1938 Sexist Disney Rejection Letter

This letter originally belonged to my grandmother. After she passed away we discovered it and were surprised at how well it was preserved for being nearly 70 years old. She eventually became an animator during WWII for the war effort.

It's an interesting read and a beautifully preserved historical document.

HT

[James G]

Note how the letter appears to be signed by a Mary (can't make out the surname) as well. I wonder how she got he position?

Originally Posted by James G

Note how the letter appears to be signed by a Mary (can't make out the surname) as well. I wonder how she got he position?

It's a non-creative role. Women can just about manage those between cooking and childbirth.

HT

[Eddylizard]

Originally Posted by James G

Note how the letter appears to be signed by a Mary (can't make out the surname) as well. I wonder how she got he position?

The letter says that women are not considered for the specific position applied for. Then it goes on to say that she could apply for a different post in the department.

Mary presumably was in aome sort of administrative role, and had no involvement with inking and painting.

ETA Spankey by Hypno Toad.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

The letter says that women are not considered for the specific position applied for. Then it goes on to say that she could apply for a different post in the department.

Mary presumably was in aome sort of administrative role, and had no involvement with inking and painting.

Actually, the letter references inking and painting jobs, not associated with preparing content for the screen, that are filled by "girls."

Of course, girls could not prepare content for the screen, because if they touched the material during That Time of the Month it would be ruined.

Unrelated rant, but why do so many websites post images like that that are virtually unreadable without squinting? Is it really that hard to set up a "click to enlarge" function? No it's not, I do it all the time on my sites.

I'm not that old, blind, nor do I have my monitor resolution set that unusually high. But reading a 8 1/2 x 11 letter now reduced to something like 3 x 5" is hard on the eyes.

-Tim

[Mad Jay]

Originally Posted by Rehcsif

Unrelated rant, but why do so many websites post images like that that are virtually unreadable without squinting? Is it really that hard to set up a "click to enlarge" function? No it's not, I do it all the time on my sites.

I'm not that old, blind, nor do I have my monitor resolution set that unusually high. But reading a 8 1/2 x 11 letter now reduced to something like 3 x 5" is hard on the eyes.

-Tim

I didn't have any problem reading it, and I am blind as a bat without my glasses, and I do feel old sometimes

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by Rehcsif

Unrelated rant, but why do so many websites post images like that that are virtually unreadable without squinting? Is it really that hard to set up a "click to enlarge" function? No it's not, I do it all the time on my sites.

I'm not that old, blind, nor do I have my monitor resolution set that unusually high. But reading a 8 1/2 x 11 letter now reduced to something like 3 x 5" is hard on the eyes.

-Tim

Might help if you click the enlargement icon above the image. It says "all sizes" next to it, which is quite confusing, I'll admit.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

Originally Posted by Rehcsif

Unrelated rant, but why do so many websites post images like that that are virtually unreadable without squinting? Is it really that hard to set up a "click to enlarge" function? No it's not, I do it all the time on my sites.

I'm not that old, blind, nor do I have my monitor resolution set that unusually high. But reading a 8 1/2 x 11 letter now reduced to something like 3 x 5" is hard on the eyes.

-Tim

Hey, Tim. Go back to the link and look above Snow White's head. There's a little magnifying glass with a cross in it, with "all sizes" printed by it. Click on that. It takes you from the temp file which is the first you see to a larger size.

Most sites will have that. Sometimes you have to look around a bit.

Darnit, spanked by Buffy. Mmmm, buffy.

[rangerdog]

Originally Posted by Lainie

Actually, the letter references inking and painting jobs, not associated with preparing content for the screen, that are filled by "girls."

Of course, girls could not prepare content for the screen, because if they touched the material during That Time of the Month it would be ruined.

Now don't get your pretty little head all wrapped up in men's business; run along and take your nap....













Please don't hit me!

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Darnit, spanked by Buffy. Mmmm, buffy.

Oooh, my first spanking! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

[rangerdog]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Darnit, spanked by Buffy. Mmmm, buffy.

And we got to watch!

[Ana Ng]

Thanks for the link, hope you don't mind I blogged it. (Linked back.)

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by rangerdog

Now don't get your pretty little head all wrapped up in men's business; run along and take your nap....





Please don't hit me!

I would never hit anyone who told me to take a nap. Now, if you told me to go bake cookies. . .

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Hey, Tim. Go back to the link and look above Snow White's head. There's a little magnifying glass with a cross in it, with "all sizes" printed by it. Click on that. It takes you from the temp file which is the first you see to a larger size.

Most sites will have that. Sometimes you have to look around a bit.

Darnit, spanked by Buffy. Mmmm, buffy.

Darnit! Guess I"m blind after all!

Thanks (also to Buffy)!

In all fairness to myself, I have been seeing this a lot lately, where sites post postage-stamp sized pictures and ask you to analyze them..

-Tim

Originally Posted by Lainie

Actually, the letter references inking and painting jobs, not associated with preparing content for the screen, that are filled by "girls."

Of course, girls could not prepare content for the screen, because if they touched the material during That Time of the Month it would be ruined.

This letter reminds me of what my high school counselor told me. All I could ever hope for was a typist or secretarial job, so I better take typing and shorthand, and leave the science for the boys.

And that was in the sixties.

[Loyhargil]

Reminds me of something that happened to my mom in the late 50's.

Mom's name is a derivative of a male name, let's just pretend her name is "Paula" for now. She was working for an insurance office and decided she wanted to be an agent herself. When she applied, her license was approved, only the certificate came made out in the name of "Paul." She naturally wrote back to correct the error.

Their response? "Oh, you're a woman. Then we can't license you. Sorry."

Wish she'd kept that letter. Would be a nice compliment to the Disney one, to show how little things changed in 20 years.

[Elkhound]

Originally Posted by Loyhargil

Mom's name is a derivative of a male name, let's just pretend her name is "Paula" for now. She was working for an insurance office and decided she wanted to be an agent herself. When she applied, her license was approved, only the certificate came made out in the name of "Paul." She naturally wrote back to correct the error.

Their response? "Oh, you're a woman. Then we can't license you. Sorry."

This must have been a state-by-state thing, as my aunt was an agent in Ohio at about that time.

[nancyfancypants]

Am I the only one doubting the authenticity of this letter?

[Kelfa83]

Originally Posted by nancyfancypants

Am I the only one doubting the authenticity of this letter?

I doubt this letter is real too. I had a book that chronicled the history of Walt Disney...from when Walt, himself, first started out animating shorts to how complicated the animatronics are for the rides at the World today. Unfortunatly, I can't seem to find the damn thing.

All I know is that woman were considered for the role of animators...at least since the movie Bambi was done. There was a female animator who did all the work on those dogs in that movie. She also went on to do work on more dogs in Lady and the Tramp I think.

Walt Disney prefered hiring females for the Ink and Paint department because he said only women could catch the details and the minute difference in color required for that job. But, as I understand, it was more difficult that just a "paint by numbers" outlined by that letter.