While Disney’s Beauty and The Beast is presented as a classic romantic musical, elements hidden beneath its surface dive into more in-depth concepts regarding sexual advancement and slight defiance of gender roles. Both the 2017 live action and the original film contain structural components that coincide with stereotypical gender roles and hinted exploration in sexuality.
Many of the film’s stereotypes reside in its characters. There’s Gaston, the self-obsessed ‘manly man’ with military experience and guns, who possesses an ego so large it only leaves enough room for a simple trophy wife to work in his kitchen. He views Belle (and women in general) more as an object than a human, and essentially feels that he will ‘own’ her one day; assuming that Belle will cater to his every need and desire. Gaston expects Belle to undermine her own dreams and desires to make way for his own goal of a picture-perfect family. His ideology relates to the sexist viewpoint that men are ‘in charge’: though this isn’t necessarily a modern POV in our society, it also hasn’t been completely erased and still surfaces from time to time. Further, Gaston owns a village pub and wields the respect/envy of the entire town. This character embodies stereotypical “ideal masculinity”; a muscular, athletic (somewhat dumb), successful, bearded man with women on each arm. When he learns of Belle imprisonment in the Beast’s castle, Gaston feels that it is entirely his manly duty to save her – because women can’t save themselves, right? Gaston’s notorious ego is also responsible for his constant manipulation of many of the other characters in order to get his way. He messes with Belle, her father (whom he attempted to lock away in an insane asylum unless granted Belle’s hand in marriage), many women in the village, even his own trusty sidekick, LeFou.
Belle, though she may immediately appear (and essentially is) strong-willed and fearless, she is also depicted as the typical well-behaved, selfless girl stuck in a never-ending daydream. She is educated, yes, but men disregard that and only view her as a pretty little trophy intended for marriage and house chores; with the slight exception of her father/educator recognizing Belle’s potential. However, she is still the maid and caretaker of their house, without solid evidence of Maurice assisting Belle in house chores – this is prevalent in both the original film and 2017 live action remake. In the Beast’s castle, Belle steps up to the plate and replaces her father’s imprisoned position within the jail cell. This was undoubtedly an act of selflessness and courage, and could even be viewed as a step in a feminist direction – if it did not mean her physical detainment. As she spends her days locked in the palace, Belle repeatedly showed strength in defiance against the Beast and refusal to give way to his demands. But while she did technically put herself into that position, Belle is essentially trapped at the hands of a man, and we can see the progression of Stockholm Syndrome develop. At one point, Belle manages to escape the Beast’s clutches and ride off into the forest; where an unfortunate run-in with wolves causes the Beast to ‘save’ her from being devoured by the pack. However, this event causes Belle to return back to the castle – so did the Beast actually save her? Some could argue that Belle, in turn, mends his wounds and therefore evens the playing field in ‘saving’, but in reality, which one of them is the prisoner?
Underlying exploration in sexuality can be seen in the role of LeFou, Gaston’s trusty sidekick. While subtext is still present in the original animated film, the 2017 live action implemented heavier hints at his sexuality, and received backlash for it. LeFou’s “exclusively gay” moment in the film’s remaking can be largely seen as expansion upon lighter elements previously already hinting at his sexuality. LeFou is constantly batting down all the women (mainly Belle) that Gaston sets his eyes on, and constantly sighing or staring at the true object of his desire. LeFou isn’t shy about complimenting and building Gaston up; his dedicated song in the tavern pays tribute to just that. Josh Gad’s exaggerated performance doesn’t exactly stray enormously from the original film’s interpretation of the character, so arguably this component does not enhance LeFou’s sexual outbreak. It is notable, however, that Lefou’s over-the-top sexuality is almost played for laughs in the 2017 remake; with his suggestive jabs practically lost on his self-centered ring leader.
But LeFou is not left completely stranded: he stars in a moment of self-empowerment as he finally recognizes Gaston’s ignorance/villainy and instead goes to “play (fight) for the other team”, while also earning a brief suggestive glance with another man. We’re happy for you, LeFou. Mrs. Potts also rewards him with a comment relating to “He doesn’t deserve you, anyway,” targeting Gaston’s harsh treatment. Despite these very obvious indications of LeFou’s sexuality, it doesn’t seem as ‘groundbreaking’ or fully representative of the LGBTQ+ community in films as Disney originally claimed for the 2017 live action. After all, this character is competing with Belle and the Beast – so it could appear that queer relationships are being swept under the rug in comparison. It seems like a constant compromise for LGBTQ+ viewers; either their sexuality representation is restricted with subtext or sidelined completely. Considering Disney’s history of shying away from such elements, their inclusion of an ‘obviously gay’ character is important, especially since they directly stated/headlined this component instead of “leaving it to viewer interpretation”. Those in charge of the film’s production still tiptoed around the subject a tad, but the 2017 live action Beauty and the Beast is a fairly solid first step in future advancement.