When I was 14 years old, I remember hearing people talking about religions and mentioned that my father's side of the family was Jewish. One boy said he could tell from my "Jew Schnoz." Ignoring the obviously racist and anti-semitic aura of this phrase, the comment sent me spiraling into a black hole I would become well-acquainted with: Am I beautiful? Many young women have wondered and even lamented over this question since we are a society that tries to define beauty with every magazine, weight-loss product advertisement, and Sephora employee trying to convince us we need night cream for the "bags under our eyes." I would consume Seventeen magazine's diet tips and, most importantly, search for beauty in the faces of Disney's princesses and female heroines.
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Yet something was peculiar about them, but I could never put my finger on it. I just knew that they did not look like me -- no one had a big schnoz.
But about a year ago, Tumblr users such as Alex at Something Classy and Gianna at I am Evil and Not Straight and discovered that Disney animators have been on a curious trend with female faces. Short version? They all look the same (round face; small, button noses; big eyes).
And men get more variety in their appearances:
Why Do I Care?
The small button noses and round baby faces settle into the sexist notion of infantilizing women. Remember those antiquated notions that women were frail and fragile. Women had to be treated with delicacy and gentleness--much like the way we treat babies. Thus, baby talk becomes common among couples. Swearing around a woman was seen as offensive; don't even suggest a woman swearing herself! A sense of perfectionism and virgin purity was expected of women. Therefore, our Disney princesses had to echo these child-like qualities.
Whether the women in these Disney movies are portrayed as strong and independent or weak and fragile, their faces imply the animators' underlying sexism when drawing them. This also sets up a beauty standard for thousands of girls around the world consuming Disney media, a standard some girls can never achieve because of their natural bone structure.
So I could never have a "Disney button nose," but is that so bad? Why is the lack of big noses an issue? Because it taught me that with beauty, it was baby-face-button-nose or bust. Well, as we all should know by now, that is simply not true. Look at all these beautiful women supposedly lacking that "beauty factor button nose."
This is for the girls with the big schnozes out there. You are beautiful, powerful, and strong. Your facial features and overall physical appearance do not define your beauty. You are smart, funny, kind-hearted, quick-witted, easy going, entertaining, awe-inspiring, and above all worth more than Disney or any other corporation could ever try to pigeonhole you to be.
