Course:CSIS200/2025/Reimagining The Happily Ever After: The Rejection of Heteronormativity, Amatonormativity and Traditional Femininity in Disney's Moana

Definitions

Term	Definition
Heteronormativity	Denoting or relating to a world view that presents gender roles as fixed and heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation.
Amatonormativity	The cultural assumption that an exclusive, central, romantic relationship is a universal goal and the best way to find happiness, often privileging it over friendships and other bonds, and creating pressure to couple up.
Autonomy	The right or condition of self-government.
Self-actualization	The psychological process of fulfilling one's highest potential, becoming the most one can be, and achieving personal growth, creativity, and autonomy.
Personal agency	The capacity of an individual to make their own choices and take actions that influence their life, thoughts, and environment.

About The Author

Alyssa Rabeeh was born on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional meeting ground, gathering place, and traveling route for the ​​Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux. She is an undergraduate student studying psychology at the University of British Columbia. Alyssa has expressed a long standing interest in Disney films, specifically the iconic Disney princess narratives. Through her engagement in a wide variety of courses such as CSIS 200, she has been able to examine the cultural and ideological shortcomings and strengths of early Disney productions through diverse lenses and perspectives. This engagement is what inspired her to pursue further research on both modern and traditional Disney films and helped prompt her interest in this article's topic.

Evolving Narratives in Disney Princess Films

Figure 1. Illustration of an early 1900s woman focusing heavily on her beauty and appearance. Illustrated by Jules Scheele .

Disney's portrayal of princesses has evolved significantly from the traditional narratives centering around female dependence, beauty, and obedience, to the shift towards leadership, female autonomy, and non-romantic love seen from the late 90s onwards. While earlier films released between 1937-1995 reinforced conventional femininity, later works including Mulan, Tangled, and Brave began challenging these norms and the traditional plot, and thus created a foundation for films like Moana, which depart from romantic and gendered expectations altogether. The hit film Moana challenges early ideals by rejecting amatonormative (the expectation that romantic love is central to fulfillment) and heteronormative (the presumption of heterosexual gender roles) scripts through its refusal of romantic subplots, de-centering male authority, and prioritizing personal agency as well as self-actualization. As one of the most influential cultural institutions of both the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Disney has played a huge role in shaping the way we understand gender, romance, and identity globally. For over a century, Disney princess films have reflected societal norms, while also reinforcing ideas of heteronormativity and femininity to audiences around the world. As Fischer and Dean (2019) note, heterosexuality discourses embedded in cultural products “clearly position women as subordinate to men” (p. 6), a pattern that's evident in early Disney films such as Snow White .

The Historical Expectations of Disney Princesses

Figure 2. "Someday My Prince Will Come" , Song by Adriana Caselotti from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) .

Historically, the traditional Disney princess trope included “a central female character, the princess and a male character who is romantically linked with the princess” . This narrative structure not only positions marriage and heterosexual love as a woman's primary source of fulfillment, but also reinforces a gender hierarchy that frames female characters as passive and dependent.

Traditional Portrayals of Femininity

Figure 3. Concept art for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a clear example of these exemplified expectations. Snow White’s femininity and value stem from her beauty, obedience, domesticity, and heteronormative romantic fulfilment. Snow White spends most of the narrative cooking and cleaning for the seven dwarfs, and her primary aspiration is marriage, which is expressed through the song “Someday My Prince Will Come,” which situates romantic fulfillment as her sole source of happiness. She is also depicted as extremely helpless and weak when she is poisoned and can only be saved by an unsolicited kiss from a prince, which reinforces the idea that female salvation depends on male intervention. By framing these traits as ideal and aspirational, the film normalized a gendered ideal in which young girls were encouraged to equate their personal worth with their beauty and romantic relationships.

The Shift in Cultural Norms

However, as gender norms began shifting in the late twentieth century, Disney slowly began adapting to changing societal norms by introducing princesses who pursued self-realization beyond romance. Mulan, Tiana, and Merida reflect this transition, yet these films often remained centered around  heterosexual expectations, male validation, and beauty standards . Moana , in contrast, reflects a clear disruption in this trajectory. This article argues that Moana reimagines “happily ever after” by rejecting heteronormativity, amatonormativity, and traditional femininity, and instead centering around a narrative of leadership, non-romantic love, bravery, and self-determination.

Moana's Resistance To Conventional Roles and Relationships

Refusing Heteronormativity

Figure 3. Image from Parks and Recreation framing heterosexuality as the unfortunate norm (2020) .

Heteronormativity, the term coined by Lisa Duggan is the belief that gender roles are fixed and that heterosexual romance between a cisgendered man and woman is the natural or desirable standard . Historically, traditional Disney films have upheld these norms by centering female characters’ worth around beauty, romance, and male approval. Moana disrupts these expectations by excluding the heterosexual romantic narrative altogether and by refusing to position a male character as Moana’s goal, savior, or source of identity. Maui is portrayed in this film as a secondary protagonist, he is neither a romantic interest or an authority figure, instead, their relationship is cooperative and illustrates a partnership grounded in mutual respect rather than the gendered hierarchy. Moana is not defined by beauty or male validation, instead, femininity is reframed around ambition, strength, bravery, and resistance. Ultimately, Moana rejects the heteronormative idea that romantic success is necessary for a film's closure and for fulfilment, which offers a new definition of femininity rooted in autonomy. The film makes this resistance explicit through dialogue, as Moana rejects the princess identity assigned to her. Maui makes the claim that “If you wear a dress, and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess,” but Moana quickly insists that she is “the daughter of the chief,” not a princess  . This highlights Moana’s refusal to adopt a role that is historically characterized by passivity and romantic dependence, and instead positions her as a leader whose self-worth stamps from action and her responsibilities. By assertively leading their mission and making decisions on behalf of her community, Moana rejects the heteronormative narrative that ties female identity to romantic pursuit, beauty, or male validation .

Rejecting Amatonormativity

Moana not only rejects heteronormativity, but also amatonormativity, the assumption that a central, exclusive romantic relationship is a universal goal that everyone should aim for. The film emphasizes the fact that love can exist in many different forms outside of traditional romance, positioning family, community, and ancestry as equally important alternatives. By shifting the narrative away from heteronormative relationships, the film challenges the dominant cultural ideal that romantic partnership is necessary for personal fulfilment. Instead, the film suggests that a fulfilling life can be centered around self-discovery, responsibility and purpose, with friendship, family and communal bonds central to one's identity. Throughout the film, Moana's goals transcend the search for a male love interest or “true love's kiss” and focus on the importance of non-romantic love and her journey of discovering her own identity as a leader and voyager . Crucially, Moana's autonomy is not framed as temporary or incomplete until she acquires a partner, her relationships and bonds help guide her along her journey, but ultimately it is Moana who takes charge, leads the voyage, and restores the heart of Te Fiti, showcasing her leadership, independence and autonomy. This rejection of amatonormativity invites audiences to reimagine what “happily ever after” can look like. Instead of a romantic ending, the film celebrates self-actualization and resilience. Moana’s narrative ends with her finding herself and fully accepting her role, surrounded by a network of non-romantic love and support. Overall, by restructuring the traditionally seen narrative, Disney is making space for multiple definitions of love, community, and femininity.

Reimagining Traditional Femininity and The “Happily Ever After”

Figure 4. Disney Moana painting, from Thomas Kinkade Studios, depicting Moana as a brave leader .

Moana's leadership directly challenges traditional gender roles and expectations . Rather than inheriting power through marriage, she earns it through her skills, resilience, bravery, and defiance. She does not realize who she is truly meant to be by aligning herself with a male figure, but by stepping up and assuming responsibility for her people and redefining what leadership looks like. Her journey is not about becoming worthy of a prince, it's about being true to herself and her community . Moana not only rejects heteronormative and amatonormative expectations, she embodies a reimagined femininity that values self-determination, cultural identity and responsibility . Traditional femininity in earlier films was defined by beauty, passivity, dependence, and domestic labor, framing the “ideal woman” as nurturing, obedient, and physically attractive . Characters such as Snow white were praised for their kindness and beauty, yet were highly passive and needed romantic fulfillment in order to achieve happiness. Later movies present from the 90s and onwards began portraying stronger princesses, but their narratives were still often tied to heteronormative romance and desirability. Moana however, presents a character whose femininity is grounded in courage and leadership rather than romantic appeal or physical beauty. Unlike many previous princesses, Moana’s narrative excludes any beauty comparisons or rivalries with other women. Instead, the film positions her value in her ability to listen, empathize, make difficult decisions, and challenge authority when necessary, a refreshing trait that directly challenges the obedience seen in earlier Disney films. Ultimately, Moana demonstrates that femininity can be fluid and powerful, exiting outside of the confines of beauty, romance, and the heteronormative gender scripts. This film imagines a new kind of Disney heroine whose “happily ever after” is not found through marriage, but with self-actualization and by creating meaningful non-romantic relationships.

Expanding The Possibilities of Gender and Identity

Figure 5. Female masculinity (book cover, 1994) .

The representation of female characters in modern day Disney does not simply reflect a shift from “weakness” to “strength”, but a movement away from rigid gender conformity and towards the rejection of traditional gender norms . Early princess narratives such as Snow White, defined femininity through beauty, domesticity, and heteronormative romantic fulfillment, reinforcing a norm in which female value was equated to romantic desirability and male approval. Moana directly challenges this narrative structure by centering traits historically coded as masculine, like leadership, courage and self-assurance, and using them to redefine femininity as strong, active and communal, rather than romantic and domestic . By refusing heteronormativity, rejecting amatonormativity, and de-centering beauty and romance as measurements of worth, Moana reimagines the “happily ever after” as self-actualization and community rather than romantic acquisition . By doing this, the film deconstructs the border of possibilities for female representation in children's media and invites the audience to imagine the different portrayals of identity, love, and femininity that exist outside of traditional patriarchal and romantic scripts.