When Reflection Breaks Tradition: Gender Performativity in Disney’s Mulan (1998)

Authors

  • Gavriel Dylan Jauwena MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Clarisse Nicholtrayne Kasenda MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Shinelle Rose Gani MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Nia Pranajaya MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Brigitta Esther Aprilya Siringoringo MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Keywords:

Mulan, gender performativity, Judith Butler, traditional gender roles, feminist literary criticism

Abstract

This study examines the construction and subversion of traditional gender roles in Disney’s Mulan (1998) through the lens of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity. Using a qualitative literary approach, the film was analyzed through close readings of key scenes, dialogues, and symbolic elements, supported by scholarly critiques and feminist theory. The findings reveal three main results. 1) the film reinforces traditional stereotypes by presenting femininity as obedience, domesticity, and marriage, particularly through the “Honor to Us All” sequence. 2) Mulan’s acts of disguise and performance destabilize the gender binary, illustrating Butler’s claim that gender is not innate but performed through repetition and cultural expectation. 3) while the narrative challenges conventional roles, it simultaneously reinscribes heteronormative closure by the film’s conclusion, reflecting Butler’s insight that performances of resistance can still be reabsorbed into existing norms. This study concludes that Mulan functions as both a critique and reinforcement of gender roles, highlighting the instability of gender identity and its potential for reinterpretation. The analysis contributes to broader feminist discussions on how literature and media negotiate cultural norms, offering new insights into the performative nature of gender in animated narratives.

References

Beauvoir, S. de. (1949). The second sex (H. M. Parshley, Trans.). Vintage Books.

Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.

Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become leaders. Harvard Business School Press.

Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan.

World Bank. (2019). Women, business and the law 2019: A decade of reform. World Bank Publications. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1352-4

Zahron, S. B. (n.d.). The main character’s struggle in fighting for gender inequality in Disney Mulan movie. Undergraduate thesis..

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Published

2025-08-31

How to Cite

Jauwena, G. D., Kasenda, C. N., Gani, S. R., Pranajaya, N., & Siringoringo, B. E. A. (2025). When Reflection Breaks Tradition: Gender Performativity in Disney’s Mulan (1998). Boanerges: Makarios Education Journal, 3(1), 34–43. Retrieved from https://streamfly.tech/index.php/boanerges/article/view/38

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): BOANERGES

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