I don;t think Disney and co are to blame
anthropomorphasising (sp?!) goes back at the very least to Egyptian Gods, but most ancient folk tales have manly beasts and feminine serpents and such
( HappyToast sorted on, Wed 5 Sep 2007, 22:48, archived)

Manley beasts?
Zeus used to be into bestiality in a big way.

I often ask myself 'what would Zeus do?'

It's almost always 'turn into a swan and rape a teenager'.
( Pedantichrist twitter.com/LordManley, Wed 5 Sep 2007, 23:00, archived)

or even into a shower of gold O_o

( pzyko is a whaler on the moon and carries a harpoon, Wed 5 Sep 2007, 23:09, archived)

yes
but the "Disney is evil" theory is far more exciting

and it's "anthropomorphising" I think :)
( pzyko is a whaler on the moon and carries a harpoon, Wed 5 Sep 2007, 23:08, archived)