lawn” tendencies, so I like having her speak out. She’s certainly way more intelligent and articulate than a lot of the celebs on this site.

    • TriedTru says:

      I also agree with this assessment. She can have a critique without having the answers. I think she is simply trying to raise our awareness and perhaps our expectations of entertainment for our children. Elevating discussion is an okay service in the public sphere and as I read the comments here, I would say its somewhat successful.

      On a personal note, I have always had issues with Disney princesses. I find the stories to be uninspired and often there is an over-emphasis on beauty versus brains. That said, one my all time favorite movies happens to be Disney (Lilo and Stitch) and I would bet that some folks might have criticisms of that too. I’m okay with that and I am totally okay with Mayim trying to get people to talk about it.

  14. Em says:

    I thought Princess and the Frog focused the least on finding the Prince than any other Disney movie ever has.

    • Maria says:

      I think the Princess and the Frog is my favorite disney film of the last decade. I was very disappointed in Frozen because it didnt live up to the hype…i was bored after the big song ice castle section.

  15. original kay says:

    My feeling is that you NEVER promote a Disney movie as real life; talk to your kids about why it’s so NOT real. Be careful whom you allow your children to role model. It’s up to the parent, not society, to raise our children according to our norms and values. I don’t pull my kids’ life lessons from Disney, is what I mean, unless it’s to highlight what not to be like, but that’s up to me to clarify, not Disney. No one forced her to watch it.

    She should know this. It annoys me to no end, reading her rants, because she lays blame on others, without picking p the pieces and actively parenting.

    • Candy Love says:

      Truth

    • msw says:

      Yes. I don’t let my daughter watch anything without taking about it. It annoys her to death, but it helps her see what good and bad choices people in TV and movies make (being nasty to friends is a big one). I’ll be damned if I’m going to let her think stuff like that is reality. Disney ain’t the child’s parent. Nor are celebs. Just talk to your kids.

  16. Erinn says:

    My sons thought the females looked like BRATZ dolls, truth be told. I kind of agree.

    I wonder if they actually came to that conclusion, or with their mothers ranting went along with her tone. They might look like dolls, but Bratz dolls look sooo trashy. I can’t say that Disney makes their characters trashy. Exaggerated, and figures nobody can obtain? Sure. But not like these Bratz

    She has a lot of hate for this sort of thing, and yet, she refuses to vaccinate her kids. Which would be fine if that didn’t endanger other kids’ health in the process. Cover up the unsightly bodies of women, but don’t worry about kids who don’t have the power to fight diseases that they shouldn’t even have to be exposed to.

    • Sayrah says:

      Ugh, I knew she was a breastfeed until college person but I didn’t realize she was a tin foil hat wearing anti vaxer. Lost all credibility.

    • MollyB says:

      Yep. Anti-vaxxer, big believer in homeopathy, etc. She loves to throw around her PhD but for all of that, she is an huge advocate for pseudoscience. She wrote a parenting article for Today a few years ago where she bragged about not seeking any medical help for her two developmentally delayed sons (one couldn’t roll over until age 1, another had yet to speak a single word at almost 3). She actually thought it was a testament to her amazing parenting that she let them develop at their own rate even though medical experts urged her to seek help for them. I cannot stand her.

      • Erinn says:

        Oh. My. God. I did not know that. Terrifying.

      • Sayrah says:

        Oh my goodness!

      • Alex says:

        That is scary. When this was reported on US I pointed out that her PhD makes her no less immune to stupidity than anyone else. and i pointed out the vaccination thing which still surprises me. As a scientist you would think supporting something that has no basis in real science would be a “no” but here we are

      • Candy Love says:

        Yes I remember this.

        If I remember right she also home schooling her kids herself because she feel the school system put too much emphases on kids learning their ABCs and 123s she feels kids should learn that on their own time. So if her kids don’t know how to read, write or count at the age of 12 then that’s ok they will learn when their ready.

      • Esmom says:

        Omg, I had no idea. Makes my blood boil, actually.

    • Ana says:

      I always found Bratz dolls inspiring. That’s why I love them. I always hated my thick lips and these dolls helped me like them more. They are trashy sometimes but they have awesome artistic outfits for example in the Halloween editions.

    • fairyvexed says:

      She’s got a Ph.D. but she’s anti-vax? Well, then, she needs to go back to school. Vaccines aren’t just a matter of opinion. They’re settled science. Enough already.

      And Kristoff in “Frozen” was a big old dork, which was kind of sweet. Plus there was a gay shopkeeper. She obviously didn’t watch that far, otherwise I bet she would have ranted about that.

      • Sayrah says:

        Wow, love this part. In reply to OK

        “Wealth enables these people to hire fringe pediatricians who will coddle their irrational beliefs. But it doesn’t entitle them to threaten an entire city’s children with terrifying, 19th-century diseases for no reason.”

      • JenniferJustice says:

        No words to describe how ridiculous this is. Yesterday, my 10 year old came home from school with a letter stating all students may have been exposed to Chicken Pox and asking parents to make sure they’re up on their kids’ vaccines and making sure the school has accurate records for such. So, what I get out of that is someone lied about their kid being vaccinated for chicken pox so the child could be enrolled in school. Kid got chicken pox at 10yo (bit old for chicken pox – usually toddlers), and now all the kids have been exposed to it. I’m not worried about my child. He’s been vaccinated, so he’s not at risk, but kids who have lowered or weakened immunities are at great risk and the older you are when you get Chicken Pox, the worse the case is. Somebody was either lazy or against the vaccine and has now exposed children to their kids’ outbreak. Don’t these people think about how not vaccinating their own children affects the entire population – some of whom may not have the strength to fight it off? What about the old ladies who work in the school office who could now get Shingles? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        That’s insane, Jennifer…I admit that because I don’t have kids, I’m not as invested in the vaccine debate as others but someone posted this on FB and after reading, I was so shocked.
        It really seems nuts so me…

      • msw says:

        It is extremely disappointing to see a person with such extensive education in science fail to look at what the data really show, and fail to grasp the big picture.

      • Erinn says:

        Jennifer – that’s awful.

        I actually got Chicken Pox when I was 6. One of my best friends had it then I did, and I think it broke out pretty good afterwards. I don’t think we had vaccinations for it – I’m pretty positive we only had MMR (measels, mumps and rubella) not MMRV in Canada as a kid. My parents made sure we got about everything else, so I’m sure if it was dictated, we’d have gotten it. It’s a lot easier to distract a 6 year old than a 10 year old.

      • MollyB says:

        The great danger to chicken pox isn’t even to other children–it has side effects but most kids will get over it fine. The true risk with chicken pox is that to pregnant women who have never had it. If a pregnant woman catches it from your kids, her baby can have serious, permanent, life altering birth defects. Not to mention it can cause sterility to men who catch it late in life.

      • Jay says:

        Jennifer – that’s not necessarily true. Just because a kid is vaccinated doesn’t mean the vaccination actually worked. I go to medical school at a hospital and I had to go get blood tests to make sure my vaccinations worked… I found out my body doesn’t have immunity to the mumps even though I’ve had all my MMR shots multiple times.

        So maybe the vaccination failed for one of the kids at the school… you shouldn’t jump to harsh conclusions.

      • Persephone says:

        Jennifer – as Jay mentioned it is possible to still catch the disease you’ve been vaccinated against and you can sometimes get them more than once. I had Rubella in Year 7 even after having my shot earlier that year (as was the way back then) and having had it as a child.

        Jay – I had my serology done for work as well it it was the mumps immunity that had dropped too.

      • Eden75 says:

        Just a note on Chicken Pox.

        No vaccine is 100%. I vaccinated my son as I was 19 when I got them and remember how awful it was. Odds are good that he will never get them, but it is still possible, though highly unlikely. Also, Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes Chicken Pox, varicella-zoster. Like all other viruses in this family, that would be the Herpes family for those not aware, when the outbreak is gone, it retreats to the nerves at the base of the spine or the brain and can later in life cause an outbreak of Shingles.

        I am a believer in vaccinating, both of mine were vaccinated for everything under the sun, however, the older people working in the school will not get an outbreak of Shingles unless they have had Chicken Pox previously, and contact with anyone who has Chicken Pox will not cause an outbreak. Granted, there are the rare cases of adults in their 40-50’s who finally get the Chicken Pox, but that is almost as rare as the vaccine not working for kids. Sorry to be picky about this, but as a later in life Chicken Pox sufferer and then having my first outbreak of Shingles in May, I just want to make sure that the right info is out there.

        Also, just to get this out there, if you have had Chicken Pox, you have a form of Herpes. Just sayin’.

    • lunchcoma says:

      Ugh. Enough with this slut-shaming, hand-wringing anti-vaxxer. I think it’s time for people to start ignoring her. Whatever her credentials are, she appears to lack common sense.

  17. CleaK says:

    I agree about the proportion things but I just truly felt the animation led in that direction to make it easier to make actual dolls out of the characters. I do think she’s missed a bit of the point of the plot. You have a lonely girl who falls for the first man that is nice to her and convinces herself it is an enduring love. I don’t think it’s male bashing when that guy turns out to be something else entirely. I think it’s good to teach girls caution with relationships. It is not anti-feminist if the movie has a romantic relationship. The point of the movie was about sisters not about either love interest, which I enjoyed.

    • JustChristy says:

      Yes, absolutely. Disney knows what’s up, and making females with Barbie-like proportions and huge eyes is just good for further marketing. Rapunzel also had the same gigantic eyes, why isn’t she having a hissy tantrum about her, too? One could even go so far as to argue that maybe the animators are hip to the belief that huge eyes equals cuter character. Kawaii and all of that. That people and animals or cartoon characters with huge eyes are perceived as needing mothering. Wouldn’t it just logically fall, then, to create characters that will be made into dolls, with that look? I’m probably not articulating this well, but hopefully at least some of it is making sense.

      Fourth grade me is so conflicted. I loved Blossom, and would have called MB my favorite actress in a heartbeat. But she’s clearly a McCarthy-ian level twit, degrees be damned.

  18. Maria says:

    um…they are cartoons…whats wrong with them looking like dolls? its animation. Nemo doesn’t look like a real fish either. I agreed with her Ariana Grande interpretation because I’m tired of women using their sexuality to sell their products when their talent can speak for itself but Frozen was a lame movie. Lame but harmless. I thought the takeaway theme was supporting your family even when they are doing something crazy like making the whole world a winter wonderland during the summer.

    • L says:

      Exactly-when you make animation look TO much like humans it ends up looking creepy. Think the polar express. It falls way to much in the uncanny valley and ends up being creepy.

      It’s a cartoon-it’s supposed to be drawn to look not natural.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I think with this movie, comments from the head animator of Frozen were pretty sexist in regards to female characters:

      “Historically speaking, animating female characters are really, really difficult, ’cause they have to go through these range of emotions, but they’re very, very — you have to keep them pretty and they’re very sensitive to — you can get them off a model very quickly. So, having a film with two hero female characters was really tough, and having them both in the scene and look very different if they’re echoing the same expression; that Elsa looking angry looks different from Anna (Kristen Bell) being angry.”

  19. aang says:

    I liked Frozen well enough when I saw it……..Now, I HATE it……….the hype and over promotion has robbed it of any charm. And she’s right about the animation.

  20. emma says:

    Yes and Chuck Lorre shows are universally heralded for not being sexist in any way shape or form.

    • aims says:

      I can’t watch two and a half men without my head exploding. Yes Disney can be outdated, but the love of her life was her sister. That is better then most.

  21. Kali says:

    I’ll concede on the animation style but I honestly feel like we were watching a completely different movie!

    I thought the movie was far more about love in ALL it’s forms (I thought the sibling and family love theme was far more prevalent…) rather than Anna making schmoopy eyes 😍 at boys.

    I’m probably just a horrible old cynic as well but I thought it was really good/interesting that the Prince turned out to be the bad guy. If it teaches people that you shouldn’t always judge people positively on a glittery looking exterior but instead take the time to get to know them and see how they treat you and others, isn’t that a good thing?

    And I just wrote a treatise on “Frozen”. Bl00dy hell, Blossom, well played.

    *resolves NEVER EVER to watch BBT EVER AGAIN*

  22. Maria says:

    what i dont understand: if she is convinced about all of that how does she still work for TBBT?

    oh and for the often cited but always wrong gender pay gap:
    “No matter how many times this wage gap claim is decisively refuted by economists, it always comes back. The bottom line: the 23-cent gender pay gap is simply the difference between the average earnings of all men and women working full-time. It does not account for differences in occupations, positions, education, job tenure or hours worked per week. When such relevant factors are considered, the wage gap narrows to the point of vanishing.”

  23. NorthernGirl_20 says:

    I really didn’t like Frozen either, I thought it was missing something .. I liked the idea of Anna saving Elsa and not needing a man to do it but .. I don’t know I kinda see what Mayim was saying why she didn’t like the movie however I don’t agree with the male bashing part. I thought it was more of a beware of strangers and moving too fast thing. Anna was very lonely and was looking for love wherever she could find it.
    I really didn’t like Olaf and that song .. gah!! My 2 oldest (10 and 11) HATED the movie, my 6 year old – all boys btw – LOVED it .. we had to watch it over and over and over again and listen to that darn song over and over and over again lol … and yes the drawing of the girls was a little much. Elsa was way too sexy for a kid’s movie.

    • msw says:

      Hah, but it suits her. She was repressed. I thought Ariel was way more oversexified than Elsa. All she had was a slit up to the knee on her dress; that’s nothing for Disney.

  24. Marianne says:

    Whether or not you liked Frozen…how is it male bashing because the prince turned out to be a bad guy? I mean Kristoff was a good guy. Its not sending a message that all men are evil. I think if anything the message is “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.

    And while Anna was planning on marrying a guy she just met, did she also miss how everyone in the movie thought that was utter ridiculous? Even Anna learns thats not what true love really is.

    As for the big eyes and what not….well welcome to disney. Thats pretty much how all their female characters look.

  25. Chris2 says:

    I don’t know this lady, but agree about Frozen. Except: I only saw the clip featuring THAT song, and don’t know the tale…..but it was enough to give me the major miseries:

    A young girl, determined to grab independence and defy assigned role and expectations. (She appears to tear off a rubber glove, presumably symbolically?!) She’s dressed in sober, warm clothes and shoes fit for charging around on high-altitude ice staircases. She stamps her feet defiantly, damnit!
    So then…..thrilling to the discovery of her powers and force of will, she emerges to a new dawn, a woman of substance…….suddenly blonde and smirking, wearing a slinky, revealing, red carpet princess gown (blœdy good job she doesn’t mind the cold) and mincing and hip-wiggling on high heels. She’s evolved into Jenny McCarthy. Right on, little sister. 🙁
    Excuse me while I leap off the mountain in despair.

    • Candy Love says:

      I didn’t like the movie but I feel like we watch two different films.

    • Mia4S says:

      Sorry but I think you have this very wrong. Understandable since you haven’t seen the movie. Having seen the movie (twice thanks to my lovely nieces) Elsa changes in a place where she plans to live alone. She never has even a hint of a love interest in the movie. She changes and let’s her hair down for herself, period. She never expects to see another living soul. It’s all about what she wants to do and dammit sometimes a gal wants to dress up! 🙂

      • Chris2 says:

        Stupid I know, to argue from a position of vast ignorance!
        Even so…..as a recluse myself I get the motivation re solitude a little, and whether or not there’s love interest doesn’t affect my attitude.
        Sure gals may just want to dress up…..but an (apparently) audacious and defiant girl like this, ‘naturally’ embracing tired old Barbiedom, depressed me. She has imagination! How about a top hat??!!

        Don’t worry, not wishing to derail thread with my rantings, just an observation; thnx for explaining. 🙂

    • MeloMelo says:

      She was repressed most of her life, that scene was meant to visually represent her finally freeing and accepting herself. I do think the hip movements and dress was a little over the top tho.

  26. Kate says:

    I’m not sure what movie Blossom was watching. The prince/princess trope was a side show in both Frozen (and Malificent). “True love” had nothing to do with finding prince charming. And if you look at who the target audience gravitates towards, it is Elsa — the queen with bad ass powers — not Anna. Blossom needs to quit projecting.

  27. ds says:

    I find her character in TBBT so irritating and if she’s so offensive about portrayal of women in film media, maybe she should have said no to playing that annoying person. Just saying.

  28. lisa says:

    i agree that the animation is super ugly but you know that going in

    i am not sure that it is any more sexist than her own show, it has more than 1 plot line

    i think it must get tiring to keep finding new rants for her blog

  29. lucy2 says:

    I haven’t seen Frozen so I can’t comment on her storyline criticism, but overall I think she has some good points – female characters are not animated as realistically as males, in pretty much anything, and many stories geared to young girls were often about finding their Prince Charming. (It sounds like some of the newer Disney stuff has changed that a bit, which is good).

    What bugs me is her trying to attribute her adult, female, feminist views to her young boys who most likely can’t even begin to understand that perspective and those concepts. Come on. That’s not why they don’t like Frozen, if they even don’t like it at all. If she wants to share her opinion on it, go for it, but let’s not pretend a 6 year old was bothered by the things she is complaining about.

    • Marianne says:

      IKR. If her sons truly were bothered for the reasons she claimed, then why would she have such a hard time explaining those Ariana Grande billboards to them?

    • Nikki says:

      Exactly. Your kids probably hate frozen because they’re boys, not because frozen isn’t feminist enough.

  30. Elyse says:

    I never did understand the hype over Frozen. I mean it was cute and I enjoyed it, and as much as I hate to admit it I really liked the song Let it Go. But other than that this movie had little to nothing to offer. The storyline was barely strong enough to carry the movie. The pacing and character development was awful. The characters themselves weren’t memorable. Elsa was painfully underdeveloped, which is a shame because I wanted to see more of her. Anna was just a cheap rehash of Rapunzel (same character design, same personality, different setting). Hans was fine as a character, but he was a weak villain. Kristoff was a little pointless. And Olaf was cute but not that funny. The message was bothered and poorly executed.
    I have yet to understand why people say this movie is ‘Feminist’ and ‘Women empowering’ even though there are only two females in the story. One of them is dumb as a brick (how do you fall in love with a guy you just met, find out he’s evil, ditch him and then fall in love with another guy you just recently met), the other one spends the majority of the movie hiding and running. Good movie, but no where near the Disney Masterpieces.

  31. lower-case deb says:

    my favorite Disney movies (except the Disney Pixar ones) are Brother Bear and Lilo & Stitch.

    apparently so do the kids. when they first came out, the house looked like a bear and intergalactic mutt sanctuary for a while.

  32. Kath says:

    I must not have been watching the same movie…when I watched Frozen the heroes were the two sisters, and the ‘true love’ that brought Ana back to life was the love between the two of them.

  33. Nina says:

    Proof that having a PhD doesn’t necessarily make you a competent writer.

  34. Adrien says:

    Blossom seems to have issues with Bratz like creatures. She sure is sounding like Sinead O’Connor (the open-letter kind) each day.

  35. Ash says:

    I have a tiny ski slope nose like the characters. No plastic surgery either, it even upturns slightly, and I have Bette Davis eyes (distant relative). Does that mean I look like a cartoon?

    Anyways, I don’t get the hype about this film at all. My nieces love it, but I’ve seen it plenty of times, and still don’t get the hype.

  36. G. says:

    I hated Frozen, but more for the lazy character design and lack of cohesive theme more than anything else. The “sisterly love” thing didn’t really emerge as the overarching theme til the end, and it was poorly done. And Disney took the character designs for Tangled and just changed a few things. That bugs me the most, actually. The fact that Disney wants to market to girls but refuses to do more than one design for their female characters, or even INCLUDE more female characters in their stories. The story this was based on had only female characters in it, and could have been way more interesting

  37. Kathy says:

    Maybe OT, but remember the Disney movie Mulan? A Disney female character that goes to war instead of going after a prince. One of my favorite Disney movies because of that. Not that war is great, but it’s not the SOS that Disney usually puts out.

    • Sam says:

      My husband pointed out to me once that Disney always seemed to allow the racial minority women to be far stronger and more feminist than the white women they created. Mulan was a warrior (and getting the man is only incidentally hinted at near the end, not the crux of the movie), Pocahontas was into John Smith, but she spent most of the movie trying to find herself and educating the white man about how Native Americans weren’t savages and Jasmine’s whole story arc dealt with trying to get the right to choose her own husband. (My daughter is super into Jasmine because my husband and thus, her, have am Arab background so she gets really, really into the Aladin movies).

      When I was little, I loved the Little Mermaid so much – but now that I watch it back, I want to cringe at the premise. Same with Beauty and the Beast – even though they made Belle really smart, the lesson is still that the love of a woman can change an abusive man into a nice guy – not something I want my daughter to think.

      • lower-case deb says:

        i wonder whether the source material and source culture has anything to do with it. classic Disney princess tales came from Andersen/Grimm/Perrault (with less gore and more of a happy ending, plus they’re a product of their time, plus under Walt Disney who’s not so nice to women i heard).

        while Mulan, Pocahontas, Scheherazade (Jasmine based on that? that girl lives with a tiger!!) are different tales of different kinds of women to begin with. at the very fabric of the story they are already very different.

        but i agree with the thought that when dealing with racial minority main characters, or main setting they seem to be less of a distressed damsel variety. see for instance my fave Disney movies: Brother Bear and Lilo & Stitch.

      • Candy Love says:

        Thanks not exactly true have you seen “Brave” because she was white and more feminist in her thinking.

      • Sam says:

        Candy, “Brave” was recent and was largely a reaction to the “less” pro-woman stuff that was largely their MO (and let’s not forget that they immediately had to go and tart Merida up to make her an “acceptable” princess, whereas the others largely remained the same).

  38. Chinoiserie says:

    So I have no time to read comments but I just wanted to say:

    Let go of the Frozen complaining (honesty I did not inted the pun, I just left it there). I have had enough of that from Tumblir. Why do the Disney films staring women hav to be perfect but if there is a animated film starring a man nobody says anything? That just engourages Hollywood to do films that do not star women.

    Anyway in Frozen the makers are commenting on past Disney films (that are nowhere as bad with their female characters as some feel IMO) and their romance plots. The same way there was commentary on Enchanted. Anna and Elsa are 18 and 21, more than old enough to think romance. And the character desings are from Tangled, they should have made more effort for the characters to look different but they made the film quictly and did not have a huge budget (for animation). And I fail to see what is problem with doll-like. I think it is nice the characters look appealing to the eye (unlike most Dreamworks humans) and memorable (unlikely most Pixar). CGI is evol

  39. Sam says:

    I don’t get how she got all this out of Frozen. My daughter watched it twice (and thankfully seems to be the only small girl on the planet who described it as “just okay” (Thank you, God!)) and personally, it wasn’t that offensive on my “feminism” meter.

    Yeah, the prince turns out to be a bad guy. But that’s like in real life. Sometimes people you think you know and that you trust betray you, turn out to be lousy, etc. That’s real. It’s not “man-bashing” to portray it on-screen. It gave us the chance to talk to our daughter about friends who aren’t what you think they are and how to deal with it.

    Mayim seems to be on a role with these “grumpy spinster”-type articles. She needs to calm down if she doesn’t want to get a reputation this way.

  40. Lilacflowers says:

    Frozen was about the power of sisterhood. There is no male-bashing in recognizing what women can do working together for one another.

  41. Al says:

    She needs to be quiet now. She wrote a book about vegan cooking and all of a sudden, she is the homely Gwyneth-meets-Judge Judy.

    This is the woman who breastfed her son until he was 4 btw.

    I also don’t get how she can be an actress if she is such a devout religious person. I am sure Orthodox Judaism doesn’t look too kindly on women in show-biz like any other conservative religious practice. It is not very modest.

    • JenniferJustice says:

      Exactly! Besides being on a Chuck Lorre show (known mysogynist), doesn’t she play a gay/bi character that hits on Kaley Kuoko’s character on a regular basis? I’m pretty sure Orthodox Jews have a low view of homosexuality. I can’t stand the hypocracy with this woman. She picks what she does and doesn’t want to follow re her religion but people think just because she dresses like an old woman must mean she walks the walk. She’s full of crap…and herself. Honestly, I’m willing to bet if she were built different, she probably would dress different. I think she uses her religion when it’s convenient. Other times she does what she wants regardless whether it aligns with her religion by deflecting attention to other issues and somehow justifies it to herself. She straddles the line of her religion.

      • Amanda says:

        Ugh, I strongly dislike religious hypocrites. That’s why I don’t follow any organized religion. I would consider myself a theist though because I do believe in a higher power.

      • Nikki says:

        That’s one thing I have never been able to reconcile with her. She claims to be an orthodox Jew, but she also identifies as a far left liberal. That’s all fine and dandy, but how are those two compatible without sacrificing some of your beliefs in one or both groups?
        I honestly think she just identifies as an Orthodox Jew so that she doesn’t have to wear revealing clothing or be put into what she deems to be compromising positions on set.

  42. Nina says:

    The thing with Frozen though is that it isn’t about “finding a man”. Anna’s desire to marry the first guy she meets came out of the fact that she was isolated from her sister for 15 years. The fact that the other characters (Kristoff, Elsa) express concern and shock about her decision to marry Hans supports that idea. Did Mayim not get that the “act of true love” in the film was an act of sisterly love? The whole story was about the strength of familial love. Even at the very end, Kristoff and Anna aren’t married. They start courting, and at Anna’s tender age of 18, there’s nothing wrong with kissing a guy you’ve gotten to know and are attracted to.

  43. LittleMissSunshine says:

    If we’re going to criticize Frozen, how about when Anna punches Hans at the end? Doesn’t that glorify violence? What about a discussion of how to portray someone as a strong hero without resorting to violence? But no, the size of the girls’ eyes is definitely the real problem here.

    And if we’re going to cover Blossom daily, how about some Joey Lawrence posts?!

  44. Noel says:

    Mayim saying anything about feminist issues while on the show she is on is a joke.

  45. Ang says:

    I hated “Frozen”. I have nieces who love it, but it makes me cringe.
    Totally overrated movie and I am so sick of the “sister power” hype.
    Didn’t anybody watch “Lilo and Stitch”? They were sisters, they loved each other…there was no prince anywhere to be seen, just “Ohana”.

    • Anastasia Beaverhausen says:

      Yes to Lilo and Stitch. That’s a better movie about sisterly love than Frozen.

      I think I said it before on this site but I was very underwhelmed by Frozen. I watched it after all the hype died and didn’t get it’s praise or why it was being hailed as feminist. Disney has actually done better in that regard. Both female leads, especially Anna, were stupid and kinda selfish, the “message” felt tacked on, and it just did not play out well.

      With the exception of the much older movies like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, most of Disney’s other movies did not revolve around finding your prince charming. That was just a bonus.

  46. TheOriginalKitten says:

    Never seen Frozen but I think Mayim should read this and get off her soapbox:

    http://feminspire.com/why-the-big-bang-theory-makes-me-cringe/

    • Esmom says:

      This is great, thanks. The show makes me cringe, too, I’ve never been able to get through more than a few minutes of it so I’m appalled at some of the episode rundowns here, I had no idea just how bad it really is. Mayim really does need to get a grip.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        It’s a TERRIBLE show–awful, trashy, and insulting to women. That’s really my biggest problem with Mayim and her message–the hypocrisy.

        You know, maybe Ariana Grande and Disney are just like you, Mayim—willing to sell-out on the moral front in favor of a sweet paycheck?

    • Wilma says:

      Thank you for posting this. I was scrolling to the bottom of the page, getting ready to type something about TBBT and her part in it, but you saved me a lot of time and annoyance!

    • lucy2 says:

      That is really interesting.
      I don’t watch the show, the bits and pieces I’ve seen have made me cringe, but if even half of that author points are true, there’s definitely a problem at that show. If Mayim wants to go on a rant about how females are portrayed in film and television, her own show sounds like a great place to start.

    • Hawkeye says:

      I haven’t seen Frozen, but I have seen bits of TBBT and what she wrote about Frozen, with some slight adjustments, can be said about the show she’s on:

      1. Plot/Feminism? What about TBBT celebrates feminism or even treats its female characters as anything but props for the male characters? And doesn’t Mayim’s character on the show eventually devolve into just demanding sex from her partner?

      2. Denoument/Male Bashing? Every single character on TBBT, except possibly by a stretch the Johnny Galecki character, is a living stereotype and not a person. How is this show not called The Big Friendzone? Anyway, take it away Mayim: “And this (show) isn’t empowering because it shows that a (male character) is a jerk and should not have been trusted. That’s weird too. It’s just confusing.”

      3. Women as Dolls?: A female lead character Penny is a Barbie doll-Real Doll combination come to life. Blonde hair? Check. Sexy clothes? Check. Full face of make-up? Check. Airhead? Check. Personality? Opinions? Feelings? Please hold.

      Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        EXCELLENT post, Hawkeye. You laid it out perfectly…and I LOL’d at this:
        “How is this show not called The Big Friendzone?”

        Agree with Lucy, Wilma, and esmom as well.
        This is really why Mayim’s thoughts on feminism don’t mean much to me.

      • mia girl says:

        Perfect

      • Stephanie says:

        Bazinga!! 😉😝

        Hawkeye for the win!

  47. moot says:

    Sorry, Behead. I 100% agree with Mayim on this one. She’s right. And she’s not the first person to notice or bring it up. And Frozen is NOT a throw-away movie. Its box-office take to date is over $400 million. That’s not chump change, even for Disney.

    I also don’t think everyone with a criticism has to come up with a viable solution. Besides, the solution is super easy.
    1. Start focusing on stories of girls who aren’t princesses or girls who are marrying princes.
    2. Start making something else the plot. For example, going to kill a dastardly beast that’s threatening the village. But instead of a boy going after it, make it a girl. In other words, How To Train Your Dragon with a girl as Hiccup instead of a boy. What the hell is wrong with that? You’ve already got kickass Astrid. Why can’t she just be the hero and move Hiccup to the back seat?
    3. Start talking to young girl children about the weirdness of these movies and why older people find them unhealthy.

    Of course (OF COURSE) the answer is that there’s more money in playing up the princess bits. Little girls LOVE princesses. No matter how progressive their parents are. It drives me insane that my friends’ kids are so into pink and princesses and that their parents haven’t tried to steer away from that. But of course, as a non-parent, I don’t understand how hard that can be and how easy it is to give the kids what they want just to get them to eat their peas. Plus, they get influenced by friends at school and you can’t really control that.

    Also, we can’t forget that little girls spend more time thinking about future relationships (playing house) than little boys, so their more geared towards stories about relationships than boys are.

    Still. I think Disney would do just fine if every other film was about something other than a princess or princess-to-be worried about her marriage prospects (and that’s where Mulan—so very close—still failed).

    Look at Pixar’s portfolio. You don’t need movies about disproportionately sized girl-women seeking husbands to make boatloads of money in the 4-11 y.o. demographic. Or any age demographic. But Disney isn’t about selling the movies so much as their selling the merchandise for generations to come.

    • Merritt says:

      Except Anna isn’t really seeking a husband in “Frozen”, she is really seeking her sister more than anyone.

    • Wilma says:

      I actually loved the escapism of Disney as a kid and I’m pretty sure Disney movies propelled my interest in history, because kings and queens and princes and princesses started to fascinate me. Sure, bring on more of a variety of stories about more of a variety of people, but please, leave us some of the pure escapism too.

    • happymama says:

      I agree as well. I do not watch the Big Bang Theory and my kids don’t usually watch Disney. I don’t like the underlying messages in Disney films. However, Malificent seemed to be an excellent movie filled with metaphors of strength and healing so way to go for that, Disney. I’m sure Angelina had a huge part in it’s empowering theme. Good for Mayim for making a statement about Frozen.

    • Candy Love says:

      You do know Disney owns Pixar right? Pixar was brought by Disney in 2006.

      • Wilma says:

        Not to mention the fact that Pixar just recently featured it’s first female lead. Lots of Pixar movies have very little female presence in them 😉

      • iheartjacksparrow says:

        Wilma – You have to remember that Pixar films are generally about talking things: talking toys, talking cars, talking bugs, talking rats, talking monsters, talking fish.

  48. JenniferJustice says:

    Geesh. Much ado about nothing. Disney movies – especially those with a female as the protagonist. These stories are geared toward little girl audiences and are always going to have a “romantic” element. Little girls want the good girl to get with the good guy. I don’t see male-bashing. There is always an antogonist in Disney movies. Sometimes it’s a female (Malificent, Evil stepmother, Evil Queen). Sometimes it’s a male (Evil poacher, Evil King, Bully Dog). There were other male characters who were not evil in Frozen. The fact that the lead character learns to love someone for who they are – kind, brave, sensitive v. her initial interest in the prince which was shallow because she didnt’ know him, but just had stars in her eyes, is actually quite a deep message for kids. I don’t see Mayim’s problem other than she needs filler for her column.

  49. RobN says:

    Haven’t seen the movie so I have no opinion, but I am enjoying reading so many people passionately defending a cartoon that was really only designed to sell dolls, costumes and advertising.

    Don’t start me on Grease, however. Misogynistic piece of crap.

  50. jen says:

    i feel exactly the same as she does and there is NO solution. I admire her for saying what she does so publicly. Pop culture is repugnant and unfortunately a reflection of our current society.

  51. Diana B says:

    I think she’s wrong about Frozen but it was still not a very good movie for me. The music totally ruined for me. Brave aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way. Merida truly rocks.

  52. Bread and Circuses says:

    She has some good points, although I don’t agree with all of them. But mostly, this is a gossip website, and I came here to say she looks gorgeous in that blue dress.

    Hair, makeup, that colour of gown. It’s all lovely. And hey, she’s smart too! 🙂

  53. Merritt says:

    Mayim contradicts herself a lot. She has previously said she did not allow her sons to watch TV or movies. So which is it?

    She completely misinterprets the plot of “Frozen”. I have no idea if that is deliberate or not. Anna falls for Hans because she has been denied affection for years. The central love plot of the film is between the sisters, not the quest to find a man. Mayim completely ignores or fails to understand that concept. It is one thing to dislike a move, but don’t misrepresent the plot.

    Her show “The Big Bang Theory” is decidedly problematic regarding women. She herself plays a character who continues to settle for a relationship that is one-sided and neglects what the character Amy often wants out of a relationship. And then Howard is a super creepy character and nothing can fix anything about that. But Mayim makes a crap ton of money from the show, so I guess that is all okay.

    And despite having an impressive education background, Mayim supports a lot of stupid things. she is against vaccines. So her children can now spread diseases to people on chemo with weakened immune systems. Having a science background hasn’t kept her away from junk science.

  54. belladonna says:

    Oh good grief.

    1. The searching for a man (woman) thing is a subplot… and is a subplot in everyone’s life WHO HAS EVER LIVED ON THIS PLANET.

    2. If a villain is a villain I’m going to call him a villain. Man or not.

    3. The men in the movie are not drawn like human men. I should know, I married one and he looks more like an ape than anything in that movie.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      Re: #3-Shrek?

    • Chris says:

      “1. The searching for a man (woman) thing is a subplot… and is a subplot in everyone’s life WHO HAS EVER LIVED ON THIS PLANET.”

      Ugh. The tyranny of trying to find a partner. I’ve given up because bitter experience has taught me that no matter what I say or do I’ll always hit the glass ceiling well before I get with someone who does it for me. It’s disappointing and liberating at the same time.

  55. TheRealMaya says:

    Make bashing – seriously?

    For more than 200 hundred years in all of the fairy tales the women were shown weak, poor, uneducated dreamers whose only dream was to marry Prince Charming. It was the men who just has to save the women from the villian, curse or whatever they were fighting on.

    Now finally with Frozen and Maleficent – we are shown strong independent women who don’t need a man to survive in the world. That true love doesn’t necessarily mean between a man and a woman but that it can be just love between anyone – fathers, mothers, siblings, friends etc.

    Did the world cry women bashing those 200 years? No so when the tide has turned and the fairy tales have changed with time – it’s labelled male bashing.

    How can we expect men to respect women when women themselves don’t respect other women? The day women stop attacking other women is the day true feminism has evolved and won.

  56. Jess says:

    I agree with all three of her points. Good for her.

    • Candy Love says:

      Where was the Male Bashing in the movie?

    • Merritt says:

      Where is the feminism in Mayim’s own show? Oh wait, it is a horrible show with terrible female stereotypes. TBBT is beyond offensive to both genders really. She doesn’t have a problem with that because it brings her a big fat paycheck.

      She bashed “Frozen”, and some of her reasons, seem to show that she either didn’t see the movie or misinterpreted it. And she doesn’t have the guts to call out her own show. So this was actually bad of her.

      • Anath Pariah says:

        That’s what I wanted to say. I avoid The Big Band THeory but in the couple of times I have caught a couple of minutes of the show, one could easily think of it as being terribly sexist.

        In fact, the first time I even saw the show, I ended up shutting it off because of the sexist remarks I guess I was supposedto just laugh off.

  57. Jayna says:

    Watching Bambi damaged my sister for life. LOL I can still remember the hysterical sobbing. We all have our damage from animated films. The fairy prince type films she loved as a child didn’t seem to affect her. She broke many men’s hearts while being a wild child, I loved my baby dolls and playing being a mommy for years and loved my Barbies. I never had a desire to rush out and have a baby in teens or twenties nor did Barbie affect my self-esteem regarding my body even thought I clearly wasn’t blessed with huge boobs. I can’t get worked up about this stuff in the scheme of things I guess is my point in my all-over-the-place post not on point addressing her sexism charge. I loved my Disney and animated movies growing up. She’s boring me. I have bigger issues to worry about than her humorless blogs or interviews.

  58. Ginger says:

    I can understand her viewpoints on this film. I don’t like it either. My son absolutely hates it. His teacher made the class watch it twice because she loved it so much. In fact, I know a lot of grown women, not just children, that absolutely LOVE the film. I do take exception to Mayims statement that ALL Disney female characters are searching for love from a man. My favorite Disney film is Brave. The central female character is strong willed and actually rebels against her families traditional expectations for her. I found that character to be an excellent role model for young girls because she shows that you can be strong and independent but still loyal to your family even if you don’t agree with them. I also recently watched Maleficent with my son and we LOVED it! He didn’t want to go at first because of his experience with Frozen but I talked him into it. Again, another great example of a Disney female character who is strong and independent and is guided by her love for a child, not a man. Yes, she is betrayed by a man and at first seeks revenge but turns around at the end and is redeemed by love for family. Maybe Mayim needs to watch more Disney films?

    • Merritt says:

      The women characters in “Frozen” aren’t looking for men though. Anna gets engaged because of the lack of affection in her life due to being kept away from her sister. It is about sisterly love, not romantic love.

  59. emma says:

    Tangled was MUCH better, I agree! And, Rapunzel was about finding life and such before falling in lvd

  60. Dany says:

    All the hype about the music and then i watched this movie and it was lame.
    The worst thing was Elsa. Born to be a Queen, but instead of being a Queen to her people she runs away. The main export good of her country is ice, right? And she has these awesome ice powers?! Hmmm. What´s with her royal duty? Shouldn´t that be her priority? All these years and she never tried to come clear with her powers just because of an accident when she was young? What did she do all these years in her room?
    She did not care for her country and subjects. Just run away and let your underage silly little sister watch the realm… no wait the little sister leaves too. Why not? Tell some foreign guy you just met he should watch over your kingdom, its finances, people etc. Yeah

    • Merritt says:

      She runs away because her parents didn’t teach her to be strong. They locked her away and made her ashamed of her power. So yeah, she runs away until she learns how to embrace her power.

  61. vv007 says:

    I agree with her and this movie sucks. Totally over hyped.

  62. kcarp says:

    My favorite Disney Movie for little girls is Brave. She doesn’t want any of the men, she is not ready, she wants to pave her own way. Granted she does some shady stuff and turns her mom into a bear but the message doesn’t change.

    The real love story in Frozen is the sisters not any of the boys. They are second to the acts of sisterly love.

  63. sam says:

    So I have 2 young girls. I have tried to keep them away from princesses (not very successfully). Honestly I don’t mind Frozen. If you hold it up against any other disney flick it is. Immensely more tolerable. I watched beauty and the beast for the first time in about 15 years and had to bite my tongue about 5 times in the first 5 minutes.
    And I don’t mind the frozen music all that much either….. compare it to some of the other crap kids want to watch and you will see what I mean.

  64. Amanda says:

    I watched Disney princess movies growing up and I turned out just fine thank you very much. I think most little girls don’t really care all that much about the messages of these movies or take them that seriously.

  65. jenny12 says:

    She’s right. Every single show or film aimed toward kids, particularly girls, is driven by the need to find love. I’m constantly reminding my kids that girls do not spend their lives obsessed with being found attractive by guys or hoping for boyfriends, which is the go-to plot for every Disney show and TV movie. Anyone who isn’t white is marginalized in those films/shows, too. Making fun of guys being hit in the crotch or turning them into misogynist pigs for laughs isn’t cool, either. Girls are desperate for love and pathetic and guys are humiliated. It’s sad and stupid. The only film not based on a desperate need for romance is Brave.

  66. Tape says:

    I think she missed the point in Frozen. The sister starts out looking for a man and finds that her family/herself are probably more important. When Honor says she’s ready to marry the not-so-good “prince charming,” Elsa says, very ironically for a Disney film, that you can’t marry someone you just met.

    The main driving plot is Honor trying to get Elsa to reverse the ice and simultaneously Elsa trying to understand her own powers. None of it was about finding a man. In fact, it clearly shows that Honor’s desperation to find Prince Charming has deleterious effects for the characters. But this is a side story, and the male villain is balanced out by the other friend/love interest character.

    I think she’s taking it too far here. Frozen was pretty feminist to me. And it’s an animation, so what do you expect? Everyone in it looked like a doll. So did the characters from Up!, and come to think of it, every other animation film I’ve seen, ever.

    • tarheel says:

      This — you saved me a few minutes writing up a post. Frozen is not the Disney movie to rail against for this reason.

  67. decorative item says:

    My kid and I hate that movie.
    I don’t understand why this would surprise her? So many of the Disney animated movies are the same. First, the parents die a traumatic death. Next, the “empowered” female lead goes on to fall in love with some durpy male character, finally realizing how incomplete and unfulfilled she really was. Oh, and they sing…horrible, horrible songs.

  68. Lia says:

    The bottom line is, people go to these movies to escape reality. To see a fairytale, to relax and enjoy a feel-good story about princesses and princes, something that we will never be. If I want to see reality I’ll turn on the nightly news. The visuals are beautiful, the songs are enjoyable, and the story lines are pure escapism. If Disney starts making movies where the princess / heroine doesn’t fall in love and end up with her dream man, they will see empty theaters. That’s just the way it is.

  69. tarheel says:

    I like her, but she is bizarrely offbase about “Frozen.” That and “Brave” are the most positive Disney movies, especially where gender roles and expectations are concerned.

  70. Stephanie says:

    THE WHOLE POINT OF THE DAMN MOVIE WAS THAT YOU DON’T NEED A MAN TO SAVE YOU AND THAT YOU SHOULDN’T LOOK TO A MAN TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE. WHERE’S MY PHD?? Ok sorry for the caps but c’mon people pay attention…or don’t. But if you don’t, don’t write columns on it.

  71. Claire says:

    Frozen was nice to look at, but bland. I know the female character’s faces are insane, but they are so pretty – especially Elsa. I absolutely love Tangled, that is my most favourite. Plus Flynn Rider was quite spunky for a cartoon character. Anyway I don’t seem to see the harm in it all, my kids love it and enjoy the entertainment. Too much overthinking. It is nice to be able to escape into a magical world.

  72. Chris says:

    Talk about over thinking about something trite. If you want films worth intellectual rigour check out the films of Claire Denis: https://mubi.com/cast_members/463#cast_members/463

  73. Darlene says:

    My daughter is 11 and she DESPISES Frozen, as do I. She believes (and I agree with her) that the girl (I don’t even know her name, I’m sorry) who has powers shouldn’t have been locked away and that keeping her apart from her sister in a life based on fear is tragic and sad. We watched that “How It Should Have Ended” where the girl ends up in the X-Men (after the rock troll tells the girl’s parents that they are HORRIBLE parents, LOL) and she’s obsessed with that concept. She has ALL KINDS of ideas about how the girl could have had a great life kicking evil’s butt with her sister at her side, but instead it was all fear fear fear, repression repression repression and sadness sadness sadness.

    She also noticed that the female characters’ eyes are wider than their ARMS, and that has really bothered her. She’s anti-Frozen in every way, shape and form. Her birthday is coming up, and #1 on the list is “NOTHING from FROZEN”. 🙂 The girl has her head on straight, for sure.

  74. Lola says:

    I think it is the responsibility of the parent to explain films to their children, even if the film is animated and from Disney. I do agree that there are a lot of Disney films that have a plot about the happy ever after with the Prince charming and that is not helping young girls when they become women. But again, sit with your child an explain the movie, the subplots (it is hard, kids don’t like when you talk to them when they watch the film, but you can do it afterwards)
    Also, wasn’t there a big out roar from the director of Brave? When the character got personified for Disney parks all of the sudden she became a “beauty.” Disney needs to learn, beauty is more than looks, show that to the young.

  75. koko says:

    It is simple: IF YOU DONT LIKE FROZEN THEN DONT WATCH IT! But please, stop dragging it through the mud. A lot of very talented artists worked on that movie, it took tremendous dedication and a deep love of storytelling to create. If you don’t like fairytales then don’t go see it but don’t hate on it just because you don’t like the genre. All animated movies are NOT just for kids and not all are based on romance. Just because your kid didn’t like it doesn’t mean its not a good movie. I see moms (usually with little boys) say this all the time, oh I’m not girly, I hate musicals, I don’t want a little girl who plays with dolls or wears pink because (implied) being girly is a BAD THING. These same moms have given up their entire identity to be a stay at home mom and acting as if being a stereotypical mom is so much better than being a “girly girl”, oh please. It is not a bad thing to be a girl, act like a girl or like things that are marketed to girls. That’s why it is called marketing, they have been proven to be popular by GIRLS. It is what it is, get used to it. The parents who applaud their children for hating girly things and talking crap about people who like these things are not creating strong independent people who can think for themselves. You are probably creating a kid who will be mean to kids in his/her class that does like them. Why not teach your kid not to judge something based on the cover and to properly critique something they don’t like instead of saying That sucks! I hate that! It sounds so bratty. I hear many parents try to keep their little girls from liking princesses and all things girly and guess what? Most of them do it anyway! Because it is fun. You obviously don’t get it so why not leave critiques of Disney movies to people who actually like and watch their films.

  76. Anath Pariah says:

    YOu know.

    WHen I was a child, Disny films never gave me a complex. I always knew they were “just cartoons”. ANd Barbie was “just a doll”.

    I suffer an extreme case of body dismorphic disorder at the age of 26, by the way. I’d say that of everything that’s had an effect on my image has been marketed toward adult males. Hellooooo sex industry!

  77. Really? says:

    So your problem is that she didn’t offer solutions? I guess I’m confused because I think by stating pretty concretely what the issues are — THAT is a suggestion. Stop making movies where the central plotline is about a girl trying to find a man. That’s a solution. Start having main female characters who don’t look like the same barbie-like women who have been at the forefront of nearly every Disney movie. That doesn’t strike me as all that difficult for Disney to think about.