Disney's 1938 rejection letter to young woman is both beautiful and cold-hearted

Spaceguy55

Work is a 4 letter word
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
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By 1938, women's rights may have been slowly and painstakingly clunking their way forward, but male bias was still very much alive and well.

A rejection letter from Walt Disney Studios has highlighted just how much women were up against at the time.

Yes, the letter heading is exquisite - you're lucky if you get an automated email response these days - but the rebuttal to Miss Ford's job application still feels like a slap in the face almost 80 years later.

1938 was a big year for the studio, harking the release of its first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .

And a lady called Mary Ford applied for a post in their Painting Department.
 
Yes, things have really changed a lot. Thanks for sharing this.
 
Thanks for sharing!

It's surprising to see such a straightforward rejection with its reasons clearly stated. I guess this is coming from today with PC and fear of lawsuits in mind. The stationary is undoubtedly beautiful.
 
I like the structure of the art work too: so you have Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs up top - all cheering and getting your hopes up ... and then the evil queen and poison apple at the bottom after your dreams have been crushed :)



It is interesting though as a letter indicating "women do not do that" would not be well received today (which is a good thing) - now it is much more subtle: like giving them the job but paying them less
 


What I find odd is Disney gave a lot of opportunities for women in their company as well. Mary Blair was one of Walt's go to artists, and Alice Davis (Mark Davis wife) was also big in the company. But the proof is in the print I guess
 


In 1938, this wasn't a "Disney" thing, but a worldwide thing. In fact, it's still that way in much of the world outside of "the west." Don't think ill of Disney for this. At least they gave women the opportunity to work as Inker or Painters. Frankly, I'm surprised at that.
 
Thank you so much for sharing the letter, Spaceguy5 and also thanks for the link, adelaster.

I am an eighth grade history teacher that teaches about this time period through the Civil Rights. As we progress through the different time periods, I like to bring in authentic examples of how society viewed different groups of people and the things people had to do to force changes in society. The letter and the link will definitely be engaging to my students and a great tool to get them discussing the issues involved and how it compares to the role of women today.
 

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