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Gender role stereotypes in fairy tales
Gender role stereotypes in fairy tales
Gender role stereotypes in fairy tales
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In “Things Walt Disney Never Told Us” by Kay Stone, the author began her article by contrasting the infamous Grimm fairy tales and the passive Disney fairy tales with the characters from the Märchen, which is all types of fairy tale in general including stories with active heroes or heroines. She also talks about the Grimm brother and Disney's negligence to include active characters and the black and white stereotypes of the beautiful and kind protagonists and the ruthless and ugly antagonists. Although some of the heroines from the Grimm and Disney stories do show signs of bravery, but they are overpowered by the men in the end: “In "The Clever Peasant Lass" the girl is threatened with abandonment by her boorish husband, and the proud daughter in "King Thrushbeard" is humbled by both her father and her unwanted husband.” The main characters from both the Grimm and Disney are viewed to be “uninspiring” as Stone puts it: “The popularized heroines of the Grimms and Disney are not only passive and pretty, but …show more content…
also unusually patient, obedient, industrious, and quiet. A woman who failed to be any of these could not become a heroine. Even Cinderella has to do no more than put on dirty rags to conceal herself completely.” Märchen's heroes and heroines, on the other hand, are drastically different from the passive characters from the Grimm and Disney fairy tales.
The protagonists from Märchen do not value appearance as much as those from the Grimm and Disney does. Some or most do not fit the stereotypes for the heroes and heroines: “Märchen heroes can be slovenly, unattractive, and lazy, and their success will not be affected.” Another drastic difference is that they are certainly not sitting on their thumps, awaiting for the arrival of the prince or the fairy godmother : “Heroes succeed because they act, not because they are. They are judged not by their appearance or inherent sweet nature but by their ability to overcome obstacles, even if these obstacles are defects in their own character.” For example, the boy from “The Little Red Ox” is a male version of Cinderella. Instead of waiting for the help from others, he took his destiny in his own hands by killing his
stepmother. Aside from the active characters, Disney tales and the Grimm stories also try to wiped out all of the sexual contents in attempt to sanitize it for the younger audience and readers. They have made the sexuality more subtle in the stories. For example, many of the main female characters are locked away and forced to hide themselves when they've reached puberty: “Rapunzel is locked in a tower, Snow White is sent out to be murdered, and Sleeping Beauty put to sleep. Such heroines have their freedom severely restricted at a time in life when heroes are discovering full independence and increased power.” Their freedom were taken away from the heroines causes women to be more sympathetic towards those characters. The stories also try to convey the harm of sexuality towards the heroines and how women shouldn't familiarized themselves with the concept: “Bluebeard's wives are murdered for looking into forbidden rooms, and Sleeping Beauty is punished with near death from a sharp object for doing so. Other heroines are threatened with death for breaking a tabu against looking into a fireplace in versions of ("The Kind and the Unkind Girls")...” Those fairy tales serve almost as a guideline for girls and have greatly been influencing them. Many girls and women confessed how they fantasied themselves as one of the passive Disney princesses or female characters in the romantic novels and such.
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.
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
In “Escape from Wonderland” by Deborah Ross, the writer explains how the fictional characters are admired. Although they seem to be sending a bigger message to young girls. The writer talks about drawing a line between fantasy and reality. In the end Ross’s objective is to show how some Disney characters break the femininity and imagination tradition. Which can have an effect in children and how they value their own ability to have unique visions. By comparing Alice in Wonderland (1951), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) to heroines like Arabella from The female Quixote. “Charlotte Lennox’s (The Female Quixote illustrates both these conservative and progressive plot patterns, for it both draws upon and criticizes earlier romances, which themselves often both celebrate and punished female imagination and expressiveness. Therefore, like Disney’s movies today, which also use material from romance and fairy-tale tradition”, (pg. 473, Escape from Wonderland). Young women may not only begin to fantasize about a grandeur life more exciting than reality but to be disappointed with society in the workplace and relationships. For example, Meredith from Brave she is a princess that wishes to have a different life than what her mother has planned for her. She refuses to get married and have the duties of a princess. She wants to have adventures and be
Fairy tales not only impacts women negatively but ultimately impact men negatively as well. Dworkin notes that the prince that must save the princess is given astronomically superb qualities that regular men, that everyday men are unable to posses. Surely men can possess some of the qualities that a prince has but no man can have all these qualities. Men attempt to do so but in end, they “use airplanes”. Airplanes would a be much faster and convenient substitute to a white horse that must be trained and groomed to be ridden on. Dworkin would eventually state:
Additionally, the stereotypical appealing, exceptional, heroines of the story are not active at all. In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora never does anything to change her future, she is always told what to do by every other character. She does not try to take control of what could happen, but rather listens to everyone else telling her what to do. Because of this, young women are persuaded to be passive and wait for good things that may or may not happen in the future. Young women in society are against being active, because in numerous Disney movies, “the most prominent, active women in the [Disney] movies, the critics note, are almost always evil” (Bruce 2). When women are shown as active and strong-headed, they almost always end up dead, locked away, or banished. Maleficent, the villain in Sleeping Beauty, is shown with horns originally, and is dressed in all black and purple. She is not, what is typically called, gorgeous. She is different that other girls, and that is seen as not tolerable, and she is not accepted in the kingdom. At the end of the movie, she transforms into a dragon to protect herself from getting murdered and ends up getting slayed, defeated and dies. From this movie, girls could easily receive the message that if they are not pretty, they will not be successful because, clearly, Maleficent is not a traditionally pretty female, and she ends up dead. This is just one of several messages that could be picked out from Sleeping
Disney in World War II Despite his career’s rough start in the 1920’s, Walt Disney has become a household name, known for films such as Bambi and Peter Pan. The cartoonist’s career and company survived many eras of American history; this included the second World War, a harsh time where everyone seemed to be working and living for the war. During World War II, Disney contributed to the war effort through the creation of military insignias, aircraft nose art, and propaganda films. Throughout World War II, Walt Disney Productions created a total of approximately 1,200 military emblems.
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.
Having an oppressed protagonist be met with good fortune is something that is universally relatable to many audiences. For example, in Russian folklore, the Afanas’ev tale entitled Valissa the Beautiful fits into the Cinderella genre. In the tale, a young girl is given a doll by her dying mother. With directions to feed it, the doll aids Valissa into doing her countless chores. Although not a fairy god mother with wings, Valissa is aided by a magical being in order to surpass the obstacles given by her step mother and siblings. Valissa’s good deeds are rewarded by the end, and she marries the handsome Tsar. Although the cultural undertones are much different, the generality of the Cinderella genre allows the plot structure to be molded to fit almost any folk
Passivity in fairy tales is the most valued trait a woman can obtain in life. Perrault’s “Bluebeard” features disempowered women such as the Bluebeard’s wife, the corpses of his previous wives and his wife’s sister. Once the bride’s brother rescues her, she is immediately reincorporated into the dominant order with another marriage that closes the fairy tale. This act reveals
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.
A. E. Johnson (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1969), pp. 3-21.] Beauty is often highly regarded in many cultures, and as portrayed by Sleeping Beauty, is a woman’s only means of power. In spite of also receiving things such as “grace,” the ability to “dance to perfection,” and so on, she is not given any meaningful/useful qualities that actually give her character depth. If she had been given what is now considered prized characteristics such as cognitive strength, wit, or bravery, her character would have been controversial to her time period as only a man is best “fitted” for having those attributes. “Children’s fairy tales, which emphasize such things as women’s passivity and beauty, are indeed gendered
...errault’s “Cinderella” and Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm’s “Ashputtle” both feature a young heroine who despite overwhelming obstacles manages to change the course of her life, and live happily ever after with her prince. Both of the stories have a similar plot, characters, and events, but it’s the moral lesson that modifies the two stories and makes them different. The audience also impacts the story and the way it is presented. There are many things that authors consider before writing their story, and all their concerns reflect on the story. Charles Perrault’s concern was his audience, and he made sure that it didn’t offend the upper class. The Grimm brothers were not concerned about the upper class because they wrote their tales for ordinary people and they had no worries of people getting upset. All their feelings about values and morals are expressed in “Ashputtle.”
It is this element of hope in a true fairytale that creates the support for a protagonist to overcome the opposing force that has been thrust onto them. A genuine fairytale is said to have the element of, “A innocent character [placed against] the evil character who normally loses somehow,” (Gokturk) which is seen as Cinderella is chosen by the prince over the evil step-sisters at the ball. As human beings with a developed moral system, it has been seen that the more deserving, mistreated character is favored to succeed in the story. Cinderella is seen as this “underdog” character in her quest to find love with the prince and overcome her step-sisters’ mistreatment. As Cinderella is mistreated by her new family, sympathy is built for the emerging protagonist and hope of her to conquer her situation follows. The underdog of this story grows in favorability to be picked by the prince due to the societal belief that the more deserving candidate should overcome their opposition. If there was no sense of hope thought the story of Cinderella, this story could not be categorized as a true embodiment of a
In the article Fairy Tales and Gender Stereotypes, it talks about how in princess stories, the princess always needs a prince in order to be saved, thus making little girls feel like they need a man to be useful, but on the occasion, they do give women power, like in the story Mulan. "Some stories have given female characters more power and strength, like Mulan. But which story would you recognize first? Mulan or Cinderella? The stores that support the idea of capable women are often not the favored or popular ones. If women want to change the stereotype, then the tales of castles and princesses may need a little tweaking." This goes to show that people are trying to make a difference, but still, it is like the article says, which one would you recognize first, of course, it is going to be Cinderella, she even has her own castle in Disneyland. So why do we recognize that one first, because of all the new publicity on the princesses, like how Cinderella got a new live action movie, and mulan didn't get a new movie. There is a book called half the sky, that touches on how women in certain areas are beaten for trying to run away from abusive marriages. "Recently I read Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book Half the Sky, about women who were beaten when trying to run away from abusive marriages or
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.