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Project gender roles in fairy tales
Project gender roles in fairy tales
How does sexism play a role in our childhood
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Fairy tales are an essential part of literature. They play a significant role in children’s lives as they provide an understanding of the world, as well as the difference between good and evil. Fairy tales are introduced during a time when children soak up knowledge, therefore it is no surprise tales play a role in shaping youth (Nanda, 2014). Knowing this, it is important to be aware of the ways in which characters are portrayed within these tales. The “typical” stereotypes associated with male and female characters can be dangerous as it provides children with a simplified perception of gender roles and the way the world functions. Women are perceived as the beautiful princess who needs help and is “inferior,” while men are the strong and courageous prince who save the naive princess from “evil” (Patel, 2009). Since these portrayals can be found within most fairy tales it allows children to view them as “norms.” This can lead children to have an improper/sexist view of men and women. Due to how often these behaviours are seen, they become “typical.” This essay will look at typical and biased portrayals of gender roles in fairy tales to find out if they have a positive or negative influence on young children and how this …show more content…
The female protagonists are beautiful, kind hearted and obedient (Veselá, 2014). In Cinderella, the female protagonist does not rebel until she seeks help of a magic entity (animals, tree, fairy godmother etc.). Cinderella finds happiness when she escapes her evil step family, however, this is only possible with the help of the prince. In Beauty and the Beast, though the portrayal of the male character goes beyond that of the typical “prince,” the female protagonist still follows the stereotypical gender norms. With no other option Belle is forced to marry the Beast, however, she willingly goes to the castle and lives with him (Nanda,
When analyzing a classic fairytale such as, Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm through a feminist lens, it is clear that it is a phallocentric fairytale that includes stereotypes, gender roles, the male gaze, and paternalism.
Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, Treasure Island, Cinderella and Grimm's Brothers fairy tales, have all been treasures of society's basic children's literature. They covered their share of beauties, villains, conflicts and happy-endings that many of us remember till this day. But were we as society's children aware of the impact these stories made on our views of men and women? Although parents, teachers and other socializing agents communicate gender roles to children at an early age, the issue of how children's literature influences gender roles, stereotyping and sometimes sexism has been a topic on many educators, researchers and psychologists' agendas since as early as the 1920's. But how can prove that this children's literature actually influences gender stereotyping and what are some techniques educators and researchers are developing to make children's literature more "gender friendly"?
Through the three revisions of Beauty and The Beast, the fairy tales retold share many similarities as well as many differences according to their time period. In all three versions femininity and masculinity are presented in many ways. Femininity is shown through all three main female characters, Belle from the famous Disney film “The Beauty and The Beast”, the narrator in “Tiger’s Bride”, and Psyche in “Cupid and Psyche”. In all three versions, the female characters breaks society’s expectations of a typical woman. In CP Psyche stands up to Cupid’s mother Venus and accomplishes these activities usually performed by males. She shows society that women can overcome male activities and have strength to complete the same tasks. She breaks tradition of the male character fighting for her because in this version she takes on the hero role and fights for Cupid. This was not something ordinarily done by woman characters during this time. In TB the narrator breaks the tradition of the innocent stereotypical woman figure. The narrator exposes and does things most woman would never have the nerve to do. She shows society that women can fault their beauty in other ways. Even if society does not make it acceptable to have sex before marriage, she shows that women can expose their body and beauty in many ways. In DB version Belle is a great example that women should not be looked at as dolls and let males have control over them. She shows society that woman can be independent and educated. She does not get married to the most handsome male in town however she goes after someone who deeply cares about her. She displays a great example of how woman have their own mind and can think for themselves. Woman are allowed to make decisions and have ...
Throughout many fairytales, Cinderella more evidently, there is the stigma of male roles and female roles. The man is the prince, the knight in shining armor, the strong protector and able provider, and the woman is the princess. Dainty and innocent, weak and capable only of looking pretty, fostering children and maintaining appearances of house and home. These roles of placement have been around long before fairy tales, and they’ll be around long after fairy tales, but the inclusion of these roles through characters in fairy tales does nothing but enforce the idea that this is the way things are meant to be, and women who do not assume these roles are wrong and unworthy. In her article, Orenstein refers to Cinderella as “the patriarchal oppression of all women”, and she is exactly right (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The impression left of these gender stereotypes travels off the pages of the fairy tale and into the real world when studies show that there is a “23% decline in girls’ participation in sports and other rigorous activity … has been linked to their sense that athletics is unfeminine” (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The blatant disregard for equality in these stories can be summed up with a term Orenstein coined, “relentless resegregation of childhood”, which ultimately defines what it means to be a boy or a girl in the terms of set behaviors and life duties (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). Whether it be Cinderella or any other princess, the fairy tale business makes it a point to create a place for women with their stories, and unfortunately that “place” is demeaning and still practiced
The fairy tales that we have become so familiar with are embedded with love, imagination and enchantment. In truth, these are just common archetypes; originally fairy tales had a much darker backdrop. They were once symbols of sexualisation and brutality as not everything ended happily ever after. Deriving from promiscuous and overlooked on goings from the 19th century (such as molestation), these ideas were later suppressed when they became children’s tales. John Updike described traditional fairy tales as ‘The pornography of their day’, hence they contained elements of wish-fulfilment and gratification such as rape, pleasure and attainment. This is true to a certain extent but they also consisted of violence, mutiny and injustice. An exploration
To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into four main sections. The first two sections are supporting the idea that stereotypes towards women are indeed present in fairy tales. In the first section, I will address how stereotypes of mainly women are portrayed through the fairy tale of “Cinderella”. I will outline the fairy tale and then provide arguments as to why some of the things it mentions are a stereotype against women. In the second section, using the “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs” text I will again provide accounts where women and men are portrayed stereotypically. I will then argue again how the events pertaining to Snow White are stereotypically against women. In the third, I will refer to the “Precious” text by arguing how it challenges the idea ...
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.
Shrek, an enormous, disgusting green ogre falling in love with a beautiful princess (later turning into a nasty ogre) is a perfect example of a stereotypical fairytale, right? Well in the movie Shrek, the voice over in the trailer talks about a “hero” attempting to rescue a “fair princess” with the help of “his trusty companion." Besides the fact that the hero is a voluptuous green ogre and the companion is a donkey, everything fits in normally to the definition of a traditional fairytale (Diaz). Also according to Mary Kunimitsu, in fantasy films “There may be characters with magical or supernatural abilities such as witches, wizards, superheroes, mythical creatures, talking animals, and ghosts” (Kunimitsu). In Shrek, there are many of these different characters. Therefore, by explanation, a traditional fairytale with the beautiful princess getting saved by the prince and falling in love is exactly what happens in the movie Shrek, just with a twist. The voice over in the trailer for Shrek states it perfectly as he says “Shrek is a highly irreverent take on the classic fairytale” (Adamson). As an untraditional fairytale, and a parody, the movie Shrek poses the breaking of stereotypes of gender and film fairytales all the while keeping the criteria of a fairytale.
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.
Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told which is “Cinderella”. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella “There are some 700 versions of Cinderella”.This fairy tale as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under some criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society.
Fairy tales have been part of our lives ever since we were young children. We all either grew up watching Disney renditions of fairy tales, or we had storybooks filled with vivid pictures of a tale. Fairy tales are so important in our culture that it would be difficult to find someone who has not heard of Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, or other fairy tale protagonists. Interestingly enough, fairy tales have been a very integral part of Western culture since the time they were written. Fairy tale writers, such as Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers, revolutionized culture in the 17th and 18th centuries with their writings. Not only did these writers write these tales for entertainment, but they also accomplished to influence the
Fairytales have been around as long as man can remember. Fairytales are told not just for entertainment but try to instill morals and build character. The cultural norms represented in fairytales play a large part in the socialization processes of the child who reads them. Contained within these cultural norms are the beliefs about gender roles that are held by society. The characters in the stories help children to determine what behaviors, traits, or roles are acceptable for children of certain genders. In Angela Carter’s book, The Bloody Chambers, one sees major themes being used to influence people. One of these themes is objectification of women. In every one of Carter’s stories women are objectified. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, and The Tigers Bride, women are seen being objectified by men. Carter doesn’t give men all the blame, she also shows man as being objectifies in Lady in the house of Love.
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.
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