In 1908, popular French artist Émile Cohl finished production of a film titled Fantasmagorie. The film is less than two minutes long, but was made up of 700 separate and unique hand-drawn illustrations that, when exposed to the camera in a certain way, would make the characters appear as if they were moving. Today, this film is referred to as the first production made solely using traditional animation methods for the entirety of the work. Since its production, incredible strides have been made in animation, from the development of the cel technique to the rise of 3D animation technology. However, as humans have worked to develop animation methods and technology, it is the artists and designers who shape what is animated. One very prominent phenomenon that has been observed within animation since its early days has been the sexualization of female characters. For years now, female characters within animation have been depicted with characteristics considered to be conventionally attractive: large breasts, small waist, and large rear. It was only a mere few years after the release of Fantasmagorie that the earliest examples of animated sexualization are observed, and even now over 100 years after its release we are still observing similar treatment of the female body in animation.
One of the earliest examples of female sexualization seen is media is with the character Betty Boop. Betty Boop was created in 1930 by Grim Natwick and Max Fleischer, and she was given her own series of cartoons in 1932. The first of these cartoons, Stopping the Show, depicts Betty in a theater doing impressions of popular singers from the time. Almost immediately after the cartoon's release, her popularity began to grow drastically, specifically because of her physical appearance. In Stopping the Show and a vast majority of her subsequent appearances, Betty is depicted wearing a short black dress and a thigh garter. One of New York's most popular publications from the 1930's, The Film Daily, tauted how "Mister Fleischer gave her a doll-like face with those baby eyes... BUT also a mature figure with oo-la-la curves and a boudoir languor in her walk... if you get what we mean... her com-hither eyes and sexy seductiveness."
Betty's role as a "sex icon" was most notably set in stone through later episodes of her cartoon. For example, in the 1932 episode Boop-Oop-a-Doop, Betty plays a circus performer. Following her act, when she returns to her dressing room, her boss sneaks in and attempts to rape her. He begins touching her inappropriately and, after she makes it clear that she is not interested, he attempts to choke her, and she is only narrowly able to escape. Many other episodes featured a general theme of men attempting to pursue Betty, treating her as a prize to be won rather than as a person. Both Betty's design and her objectification within the episodes of her cartoon have led to her still being regarded as a sex symbol even in modern day. Despite semi-successful pushes for her to take on a role of a more feminist icon, her association with female sexual attractiveness has persisted for almost 100 years now.
When thinking about sexualized female characters in media, the leading example in the eyes of many people is that of Jessica Rabbit from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The film follows detective Eddie Valiant, who is working to help the film’s namesake, Roger Rabbit, prove his innocence in a murder case. Roger’s wife, Jessica, is one of the people accused of potentially framing him. Her introduction in the film is in the form of a musical performance. She reveals herself on stage through a slit in the curtain, then proceeds to dance sultrily around the stage while getting up close and personal with those watching; she actively sits on the lap of Eddie Valiant mid-performance, for example. Jessica Rabbit fits the epitome of the female sexualized body, presenting all of the traits associated most commonly with female attractiveness. In articles following the movie’s release, she was even referred to as “the biggest cartoon sex symbol since Betty Boop.”
In modern society, there has been a noteworthy push against sexualization of animated characters, especially within media targeted at children. However, despite this push, there are still many instances seen from even the largest of animation companies. In 2016, Walt Disney Animation Studios released a short film titled Inner Workings, which premiered alongside Moana in theaters. The film follows Paul, a working-class man living in a beachside city in California. It focuses on the different parts of his body and how they work together, often contrasting the desires of his heart's desires versus his brain’s logic. On his way to work one day, he passes by a woman selling sunglasses, who his heart jumps at the sight of. The character model of this woman accentuates a small waist and a large rear, two characteristic traits heavily associated with the sexualization of women.
As animation continues to evolve and societal standards continue to change, there are many questions regarding the scale to which the animated sexualization of women may continue. Feminist movements have been on the rise in recent years; will we see a continued push for more accurate depictions of the bodies of women? In animation developments specifically, there have been many advances made in artificial intelligence (AI) technology: if AI begins to play a bigger role in character design and animation, will they continue the same sexualization that we have observed for years? We do not yet know the answer to many of these questions, and it will be interesting to see how society both shapes and reacts to these changes. WORKS CITED
Appelo, Tim, and Gregg Kilday. 1991. “The Last Movie Star.” Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly. August 2, 1991. https://web.archive.org/web/20141205120804/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,314990,00.html.
Cohl, Émile, dir. 1908. Fantasmagorie. Traditional Animation. Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swh448fLd1g.
Daly, Phil. 1932. “Along the Rialto with Phil M. Daly.” The Film Daily, June 24, 1932. https://archive.org/details/filmdailyvolume55859newy/page/1460/mode/2up.
Fleischer, Dave, dir. 1932. Boop-Oop-A-Doop - A Betty Boop Cartoon. Animated Short. Paramount Pictures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUB78zvleVc.
Fleischer, Dave, dir. 1932. Stopping the Show - A Betty Boop Cartoon. Animated Short. Paramount Pictures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUB78zvleVc.
Matsuda, Leo, dir. 2016. Inner Workings. Short Film. Animated Adventure. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-b275ce77-427f-4b49-9f25-febebbd45f26.
Zemeckis, Robert, dir. 1988. Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Film. Fantasy Comedy. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-40c47172-d2ea-452d-bb69-ca8f45bc2b9d.
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