The Representations of Gender in The Lion King

The idea that animation is an innocent medium for children, and largely dismissed in film histories, has
done much to inhibit the proper discussion of issues concerning representation.

Animated feature films, but especially those created by Disney, have been an important aspect of
children’s culture for many decades. These films can primarily be a glaring example of the kinds of
entertainment that “stimulate the imagination, protect innocence, and create a healthy sense of
adventure, all of which is assumed to be ‘good’ for kids.

Although the film is popular amongst the children’s cultures, there are some alternatives to the dominant
reading of the movie that can hardly be understood by children. This essay will focus on these
alternatives, and particularly on the way notions like femininity and masculinity appear in the film

In The Lion King we get the notion of a patriarchal family and leadership. All animals who have ruled
Pride Rock - Mufasa, Scar and Simba – are males, although Scar’s character is controversial as it will be
seen in the following section. The lionesses adopt a secondary role, keeping only the only thing that may
make them slightly stronger than lions, that of hunting. Still, the fact that they are ordered to do the
hunting, proves that they do not have much of independency. After Mufasa’s death, and Scar’s self-
enthronement, lionesses had the chance to react and defeat Scar if they wanted to, but because they
learnt to be dependent all their lives, they were lacking any sense of outrage, independence, or
resistance and the female felines hang out to do bidding.