This infuriating attitude shows up on the bookshelves in learning environments, too. We expect girls to empathize with boys, but we kneecap every opportunity to let boys empathize with girls. And look where we are.

April 10, 2026 - 22:06 UTC

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Not teaching boys to empathize with girls or allow them to ever see that perspective is so destructive in every way I can think of.
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“But if we let boys empathize with girls, they might catch the trans!”

(Presenting it facetiously, but a lot of us trans femme people DID latch on hard to the few points of female representation in our childhood media. Transformers’ BlackArachnia was my go-to point of adherence.)
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Black Arachnia was a great character, I liked that she was bad, outcast and realigned. I rank her up there with Starscream, Soundwave & Grimlock as favorite Transformers. I am probably a bit older than you & was watching at 18. Loved Sailor Moon, Teela, She-Ra, Jem, GI Joe, Garfield, Mighty Mouse…
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Same, but that would be there anyway. I prefer Nancy Drew to Hardy Boys. I loved Alice, Dorothy, & Meg, but I also loved Encyclopedia Brown, Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne, Steven King & Doctor Who novelizations, Stuart Little, Fudge, but they wouldn’t let me read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
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My nephews fucking loved kpop demon hunters
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Boys love it!!!
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Also, like.
Frozen and Moana made a small country gdp worth of cash
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Meanwhile my nephews LOVED this movie and quote it and sing the songs all the time. Something I couldn't see boys I grew up with doing because they were too shamed for it back then. Ppl act like it's natural for boys to not relate to girls, it's not!!!
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It's absolutely infuriating. Some boy-centeted book is a hit and there will be countless sequels, copycats, and derivatives approved all tying to chase that success

But a girl-centered book is a crossover hit, and suddenly there's concern about "fiscal projections" and "feasability" 🤬🤬🤬
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When I was a kid, I watched Snow White on repeat multiple times and didn’t mind that the lead was a girl.
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I work so hard to make sure my boys are picking up books with characters who aren't like them. I want them to know that everyone else gets to be a main character too, everyone else's story is just as important. I don't want them thinking they're the default.
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And it's not like it's impossible either, there's a lot of shows even in misogyny-laden fields like the shonen anime fandom were a lot of the audience's favourite character is a woman (Gachiakuta's Riyo is a recent example that springs to mind)
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And not in a "oh this is the sexiest character" way, more a "this character is one of the most caring people for a protagonist that reminds me of myself when I was younger, and also is a stone cold badass" Girl rocks up to an anime fight with a gun and instantly ends two different fights, it rules
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The fact that I loved and connected with Turning Red so much and Pixar decided to NEVER do stuff like that again, honestly, they're just cooking themselves alive at this point.

But hey, we get another Toy Story. 🙃
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Yeah. Turning Red was one of their best films.
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Toy Story 6: The Search for more Monopoly Money
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There's a very good king of the hill episode where Bobby gets really into a fantasy book and Hank thinks it's too girly, but learns that it doesn't matter as long as Bobby is happy. It's so awful to think that now that book wouldn't even be on the shelf at all for fear that could happen.
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Meanwhile KDH is literally my "Hotwheels, Spongebob and farts" 6yo sons FAVORITE MOVIE to the point he's driving me insane singing these songs. Disney constantly giving their shit takes and I really wish they weren't so monopoly so they could feel the burn of their poor choices.
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Trying to find interested schools for authors visits when a book cover reads “girly” to the adults is so much harder than it ought to be. I hate it
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Pixar using psychology textbooks from 1947 to write their movies 🙄
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and it’s not fucking hard - at all! they just gotta let em do it without getting in the way. my son loves KPop Demon Hunters. As an adult man, I also love KPop Demon Hunters.

as long as you make a GOOD girl power movie there is literally no problem
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Miyazaki movies probably saved many men on that front.
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"toystory 5, the Ipad's revenge?"
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My nephews love K-pop demon hunters and also starfire and raven from teen titans
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It's so weird, too. Based on talks with kids booksellers I've had, boys themselves do not have an issue with reading any comic book regardless of genre, gender, etc. So this pushed on them by adults, not innate.
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As a teenage boy I felt like I would be judged harshly by adults/peers. Even if I felt like the female protagonist was attractive, still not good enough
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This is disappointing af. Another reason to dislike disney and other major media. As they continue to kneecap their responsibility to teach people and help people grow.

Especially for empathy, relating to each other.
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Their movies are always exploring that issue. They make some very good movies for children. I guess they are going to pivot away from that but they really shouldn’t. Some of these movies are pitched perfectly for middle school, explore profound themes—educational in one way, comforting in others.
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It's so weird as I remember being a little kid and having read and liked multiple books where a woman was the protagonist. This is such an old school train of thought going back to when toy aisles were gendered. It's so dumb!
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EXACTLYYYYY
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aside from obnoxious sexism in this, the reason why their animated films have continued to do poorly--Hoppers being the exception to the rule--is because they don't take risks, real or perceived. If Disney actually believed in their original animated features, they would do well. But they're cowards
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It never occurred to my sons they should not identify with girls. They wouldn’t think a story that interests them would not apply to their lives if a girl is the protagonist. And they do apply because kid stories are about kid things—escaping dangers or annoying parents or getting in trouble, etc.
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Jumping out of the way of money.
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Someone in the replies defends Disney by listing "all" the movies featuring women leads.

There are 7. Pixar has made 30 films. 7 center women. Not even 25%. Just based on the number of boys and girls, the number should be closer to 50%.
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Disney Adult in Replies? Must be a Mega Man Fan on Prom Night.
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ALSO, that line of reasoning doesn't make any sense. You can't use the (few) number of times Disney has found success with women leads... as a defense for them choosing not to make another film with women leads because it "wouldn't work"!!! 🤬🤬🤬
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So…no more Frozen or other Princess movies? Just trying to wrap my head around this, not that boys can not enjoy those too.
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exactly
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