Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
Women in these fairy tales are young and beautiful. In all reality not every girl in this world is truly considered beautiful by our society’s terms. In today’s society the term beautiful is often used to describe a women who is a size 0, tall, flawless skin, and dressed nicely. Haven’t you ever seen princesses that are in all these fairy tales, our society’s description of beautiful describes every single one of these princesses?
Being beautiful for a woman is the most looked at characteristic that each of these princesses have. Attractiveness is the most important attribute that women can posses, and is often an indicator of chances of future happiness (Neikirk). This is how these princesses get by in all of these stories. But what is that telling every young girl who watches or listens to these fairytales. Are we telling these youn...
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...amily she finds the true meaning of being brave and saves her family (“Brave”). I like this kind of movie instead of a man being the brave and independent one now the woman is. These are the kind of fairy tales that need to be told so that women do not feel the need to be weak and dependent on other people. If fairy tales slowly become more realistic then I think they are a good thing but teaching women to not be strong or if their not a size 0 and gorgeous, well that in my eyes is not okay.
Works Cited
"Brave." Disney Movies. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
"Disney Princesses: Classic Fairy Tales Or Gender Stereotypes?" Hartford Courant, 27 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Maggiore, Brittany N. "Female Discrimination in Fairy Tales." Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Neikirk, Alice. ""...Happily Ever After" (or What Fairytales Teach Girls About Being Women)." Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
In the article “Are All Princesses Really Waiting for Princes to Come?” Jack Heckel discusses some of the most common Disney princesses and the stereotypes that come along with them, as well as some of the stereotypes that are seen in the Disney princes. He supports his article by providing a variety of sources not only from Disney movies, but also from various authors and blogs. The analysis of Disney princess stereotypes has been a very common topic for years, and this overall analysis has revealed that a lot of Disney princesses are not good role models. Heckel uses many techniques including using credible, non-Disney sources, discussing other fairytales besides Disney, displaying a timeline of Disney
Sperry, Lori B., and Liz Grauerholz. "The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children's Fairy Tales." Gender and Society 17.5 (2003): 711-26. JSTOR. Web. 4 July 2015.
Overall, in these fairy tales Carter succeeds in delivering a feminist message and provides a counter argument for the moral message of traditional fairy tales in which young women were encouraged to remain obedient and pure. Unlike in earlier fairy tales, in these stories it is the straying from the path that results in transformation and releases women from the subjugation that women over history have been subjected to.
Similar to the above conversation, one must take these tales with a grain of salt, and keep in mind the time period in which they were written. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will only be on what the tale is striving to teach those who read it. Similar to Lurie’s opinion on “The Light Princess,” readers of “Sleeping Beauty” may come away from the story thinking the best was to grow up or be helped is to fall in love; let the man (prince) solve the problem (Lurie 360). This thought is further echoed by Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, the authors of “Folk and Fairy Tales,” as they describe the story “as a metaphor for growing up: the heroine falls asleep as a naïve girl and awakens as a mature young woman on the threshold of marriage”
In James Poniewozik's "The Princess Paradox" (323-325) the author explains how the idea of a feminist, independent woman becoming a fairy tale princess is a paradox and that society is engaging in a paradox through the belief of it. He utilizes the recent bout of Cinderella retellings to show the paradox of how girls cannot be both completely independent and a fairytale princess, and yet society perpetuates the paradox through believing that this is not only possible, but realistically attainable as well. Poniewozik exposes the contradictions that surround these new Cinderellas to defy these "realistic" stories that society has come to embrace. By showing how truly constrictive and illogical these fantasies are, Poniewozik also shows how hypocritical society has become for idolizing them and why this new princess is a true paradox.
...le. Movies like this resist gender stereotypes that say women have to be beautiful and ladylike to live like a princess. There should be more films like Shrek because it breaks norms and teaches people that the only thing that matters is what’s on the inside.
Everyone knows and loves the enchanting childhood fairytales of magic, princes, and princesses, but very seldom are privy to the detrimental impacts of “happily ever after” on the developing youth. Fairy tales are widely studied and criticized by parents and scholars alike for their underlying tone and message to children. Peggy Orenstein, feminist author, mother, and fairy tale critic, has made it her personal mission to bring these hidden messages to the surface. In the article, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” Orenstein dissects the seemingly innocent tale of love and magic, and the princess many know and love, and points out its flaws and dangers. Fairy tales, Cinderella in particular, are not suitable for children because upon deeper evaluation,
of the Cinderella story are psychologically harmful to women.” (p648). The fact that Cinderella is a limited character may give the girl an impression that she should be happy with what she has and not have any or aspirations in her life. That is, until her Prince comes to rescue her. Since these comments were made, the Cinderella story has been modified and changed. In order to see how gender roles have changed in fairy tales from the old to the new, let’s compare the classic version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault to a recent version which is a movie that was released in 1998 called “Ever After”which was directed by Andy Tennant.
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
In most of the fairy tales, the beauty is the justice. Perrault always described his princesses as the most beautiful young lady, and follow that, her virtue is also as good as her appearance (Sunderland 110). In other words, if a girl wants to marry a prince and live happily ever after, she must be pretty, and if she is pretty, she also has a lovely personality. On the contrary, the evil stepsisters were portrayed as the ugliest creatures, who are exactly like their mother, “the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen” (Perrault). If putting those two facts together, it is really easy for the audience to see the connection between the physical and personality beauties. Another instance where readers observe the value of being beautiful
As in many fairy tales we have grown up with, the characters are always beautiful or handsome, with an evil mother that wants to destroy that. Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz state that, “The feminine beauty ideal-the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women's most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain…[is] viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women”(711). Women grow up with the impression that they must be perfect and beautiful in order to get a man. They will see the beautiful girl get a handsome guy and everything they want. The characters in Tangled prove the fact that every fairy tale follows the same guide lines; Rapunzel, Flynn, and even mother Gothel are beautiful. Their features are all the same with them being thin, having straight teeth, and being good looking. If a person was described as being perfect looking, than a fairy tale character is what they would be compared to. A little girl will see Rapunzel and want to be like her because she’s pretty and a princess and they will l...
Each Disney princess has different positive attributes that make her unique, the most recent Disney princesses are especially fitting in today’s society. In Jena Stephens’ analysis of the three most recent princesses, excluding Anna and Elsa, she describes Rapunzel by saying, “Her forward thinking, desire to prove she is just as capable as a man, and realistic dreaming make her a great role model for young girls”. Whether it is to become a princess and marry her true love like Cinderella or open a restaurant like Princess Tiana, all of the Disney princesses have aspirations. Jena Stephens says, “The words that Tiana sings about the necessary hard work it will take for her to reach her dream stand out as a message to young viewersone that does not covey that love is the only thing that will make girls happy”. Not only do Disney princesses have dreams but they make their dreams come true with hard work. As Liz Gumbinner described her trip to Disney World with her daughters, “The princess luncheon led to a great discussion later in our hotel room, in which we told our girls that it is okay to be strong, smart, hardworking and still dream of marrying a prince”. Disney princesses carry themselves in a humble and confident manner. The princesses are beautiful but they are not conceited. Lastly, they are never stuck up but rather loving and independent which makes their character so
England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-meek, M. (2011). Proquest. “Gender role portrayal and the disney princesses”. Sex Roles, 64(7-8), 555-567.
Cinderella 's stepsisters spend many hours dressing for the ball because they know the only quality that matters is their looks. Even Cinderella is fascinated by the nice clothing her fairy godmother gives her. Prince Charming falls in love with her at first sight not because of personality but because of the beauty of her attire. The message is that a woman 's worth is in the way she dresses and the way she looks. That message teaches little girls who listen to Cinderella 's story over and over to grow up becoming women who obsess over their appearance rather than the quality of their
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for