Originally a comment by Freemage on #WhereAreWomen.

Disney actually triggered a fairly major ‘feminist consciousness’ moment for me, back in the day.

My then-girlfriend and I had just gone to see Mulan in the theaters, and loved it. So we left the movie humming the songs and talking about the film and then, as we were walking through the mall, decided to check out the Disney store. Since Mulan had just come out, of course, there were shelves and shelves of toys set out. And guess what the ONLY Mulan figurine was?

Bridal Fucking Mulan.

The white-faced, gown-wearing version of her that exists for just a few minutes in the film solely to be rejected by her before the end of that scene.

Of course, there were lots of armor and swords available for boys who wanted to be Shang. But nothing for little girls who wanted to be the STAR OF THE GODDAMNED MOVIE. (I think there was also one figurine of “Secret Messenger Mulan” or somesuch, which might’ve been moderately okay if she had ever taken on a spy/courier role in the movie.)

Ahem. Sorry. It’s still a bit of a sore spot for me. It was also the first time I ever ranted in public. I think I went on for a good fifteen minutes griping about how completely absurd it was.