Guilty readers, these "Once Upon A Time" fairy tales that have been read as bedtime stories for as long as anyone can remember. They however have a severely negative influence on children. They give them false expectations, stereotypical ideas and the impression that all dreams come true!
Let us examine the so-called heroines of these fairy tales- they are all beautiful! Cinderella, Snow White and Anastasia-are any of these women Black? Chinese? Asian? Ugly? Fat? Disabled? No! What kind of message is this sending to our youth? Is every young girl that reads a fairy tale white, thin and gorgeous? Most definitely not! Girls feel that unless they are blessed with beautiful looks they will not find their "prince charming" and live happily ever after.
Besides being beautiful, look at the roles these women play. Snow White was a housemaid for seven males dwarfs, Cinderella, a servant in her own home and Belle, a helpless prisoner to a powerful male. Some may argue that these characters are good role models for girls because in all tales they play the "important" roles. But really all they are doing is confirming people's warped belief that "it's a man's world". Cinderella for example focuses on archetypes of women- she passively cries out for help, instead of taking action into her own hands. These heroines give the message to young females that the way to accomplish things is not to do it actively, but to wait, with patience and virtue for a princely man to rescue you from your position. Does this mean that if one is a mother and has a career that she will not live "happily ever after"?
Aside from doing an incredible disservice to all women in society, fairy tales teach children that white is good and black is bad. This idea is drilled into the fairytale-reading child's brain from a very young age. The witches and the stepmothers are always dressed in black. Thus, the child associates black with evil. On the other hand, the heroine is clothed in white and portrayed as pure and innocent. These associations can eventually lead to racism, as the children who believe that white is good and black is evil will most certainly discriminate against visual minorities. Will children of colour who read these stories feel as if they didn't live "happily ever after"?
The next, and very superficial problem with fairytales is one with which we are all quite familiar with. Fairy tales have an inflated importance given to superficial aspects like money, beauty and power. Cinderella is chosen by the prince solely based on her looks! While she was in rags, she was forced to conceal herself. Cinderella only becomes a heroine after she is dressed, cleaned and covered in jewels. In Beauty and the Beast , Belle says, "For who could ever learn to love a beast?" Now one might argue that Bell did in fact eventually learn to love the beast. However her reward for this was quite shallow? The beast turned into a handsome prince! So once again we return to our typical ending: "and they lived happily ever after".
Moving on to the touchy subject of Love. In these fairytales love occurs as first sight. Is there even such thing? Moreover, it most definitely seems to always work out! Have you ever read a fairytale that included a divorce? Or how about a single mother? Of course you haven't and that is because they simply fail to exist. Now how are children from different families expected to relate to these fairy tales? Does this mean that children who live with their father will not live "happily ever after"?
Of course we are all at the age where we can realize that these books are purely fantasy. But at the young age that children read these books, they are unable to distinguish fantasy from reality especially with the constant repetition of the taboo fairytale ending "and they lived happily ever after"
Children will begin believing that whatever happens to the characters in these stories has to happen to them too! These bedtime stories are setting children set up for failure. How can a girl live her life expecting to be beautiful and to marry "prince charming? This is an unattainable goal and an unrealistic expectation.
I'm not saying we should send our children to bed with horror stories and smack them in the face with reality. I'm simply implying that we should all be more aware of the vulnerability of the audience that reads these stories. One should be more aware of the false expectations and unjust messages we are sending. Fairy tales are a form of entertainment that should not be relied on as heavily by parents. One simply needs to be more in touch with reality.
1 in 7 babies born are born disabled; they will never live a normal life. The Columbine shooting 2 years ago killed 15 students and teachers. Over 100 men, women and children were brutally murdered in Israel over the course of the last couple of years. On September 11th, 2001 3000 were killed for "going to work". "Happily ever after" endings only belong to "Once upon a time" lives. Human lives are not fairy tales. Why pretend they are?
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Peggy Orenstein elaborates on how the classic fairytale of Cinderella does indeed have a negative effect on girls. Orenstein clearly states and debates throughout her article that the "princess craze" is a world-wide phenomenon and is damaging young girls. The damage Orenstein is referring to is depression caused by girls feeling that they must fulfill the princess image, and when they do not, it makes them feel as if they are not good enough the way they are. Orenstein also goes as far to say that women who are "perpetually nice" are more likely to be depressed and less likely to use contraception.…
- 575 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Many people have contemplated if whether or not to let children watch or read Disney fairytales. In my perspective, I believe that children should be granted to watch Disney fairytales. Today my goal is for you to be convinced into my opinions and/or reasons to why fairytales are good for children. My thoughts are referred from “10 Reasons Why Kids Need To Read Non-Disney Fairy Tales” by Melissa Taylor, the genre being why fairy tales should be read by kids.…
- 294 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The first thing Robert Munsch, author of The Paper Bag Princess, states is, “Elizabeth was a beautiful princess. She lived in a castle and had expensive princess clothes” (Munsch). Unlike Cinderella, Elizabeth is already in the position of princess and has expensive clothes, which princesses normally possess. Lang mentions later on that Cinderella’s clothes were changed to newer and richer garment than any she had before (Lang 70). Physical features are an important characteristic to fairytales because they are one of the first details the author mentions. According to Dr. Silima Nanda’s “The Portrayal of Women in the Fairy Tales,” she highlights, “Beauty is highly revered in fairy tales being associated with intelligence, ability, kindness, worthiness and morality and this can be well perceived from the Grimms fairy tales” (Nanda 248). This particular trait is universal. Ugliness usually associates with evil characters, while beauty and princesses go hand in hand. Beauty separates the royals from the rest of the characters. They are typically beautiful and have expensive…
- 1829 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
We all grew up hoping to be the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairy tale. People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Arielle Schussler the author of the piece “A case against fairytales”,I am against fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not be taught Disney or original fairy tales.…
- 667 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Fairy tales help to establish gender roles at a young age to characterize and represent the ideals, values, and roles that each gender should succumb to. Females are taught to be kind, sweet, week, honest, self-sacrificing, and beautiful. On the other hand, males are taught to be courageous, brave, saviors, and wise. Many of these characteristics are shown in Snow White. However, in lemony Snicket’s, A Bad Beginning, the novel challenges many of these ideas by providing the reader with alternate views to gender roles. This is shown through the main protagonist, Violet.…
- 476 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
“...if the child could only believe that it is the infirmities of his age which account for his lowly position, he would not have to suffer so wretchedly from sibling rivalry, because he could trust the future to right matters. When he thinks that his degradation is deserved, he feels his plight is utterly hopeless. Djuna Barnes’s perceptive statement about fairy tales-- that the child knows something about them which he cannot tell (such as that he likes the idea of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf being in bed together)-- could be extended by dividing fairy tales into two groups: one group the child responds only unconsciously to the inherent truth of the story and thus cannot tell about it; and another large number of tales where the child preconsciously or even consciously knows what the ‘truth’ of the story consists of and thus could tell about it,but does not want to let on that he knows.” (The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim, chapter 29: Cinderella, pg. 239.)…
- 1002 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
According to the feminist writer Fay Weldon, “Men are irrelevant.” “Women are happy or unhappy, fulfilled or unfulfilled, and it has nothing to do with men.” Why then do traditional fairy tales portray women who judge their self worth upon whether or not a handsome Prince wants to marry them? Why are the Prince's in these tales only concerned with women's beauty and not their wit or intellect? Traditional nineteenth century gothic fiction stereotyped women as naïve ''damsels in distress'', constantly reliant on male protection. Women who rebelled against this stereotype, or got men into trouble were punished.…
- 768 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the earlier days of animation, much like most media, female characters were given the stereotypical role of always needing to be saved by the male hero of the story. Like how most early Micky Mouse cartoons that involve Minnie, usually involves her needing to be saved by Micky in some form. However, a very good example to look at when looking into the role of female characters, is Disney’s Princesses. They tend to have a huge impact on the younger generation, mostly with how they are aimed towards that audience. One of the main jobs that a Disney Princesses can be considered to have is to act as a role model and someone that young girls can look up to and inspire to be. They are also very easy to market and is one the biggest marketing products out there when it comes to Disney’s merchandise. Despite the idea of a Disney Princess being role models, they have been accused of not being the best of role models with people claiming that they don’t really do anything. Which can be true in some cases, but at the same time isn’t. An example of character not doing much is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney, 1959). Even though the story is all about her, she doesn’t actually do much in the film itself and only has roughly 18 minutes of screen time. There is the argument that each character is a product of its…
- 2015 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
When perusing “Little Snow-White” from a feminist perspective it is evident that the purpose of the story is to “shape girls perceptions to conform to a gendered identity through stereotypical characters like the wicked mother and beautiful, helpless daughter” (Mikkijoiner). Snow White is recognized only for her beauty and ability to do housework; presented as an attractive, “demure and submissive” female (Mikkijoiner).…
- 479 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Disney is a very popular company. Many of us grew up watching their movies and shows. Many of us don’t see what they are doing until we have grown up and become exposed to how women are not treated equal. Disney has many movies with showed many things be seen as stated here, “the author cited numerous examples of both sexism and racism in the films, specifically noting the heroines’ extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breast. (England 556)” They have the image of women to be light skin, skinny, and mainly be more attractive to men. Disney shows that women need be the person to get the help, not them helping themselves. In many movies you will see the ‘princess’ will be confronted with some problem that…
- 938 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
At this point in time, there is an assumption of equality between men and women, but if you explore further into the media, a clear bias emerges. Women are very often objectified, misrepresented, exploited, distorted or even, absent. Women are represented in the media in many different ways, depending on which item of media you look at. Certainly, the representations of women in the media has significantly changed within the last 60 years, and mainly in a good way, seeing women as more independent and strong. Women are often stereotyped, and represented to an audience as that stereotype; usually a diva, a sex kitten, a fashionista, a housewife or a business woman. It is very rare that feminism is obvious within a piece of media.…
- 1934 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
However, all who are deemed these qualities are the villainesses of the stories. When the beautiful damsel is placed in distress, it is always the ugly villainess who places her there. Thus, as stated by Grauerholz there becomes an “ association between beauty and goodness and then conversely between ugliness and evil..” (qtd. in Hanafy). When a villainess acts out against the heroine, as seen in the characters of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, and the Evil Queen in Snow White, they do not act from any intelligible source of anger but rather from jealousy (mostly stemming from beauty) and pure malice, therefore furthering the reader and/or listeners disdain of powerful women, and instead reinstating one’s compassion, and reliability for the distressed heroine. Furthering dissuading people from connecting with the powerful women of the fairytales are that they always are punished in the end. No fairy tale ends with the villainess winning, she always gets her compuence. However, not all female characters fit between the dichotomies of malicious and good. There are a select few characters, particularly the fairy godmothers and the dwarves of Snow White, whom are portrayed as not only genial, powerful, and wise, but also help guide the heroine on her journey to find her Prince. Without the Fairy…
- 685 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The introduction of the book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim focused on the benefits of fairytales on child development. Bettelheim talks about how important developing the child's imagination is. Developing the imagination allows children to process what they see in the world and process what they hear in stories. This gives them a good grasp on their conscience (11-12). Fairy tales allows for children to learn about problems in the real world and ways to deal with them. Bettelheim says that there is a fine line between a story holding a child's attention and not; the story must be entertaining but by arousing their imagination…
- 1154 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty. Rapunzel. Snow-White. These women all share a common feature other than being the protagonists in many well-renowned fairytales;…
- 877 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
common in most fairy tales. Surprisingly, “Sleeping Beauty” is also a good example of bad…
- 2340 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays