Indiana Gov. Mike Pence once cited the Disney character Mulan as evidence that women should not serve in the military, according to a 1999 op-ed obtained by Buzzfeed News.
In the opinion piece, which was published on a website for Pence’s radio talk show, Pence called the movie “Walt Disney’s attempt to add childhood expectation to the cultural debate over the role of women in the military.”
The film, which was based on the 6th-century “Ballad of Mulan,” follows a girl named Mulan as she disguises herself as a man so she can serve in her father’s place after he was drafted into the military. Mulan, who failed at filling traditional feminine gender roles, saw this opportunity as an opportunity to bring honor to herself and her family.
Pence argued that the animated film was nothing more than liberal propaganda aimed at influencing the coming generations.
“Despite her delicate features and voice, Disney expects us to believe that Mulan’s ingenuity and courage were enough to carry her to military success on an equal basis with her cloddish cohorts,” wrote Pence. “I suspect that some mischievous liberal at Disney assumes that Mulan’s story will cause a quiet change in the next generation’s attitude about women in combat and they just might be right.
“The only problem with this liberal hope is the reality which intrudes on the Disney ideal from the mornings headlines. From the original ‘Tailhook’ scandal involving scores of high ranking navy fighter pilots who molested subordinate women to the latest travesty at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the hard truth of our experiment with gender integration is that is has been an almost complete disaster for the military and for many of the individual women involved.”
Pence then went on to write that Mulan’s eventual romantic involvement with another officer proved that women are not suited to serve in the military. “They likely added it because it added realism with which the viewer could identify with the characters,” wrote Pence.
“You see, now stay with me on this, many young men find many young women to be attractive sexually. Many young women find many young men to be attractive sexually. Put them together, in close quarters, for long periods of time, and things will get interesting. Just like they eventually did for young Mulan. Moral of story: women in military, bad idea.”
At the time, Pence was a radio and TV host. One year later, Pence won a seat in Congress. On Friday, Donald Trump announced that Pence will be his running mate in November.
