“But most of all, stop thinking that what people so loathingly refer to as the “friendzone” is some sort of purgatory women put “nice guys” into. My friendship is not a crappy consolation prize that you’re left with if I deny you a sexual relationship– and my body is not your reward for good behavior.”
this is the second poster I made for my gender and violence project about disney films. Something that really struck me about the little mermaid was not that actual domestic violence happens in the film (which differentiates it from a film like Beauty and the Beast), but rather that there was a very large potential for violence in the situation that Ariel is in. She’s basically an immigrant - she doesn’t speak the language (in fact, for the first part of her time on land she can’t speak at all), she has no understanding of the culture, she has no family or friends there, and her only support is her husband. If she were to be abused, how would she ask for help? How would she find resources? How would she get herself out of that situation? This is the problem that many immigrant women face when they are in situations of domestic violence, and the poster reflects those parallels.