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The status of women in our society
Fairy tales and gender stereotypes
Status of women in a society
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Recommended: The status of women in our society
In today’s society women have made major gains in terms of their position in society moving closer and closer to equality by the passing decade. Theoretically, women are no longer seen simply for their looks and are encouraged to explore many intellectual and career paths. However, of the tales that have survived the ages, few lack emphasis on superficial appearance, specifically women’s looks and attractiveness. Liz Grauerholz, a professor of sociology at Purdue University strengthens the opponents claim by stating:
Women today- despite increasing independence for many- still tend to value beauty and appearance. Why is it that attractive women and men are socially rewarded more than unattractive people? From early childhood, girls are read
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Ultimately there are numerous positive and negative effects of fairy tales on the child development. Fairy tales are intricately intertwined in our society and thus ridding our society of them completely is virtually impossible. Instead, the fairy tales need to be adapted greatly. The gender stereotypes that show children that women exist for their attractiveness, of which is the most important characteristic and without it an individual is inferior, and the fact that women exist to perform domestic duties need to be trimmed. We are not shielding our children from anything by trimming this. Instead we are updating our fairy tales to that of societal beliefs. Women are valuable for their contributions to society intellectually, socially, etc. Next, the tales need to find a more effective and better way of instilling morals into children. Scarring someone into submission is something of an authoritarian or totalitarian society neither of which are ones that a child needs to develop in. Fairy tales have many positive effects and these effects can be strengthened by adapting our society’s tales. Without adaptation fairy tales will continue to instill false senses of reality into our children and thus without significant revision, the overall effects of fairy tales are more detrimental to our youth than beneficial and their role in child development should be much more limited. With notable alteration, fairy tales should continue to play a major role in childhood as a positive nightcap to instill moral and values into society’s
Children can identify themselves with fairy-tale characters; they imagine themselves as heroes, who are capable of killing dragons, or simpletons, who demonstrate the superiority over clever people. Fantasies based on the fairy tales are extremely important part of the children’s lives, and this is not only because they describe threatening situations that resemble main fears of a young child such as the fear of getting lost, fear of wrong decisions, fear of monsters or evil animals. Happy endings, which are always present in fairy tales, give children the confidence that despite all their fears they will be able to win in the end. This knowledge helps them to prepare for the difficulties of life, regardless whether they are real or imagined (Doughty, 2006).
So why does it matter?. What effect do original or Disney fairy tales have in kids?. It matters because these are one of the first things, the first stories that kids read. Would you want that the first lesson that your three year old daughter is taught that girls are like maid, that they are weak and need a guy to save them. The impression that Disney leaves with these kids is that guys are strong, girls just wear pretty dresses and hope that a rich handsome man falls in love with them. Watching Disney movies leave girls in response to loose confidence. This is not what a child should be
The use of fairy tales as a therapeutic device, Tatar remarks, provides both children and adults “a safe space where fears can be confronted, mastered, and banished” (par. 9). Preoccupations and ambitions that conform to adult anxieties and desires can be discovered, while also indulging in "cathartic pleasures" through defeating fictional adversaries (Tatar, par. 2). Orenstein disagrees with this logic. She acknowledges that no studies have been conducted to either confirm or deny the claim that princesses are directly damaging to young girls mentally/emotionally (par.19). She does, however, state that there is evidence that "young women who hold the most conventionally feminine beliefs... are more likely to be depressed than others, and less likely to use contraception" (Orenstein, par.
Fairy tales provides emotional and mental reassurance during any experience of adversities in the duration of a child’s lifetime. Fairy tales aid children to escape any sort of isolation and negativity they could potentially encounter in their daily lives because of the adversities. Unfortunately, everyone will inevitably face difficult situations. However, facing any sort of adversity constructs an individual’s identity and character and ultimately, allows individuals to overcome them. For instance, in another popular fairy tale called “Cinderella,” a young, kind hearted, and forgiving girl named Cinderella faces the wrath of her wicked stepmother and sisters of constant ridicule, treatment, and manipulation.
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.
“In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic and make-believe are reborn and fairy tales come true” (Walt Disney). We read fairy tales for entertainment and to learn and teach important life lessons. Adults read these stories to their children, so their children can develop a wondrous imagination. Fairy tales are suitable for kids because in stories like Rapunzel and Ariel’s, they are taught to think outside the box and to try new things. In addition, Cinderella’s story instructs kids to always be kind and courageous even if you are being treated unfairly.
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.
As previously mentioned, princesses spend most of their time doing housework. Evil stepmothers, a conventional female antagonist, are domesticated in a different way in modern stories. In an attempt to explain the reasons behind why these characters are evil, many new adaptations of old stories have been made, such as Roth Film’s Maleficent. As Jackie Pinkowitz points out in her article “No More Evil Stepmothers: Motherhood as Redemption for Female Fairy Tale Villains”, “these modern fairy tales advocate ‘active’ women and displace female dependence on matrimonial romance and male rescue, they nonetheless continue to domesticate women,” (Pinkowitz, 1). The villains in these stories are redeemed through assuming a maternal role.
That way, it is easier for a child to comprehend the difference between the two. I disagree with Bettelheim's ideas about the value of fairy tales because the outcomes are usually not realistic. The classic fairy tale, Cinderella, is an example of having a negative influence on child development. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Cinderella is a beautiful woman, will the prince still marry her?
Sometimes the moral of the story can be good or bad. Although the story is meaningful it hypnotizes us to think that we need a lot of wealth to marry a pretty girl. This lesson could affect us in our adulthood and make us perceive life as a competition for wealth. While “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp” has a bad lesson there are many good things that come from it. Joan Brogan explains the impact that fairy tales can on children by saying,“Fairy tales connect children on an emotional level that can help guide them through the complexities of everyday life” (Wipf).
In her essay, “Onceuponatime” feminist writer Andrea Dworkin emphasizes the detrimental impact that fairy tales have on society and how they reduce males and females to one dimensional characters: “Fairy tales are the primary information of the culture. They delineate the roles, interactions, and values which are available to us. They are our childhood models, and their fearful, dreadful content terrorizes us into submission - if we do not become good, then evil will destroy us; if we do not achieve the happy ending, then we will drown in the chaos.” By asserting that fairy tales are the bedrock for which males and females are built upon in society she is essentially blaming fairy tales for creating false expectations and realities that will never come true.
“The fairy tale, which to this day is the first tutor of children because it was once the first tutor of mankind, secretly lives on in the story. The first true storyteller is, and will continue to be, the teller of fairy tales. Whenever good counsel was at a premium, the fairy tale had it, and where the need was greatest, its aid was nearest. This need was created by myth. The fairy tale tells us of the earliest arrangements that mankind made to shake off the nightmare which myth had placed upon its chest.”(Walter Benjamin). For generations fairy tales have brought happiness to hundreds of people. Through childhood to adults, people still enjoy the mysteries of fairytales. In society, fairytales are a great way of connecting
Children learn their place in society by internalizing the messages they receive many sources including teachers, parents, and peers, but because of the heavy presence of fairytales in the lives of children they will undoubtedly learn from the image of women presented through
...s, J (1988) a scary thought considering that most of us believe that these Fairy Tales are wholesome moral messages crucial for a child’s development. Which brings me to my next point.