Reflection by Christina Aguilera from Disney's Mulan
Look at me
You may think you see
Who I really am
But you’ll never know me
Every day, is as if I play apart
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I can not fool
My heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
I am now
In a world where I have to
Hide my heart
And what I believe in
But somehow
I will show the world
What’s inside my heart
And be loved for who I am
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection
Someone I don’t know?
Must I pretend that i’m
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
There’s a heart that must
Be free to fly
That burns with a need
To know the reason why
Why must we all conceal
What we think
How we feel
Must there be a secret me
I’m forced to hide?
I won’t pretend that i’m
Someone else
For all time
When will my reflections show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflections show
Who I am inside?
Feminism, being a part of post modernism is a call to socially constructed realities. Upon listening to and reading the above lyrics from Disney’s Mulan, I was able to make some connections with Judith Butler who addresses sex issues in “Gender Trouble.”
In “Reflection,” Christina Aguilera tells the listener “look at me” and that they will believe they see who she is but they will never know her. This idea of the “body” or “outer” (surface) form of being is misleading as it is not certainly indicative of a person’s position. Aguilera goes on to say, “Everyday is as if I play a part […] now I see, if I wear a mask I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart.” This correlates with the idea that bodies are “regulated” by norms. Butler states that “the gendered body is performative suggests that it has no ontological status apart from the various acts which constitute its reality” (Butler; 2548). Much like the character Mulan and Aguilera’s lyrics, there is a struggle with identity; a challenge between the “inner” and “outer” self. The conflict arises between gender truth and identity. Butler describes this by saying, “If the inner truth of gender is a fabrication and if a true gender is a fantasy instituted and inscribed on the surface of bodies, then it seems that genders can be neither true nor false, but are only produced as the truth effects of a discourse of primary and stable identity” Butler; 2549).
The lyrics exemplify the struggle that occurs with the character to be accepted for who she is. She says that she is now in a world where she has to hide her heart and what she believes in. She goes on to question, in another line, whether she will have to be pretend to be someone else. With these ideas in mind we can begin to see the implications of cultural practice, modern societal values and how they hinder and individual from who they are internally or establishing an identity. Butler says that genders are perpetually imitated and parodically styled. She says that these “parodic styles are clearly part of hegemonic, mysogonist culture” and are “nevertheless denaturalized and mobilized” (Butler; 2550).
Much like Beauvoir, Butler calls to attention that the body has a “variable boundary” with a “permeable” surface (Butler; 2551). With this being identified, we can consider Butler’s idea of a “genderdized body.” She says that the body goes on further to say that “these styles are never fully self-styled, for styles have a history and those histories condition and limit the possibilities” (Butler; 2550). We can make a connection that since gendered bodies are styled by historically constructed styles that they are not “original” but rather copies. The character struggles with this dual idea of “self.” What is “reflected” on the surface does not align with what she feels internally. “Gender is also a norm that can never be fully internalized” the ‘internal’ is a surface signification and gender norms are finally phantasmatic, impossible to embody” (Butler; 2552). Since Butler believes that gender is “performative” and is acted through a series of imitations, then we can see the implications of the lyrics in reflection. This idea implies that the character in subject to the limitation of performing orthodox to her societal role. Butler illustrates that the “performance” of gender in society falls under these contemporary ideas of “discrete genders” (Butler; 2551) and that they “humanize individuals within contemporary culture” (Butler; 2551).
Moreover, Butler argues that “we regularly punish those who fail to do their gender right” (Butler; 2551). We can see that Mulan fears that she will remain confined to this “discrete gender” or role that contemporary norms have constructed for her. This fear that is shown through the character is indicative that there must be consequences (as Butler refers to as “punishment”) if she does not live up to those expectations.
In “Reflection,” Christina Aguilera tells the listener “look at me” and that they will believe they see who she is but they will never know her. This idea of the “body” or “outer” (surface) form of being is misleading as it is not certainly indicative of a person’s position. Aguilera goes on to say, “Everyday is as if I play a part […] now I see, if I wear a mask I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart.” This correlates with the idea that bodies are “regulated” by norms. Butler states that “the gendered body is performative suggests that it has no ontological status apart from the various acts which constitute its reality” (Butler; 2548). Much like the character Mulan and Aguilera’s lyrics, there is a struggle with identity; a challenge between the “inner” and “outer” self. The conflict arises between gender truth and identity. Butler describes this by saying, “If the inner truth of gender is a fabrication and if a true gender is a fantasy instituted and inscribed on the surface of bodies, then it seems that genders can be neither true nor false, but are only produced as the truth effects of a discourse of primary and stable identity” Butler; 2549).
The lyrics exemplify the struggle that occurs with the character to be accepted for who she is. She says that she is now in a world where she has to hide her heart and what she believes in. She goes on to question, in another line, whether she will have to be pretend to be someone else. With these ideas in mind we can begin to see the implications of cultural practice, modern societal values and how they hinder and individual from who they are internally or establishing an identity. Butler says that genders are perpetually imitated and parodically styled. She says that these “parodic styles are clearly part of hegemonic, mysogonist culture” and are “nevertheless denaturalized and mobilized” (Butler; 2550).
Much like Beauvoir, Butler calls to attention that the body has a “variable boundary” with a “permeable” surface (Butler; 2551). With this being identified, we can consider Butler’s idea of a “genderdized body.” She says that the body goes on further to say that “these styles are never fully self-styled, for styles have a history and those histories condition and limit the possibilities” (Butler; 2550). We can make a connection that since gendered bodies are styled by historically constructed styles that they are not “original” but rather copies. The character struggles with this dual idea of “self.” What is “reflected” on the surface does not align with what she feels internally. “Gender is also a norm that can never be fully internalized” the ‘internal’ is a surface signification and gender norms are finally phantasmatic, impossible to embody” (Butler; 2552). Since Butler believes that gender is “performative” and is acted through a series of imitations, then we can see the implications of the lyrics in reflection. This idea implies that the character in subject to the limitation of performing orthodox to her societal role. Butler illustrates that the “performance” of gender in society falls under these contemporary ideas of “discrete genders” (Butler; 2551) and that they “humanize individuals within contemporary culture” (Butler; 2551).
Moreover, Butler argues that “we regularly punish those who fail to do their gender right” (Butler; 2551). We can see that Mulan fears that she will remain confined to this “discrete gender” or role that contemporary norms have constructed for her. This fear that is shown through the character is indicative that there must be consequences (as Butler refers to as “punishment”) if she does not live up to those expectations.
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