Are the Disney Princesses Good Role Models? Part 7: Pocahontas

On the surface level, Pocahontas already seems like a great role model for girls. She is independent, confident and curious about the world around her. She never stops exploring and learning. Like many Disney Princesses, Pocahontas does not have a mother. But she seeks guidance from the elderly figure Grandmother Willow. Pocahontas goes to Grandmother Willow for advice because she knows Grandmother Willow is the wisest woman she knows, and Grandmother Willow encourages Pocahontas to listen to her heart.  Pocahontas has a bittersweet ending. Instead of choosing to explore the other side of the world with the man she loves, she stays with the people she loves. It’s heartbreaking that she has to say goodbye to the only man she ever loved, but it’s empowering that she chooses to fulfil her destiny as a leader.

Unfortunately, The movie has gotten a bad reputation for being racist because it inaccurately paints colonizer John Smith in a heroic light.  In reality, he could be as bad as villain Governor Ratcliffe when it came to stealing from the Natives – even after they had declared a truce!

The romance between Pocahontas and John Smith was never a favorite of mine, even before I knew the real story.  I am willing to overlook it because of the overall message the movie portrays: “Whether we are white or copper skinned/ We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain/ We need to paint with all the colors of the wind”.

Pocahontas teaches John Smith a very important life lesson: respect other living beings. John Smith refers to non-white Natives as “savages” and arrogantly tells Pocahontas he’ll teach her how to build “decent houses" . Pocahontas immediately calls him out on this. “You think the only people who are people/ Are the people who look and think like you,” she sings to him. This message can extend to so many other areas of life. Pocahontas teaches us to have empathy and respect all other living things – even if they do not look like us! We are not superior to anybody or anything, but we can all learn from each other.

 

So, this movie has a fantastic anti-racist message. But how does this apply to feminism? In many first-world countries, intersectionality is not practiced by leading feminists. The UK has been criticized of this recently. This may be surprising to some as the UK (like America) is supposed to be ahead politically and socially. Yet to others, this isn't surprising at all. The UK's exclusionary feminism can be traced back to their colonialism of Pocahontas' time. 

Feminism is about respecting women, no matter what their skin color is. And sometimes the issues of race and sex overlap. For example, black women are the most mistreated when it comes to healthcare. 

The feminist movement has been criticized since its origins for not always including women of color. Some American white women were upset by the outbreak of the Civil War because it halted any progress of winning votes for women. During the suffragist movement, it was highly debated whether black women should march. Some argued that racist men would further dismiss the cause if they saw white women standing with black women. And some appealed to the racism of the time by arguing it was ridiculous that black men got the right to vote before white women! After all, they thought whites must be above blacks – even if they were just white women! This mentality may have actually helped women win the right to vote, but it’s obviously not the most moral rationalization. Going forward, we need to make sure ALL of our daughters are heard. Pocahontas' message of respect and empathy for others is one of the most important a young girl can hear today.