Feminism And Gender Roles In Brothers Grimm's Fairy Tales

As varied as the range of children’s literature available, so is the socio-cultural situation of a child. In today’s society books, magazines, television and cinema have one of the largest platforms available to engage with each individual child or youth. Behind every storybook picked up by a child is an adult who through these books is expressing their views and morals in an approach a child can relate to. Much as hero stories such as Where the Wild Things Are appeals to the average, white, young male, so does And Tango Makes Three to the child of a diverse family whose parents are of the same sex. Children’s literature, including Young Adult fiction, allows the predominantly adults authors help shape the young minds of tomorrow, moulding
them into what society deems acceptable.

As every individual has their own opinions, many children’s books, especially ones of a more diverse natural, face challenges. Zipes argues that literacy education is ultimately based on the kind of society and the kinds of citizen/subject that could and should be constructed (Zipes 41). Hence why many brilliant books such as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl have been challenge and/or banned, at some stage. When diving into why these books are deem inappropriate for children, five main themes tend to come up: third person effect, parental rights, First Amendments rights, scarcity and diversity. In the case of And Tango Makes Three many challenges were made, with calls for the book to be banned due to the nature of the subject. In Martha L Magnuson’s article Perceptions of the self and the “Other”: An Analysis of Challenges to And Tango Makes Three a mother of a young toddler is quoted saying she finds the subject of a homosexual relationship inappropriate for the age group, hence her support in having And Tango Makes Three on the list of banned Children’s literature (Magnuson 6). She goes on to say the authors are simply trying to sugar coat the material and that she would feel the same if the book were about murderess penguins (Magnuson 6). While parental rights certainly plays huge role in what their children should and should not read, one also needs to consider the child’s opinion. In Deconstructing the Heteronormative in Teacher Education by Donna Kalmbach Phillips and Mindy Legard Larson, a child expressed through poem how they felt that And Tango Makes Three was a good way to approach the subject of same sex families (Larson 20-21). In the students opinion it was a mild way to approach the controversial subject and appealed to them because it was a true story of two penguins (Larson 20). The student also goes on to say they feel the book encourages them to ask questions, although they felt if a permission slip was to be handed out before they were allowed to read the book, theirs would be denied (Larson 21). Although literature may be a great stage to approach controversial subjects, it can only be effective if the educators and parents allow the child to read it and make up their own mind in what they think the message is that the author is trying to convey. Many books once banned are often, at a later date, praised and awarded numerous literacy honours. The scarcity for these books when challenged seems to make them all the more popular. Pat Conroy author of Beach Music and The Prince of Tides which have both been banned from two West Virginia high schools once said, “Because you banned my books every kid in that country will read them, every single one of them. Because book banners are invariably idiots, they don’t know how the world works- but writers and English teachers do” (Magnuson 3). Providing children with access to diverse literature is key, a quote from Magnuson’s article states that upon the shelves in every library very different aspect of our society should be represented (Magnuson 8). The diversity of today’s children’s literature should be a reflection of how times have changed and how today society has evolved. Just as one needs to upgrade their technology to keep up with the fast paced times of today, so does children’s literature, Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales are a great example of this.
Feminism has brought about vast changes to society over the past forty plus years and our staple story telling tales needs to reflective upon the way our society now views women compared to when Margery Hourihan published “The Story Deconstructing the Hero”. Women for many years have only played background roles, especially in the much loved “hero stories” as such (Hourihan 9). The publication of Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber and Other Tales” has brought about a more radical approach to the long rooted traditions of patriarchal classic fairy tales (Zipes 120). Zipes suggests this change in roles and more feminist approach to Children’s Literature is not a result from breaking away from the past but rather women seizing it, making the past their own (Zipes 124). In Carter’s own translation of the traditional tale by Charles Perrault, she has regenerated the story, becoming more fitting to the current times of women and the struggle of power play between the two sexes. Even though the change feminism has brought to children’s literature has seen some backlash, it has also inspired and influenced many male writers. The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson is a great example of this. A simple, hero tale of a wife/mother who must battle the harsh and wild conditions the Australian bush offers while her
husband is away droving (Hourihan 26). Henry Lawson made an active decision to make the female protagonist of the story the hero and that his story will surround her and the problems she faces not the Husbands and the difficulties he may find out on his drove. This wave of feminism through children’s literature has helped counterbalance the views of women, men and who is the actual hero, allowing children to realise anyone can be a hero.

Some argue that children’s literature is impossible, that children cannot own this genre since it is written by adults.
As Jacqueline Rose states in The Case of Peter Pan: The Impossibility of Children’s Literature children’s fiction sets up a world in which the adult comes first as the author, maker and giver and the child come after as the reader, product and receiver’ but neither party enters the space in between (Rose 2). Children’s literature draws the child in, allowing them to feel secure and framing their ideas and dreams. A diversity in children’s literature is intended to help enable the child to develop their talents, their creativity and also their critical thinking (Zipes 39). Zipes claims this might better their understanding of the conditions of which they live and allow them to develop a sense of civic responsibility and affective attachment to other human beings (Zipes 39). If children’s literature was not influential to their targeted audience there would not be so many challenges to the diversity upon the library shelves, just because certain members of the community see as outside the ‘norm’. Once again this reiterates the fact that children’s literature is created by adults who are seeking to help shape and mould the young minds of
tomorrow.