Mulan saving a country was the whole "plot" of her movie. Shaming is not exactly what is being said, here. It's not that the other princesses didn't have their own accomplishments, overcame their own obstacles, and achieved their own success. They did. it's just that Mulan did it all on a much broader scale. That's all.

What wavesurf said.

I don't think people are quite understanding the question. I can take people saying she's the "best Disney Princess" because she saved a country. This is coming from someone who's a HUGE Mulan fan. Hell, saving a country is part of the reason why I think she's awesome.
But I CANNOT take the fact that so many people hate on the other princesses because Mulan saved a country and they didn't. It's the tired-ass, shitty, you know... "All the other princesses suck! Mulan is the only good one because she saved a country!" crap that I find unacceptable and can't tolerate.
Plus, when people ask me if I like Mulan or *insert DP that's lower on my favorites list* more, I never, ever use "she saved a country" as a reason why I like her more than the other option. It's a reason I like her; it's not a reason for me to like her more than another princess.

I...never encountered that...?
If people are so pathetic as to use such an "argument", then i usually don´t pay them another second of my time. They´re simply not worth it. Which is also why i don´t let it bother me.

She didn't do it for China in the first place, she did it for her father and later on in a way for herself.

hatelarxene, it's like the same feeling I got when people argue Flynn dies for Rapunzel's freedom so he is better than other princes. I believe that other princes (Naveen, John Smith, Beast, etc) are also willing to die for their princesses if situation makes them.

And quite agree with you scarletunicorn

It is tiring. Not everyone can be a Mulan.

It drives me up the wall! People act like the only way for a woman to be strong is to be like Mulan. That argument itself is sexist.

If someone uses it as a reason to like/admire Mulan, that's fine.

But when they use it as an excuse to put down other Disney females in favour of Mulan *JUST* because they didn't save a country it really irks me. It's kind of sexist to assume that a girl can't be strong unless they've fought in a war.

@Mongoose09 I agree with you that it's sexist to think a woman can't be strong if they haven't found in a war.

actually, wavesurf, Disney fans and critics alike do this all the time. check out almost any list ranking the DPs and if Mulan isn't #1 she's in the top 4 at least and the reason is always, always the same: "She saved a country and didn't NEED a man to rescue her/didn't sit around waiting for a prince/isn't some damsel in distress who wants to bake cookies all day!"

it's enraging for many reasons.

1) as OP said, it is used as a way to shame the other girls for failing to be perfect like Mulan. It's saying they are worth less than she is because she did something widely seen as "cooler" and more impressive. This is saying women who can't magically beat up men twice their size and do the incredible, and I must mention RARE, feat of saving a country from war, are failures who don't deserve respect.

2) It puts Mulan and women like her on a pedestal that few people of either sex can hope to be like. seriously, why aren't any of those DP critics out saving the world? Why are they just sitting around criticizing cartoon princesses instead of doing something to help others? isn't this a little ironic and hypocritical?

3) It's sexist. I'm not one to throw that word around but there's no denying it: the critics don't treat male characters this way usually. at worst you have Charming and Florian shamed for "not doing anything" (I would think searching for the girl you love is "something" but I guess not) but largely they're ignored next to the amount of hate the girls get. not only that but Mulan is praised for her apparent lack of girliness (which is stupid because IMO she's very feminine, just not girly). People who criticize tomboys are flamed and labeled sexist; why aren't people who do the same for feminine women? It also puts men on a pedestal for embodying the way strong women "should" be.

4) they forget everything Mulan did was FOR A MAN! Several, in fact. she loved her dad enough to go to war (although she admits it was really for herself but still), she admires and follows Shang's orders, rescues the Emperor, does what Mushu tells her... the whole movie is about men. So because it isn't in a romantic way it's suddenly OK? What is with people's hatred of romance?

also, on another note, I hate how people freak out if you don't like Mulan or just don't squee over her but it's ok to hate and dislike the other girls. I swear the fandom thinks it's a crime to not have her at least in yoru top 5 if not your #1 or have anyone else higher as a role model.

^ Extremely well put. Completely agree!

#@Everybody and hatelarxene: Honestly, SINCE the fandom does this all of the time (and with Elsa as well--- let me remind everyone!!!!!!--- that we seem to really be repeating this with Mulan!) If we offer loud complaints about that Elsa video from the other day, then we are doing the SAME THING NOW!!!!!!

1) First off, Mulan is the opposite of the perfect girl: she's lazy, clumsy, tardy, forgetful, and not very lady-like. She is not this "uber-successful" princess who is somehow better than females who cook "beef, pork, chicken, mmm." So your first statement, that she is perfect is invalid. Yes, it is impressive to save your father's life, and the lives of the emperor, and your male comrades. Yes, Mulan differs from the Disney princess norm of cooking, cleaning house, cleaning up after someone else, opening a restaurant ( another larger scale cooking venture), reading, daydreaming, or pining after some adventure or prince. Yes, people use this to distinguish her from the rest. SOME people think this makes the other princesses look bad. However, this is not the case with every critic or Mulan fan. I'm sorry Tumblr and all other social network sites seem to love to "dump" on other princesses, BUT this does NOT make Mulan a bad character for doing something DIFFERENT.

2) People who have a lot of time to slander Disney princesses have issues. They spend too much time in front of their computers, for starters.

3) SEXIST? Okay. I wonder IF ALL OF Mulan's "male friends" had suddenly BEEN CHANGED to "female friends"--- if we would still level the SEXIST complaint against Mulan. There are women in the military, and women who do participate together in military operations. This has nothing to do with sexism, really. People USE sexism to make it appear that Mulan is the better princess. But is the movie itself sexist???? NO. The movie itself shows the China of BACK THEN. It shows the rigid social structure, and the small Disney "spin" on a girl who does not fit within that social structure trying to find a place WHERE SHE FITS IN. That is not sexist. That is the plot of the movie. You are letting the fandom DICTATE to you how to view both Mulan and all of the other DPs.

4) I'm sorry, but Mulan did go fight a war NOT JUST for her father, but also for her mother and her grandmother. Mulan fought for the lives of her family members, male and female. True her dad was sick, and they were asking service from only the males of the household--- but Shan-Yu was not above wiping out whole armies of males (of which Shang's papa was one), nor wiping out whole villages of men, women, and children ( the little doll's owner is DEAD). Mulan saved lives, as part of a military TEAM, that was supposed to handle the invasion. Shan Yu would not have just wiped out Fa Zhou--- he would have gotten rid of everybody who opposed him-- from the emperor down to Mulan's mother and grandmother. So, NO. Mulan did not DO EVERYTHING for a man! She did it for her family, because she had a tight-knit relationship with them!!

Okay. On another note---don't people squee over Merida because she's badass with arrows??? Don't they squee over Elsa for being a queen with ice powers/ seasonal change powers/and the power to make things come alive???

It's not anybody's fault that Mulan is "WHEREVER" she is on someone's list. But you all need to step back and THINK HARD. Who is DICTATING to you what they think, and what social LENS are they using to view the Mulan in the movie??? THAT should tell you how skewed their viewpoint is. But it does not warp the integrity of the ACTUAL MOVIE, which is separate from ALL of the "interpretations" that are applied.

@wavesurf, I do not think you are getting the point. The others are NOT saying Mulan is perfect, or even slandering the charactwr herself. They are referring to the perception, marketing, and techniques the GENERAL critics, and even people on the internet use regarding her to make the other princesses seem lesser.

It does not matter if Mulan herself is a perfect character in the movie, but if the general populous sees her as that, and integrates that into pop culture, than in a way, it does not matter how she actually is in the movie.

We are all on a computer spending a lot of time talking about these characters, whether positive or negative. We're in the same boat.

^I did address what had been said.

If the Elsa fandom does this all of the time, and some of the Mulan fandom does this all of the time--- it amounts to the same thing. Some fandom members have skewed opinions, and they are the ones with the problem of "slandering" one princess in order to "puff up another."

Technically speaking, this poll is a real bust. Like that Elsa video, this poll just states that within fandoms, certain members will be obnoxious. I don't know why we have to "bring up Mulan's movie and her behavior" to establish that fandoms have the habit of slandering other characters.

My personal irritation--- over Elsa being queen of all, and over Mulan being "the best bar none" in someone's opinion--- in itself is irrelevant. I achieve nothing by being upset. So I choose "no" as my answer. Me hating Elsa and her fandom did not make the world better, did it? NOPE. At some point, you have to IGNORE fandoms.

^ Anything about Mulan - criticism included - should be fair game for a disney princess forum; not everyone in this group is necessarily a fan of hers, and they don't have to be. (I think she's cool, but that's me.)

Every other DP gets put under the microscope, including in the context of their fandoms. Shit, Elsa gets knocked pretty much every day, even in threads where she isn't the subject. :/

As far as the poll goes... like, insofar as this actually happens? I haven't seen anyone do this. But yeah, it would bother me if I saw it. I'm sure it happened right after the movie came out - each new DP is usually compared against what came before, "she's not your typical princess !!1! blahblablah" - but I doubt it happens much now.

It's true that Mulan is one of the greatest DP, as she can do more than just waiting a man for marry. But why that statement should be used for shame the others?
If you count the previous princesses like Snow, Cinderella, Aurora, etc. you're gonna have very bad time -_- They are raised with stereotype, "the girls are supposed to wait a man to come, save you, and marry you at home, and all done." They are live in different eras with her, so they can't shame them and compared with Mulan.