Sorry it took me so long to publish this again. PLEASE COMMENT!

I guess...? I think they're all good feminists at this point.

^^^ Exactly.

I thought...erm...we decided this before. Um. Anyhow, in my book it goes Mulan first, Merida second, and Tiana third.

Yeah...

I guess.

Either she or Merida.

They're all great. But Merida's character is something that we've seen before: the feisty, outdoorsy gal who wants to remain independent. It's still a good model but girls need more diversity (both racially, ethnically, and otherwise). Tiana and Mulan fit that order better because we haven't seen many examples of their character types before. The good thing about Merida though is that the film points out how Merida's strengths can also be weaknesses (feisty becomes impulsive, independent becomes not listening to others, etc) and girls also need to know that they can make mistakes and still be good people.

Of those on this list, I have to go with Merida.

With that said, feminism means different things to different people. My mom was an avid second-wave feminism from the 1960's and 1970's, and she felt the movie was horribly misogynistic because of the apparent moral that if you're a woman, you are de facto the "peace-keeper" and you HAVE to conform to the traditional feminine role society set for you. If you're male like Fergus, the Triplets, the Clan leaders and their sons, etc. It's okay to be reckless, hot-headed, belligerent, battle-happy, etc. You can do anything. If you're female: tough cookies. Your fate and your role in society is decided by your gender, so get back in the kitchen where you belong.

That's her take on it. I don't fully agree since the movie also shows that the traditional "feminine arts" of managing peace, diplomacy, etc. have value too... But I also couldn't help but notice that the whole "girl defies tradition" setup of the film still ends with: "Tough. You're a girl, therefore you have to fit into the feminine role society set for you." Fergus is a hunter/warrior who tries his hand at being diplomatic, but when it doesn't work the movie kind of shrugs and goes: "Oh well, boys will be boys."

Merida doesn't have the same choice that her father has. She doesn't have the option of saying: "Oh well, being diplomatic isn't for me." She HAS to reign in her hunter/warrior tendencies and become a diplomat even though she's no better at it than her father or brothers, simply because she has a vagina while they don't. I find that vaguely insulting.

Again, I don't find it as bad as my mother does. BUT, of the three on this list, Tiana and Mulan cross social and gender restrictions much better in their films.

^Well, that's funny because the men are portrayed as morons who can't do anything without a woman's help, and the women are the only half-intelligent, capable people in the movie. You ought to point that ought if you ever watch it with her again (if you want to anyway). I thought it was a much more anti-male movie, but then I'm not a feminist anymore anyway.

anyway, HOW IS SHE STILL HERE? Even with the definition of feminism changing every five seconds, objectively I think tons of the other girls are 'more' feminist. Pocahontas is treated the same as a man in her village- they look to HER for guidance despite her sex, status, and age. Snow White was the first truly proactive princess and didn't let the men walk over her (quite the other way around) and got on fine without her prince. Jasmine wanted to choose her own husband and not be married off. Cinderella was very independent-minded and never even mentioned 'needing' a man (not that that's wrong, just saying since feminists always take issue with that) and never let her oppressors break her. Anna, like Poca, was never looked down on as a young girl or a princess and didn't let Kristoff walk over her; she was quite proactive and she was the rescuer of the damsel, instead of a man. I could go on.

Merida stays single, yes, but is that's the biggest qualification for passing the feminist test you need, I'd say modern feminism needs serious work, because that's shallow. People often praise Merida as a role model for the wrong reasons- because she's a big tomboy and doesn't want marriage. Shouldn't it be because she's seen as equal by her male family members and speaks up for herself about the marriage thing (even though she went about it the wrong way)?

I don't completely agree with the results either, but I do think these top 3 do deserve the credit there apparently given. That being said, the reasons you just pointed out were the reasons I looked down on Merida for so long, it wasn't until I re watched the movie that I saw a selfless girl who was willing to make up for what she done. I'm not going to vote because I'll leave that to the people, but honestly this could go either way.

All of the ones left are good feminists though.

The voting is over but I agree with AudreyFreak. In my definition of what feminists are, Merida doesn't even come close to it. She is why people confuse feminism with ONLY female empowerment.