Ingredients for a classic fairy tale:
A beautiful damsel in distress
An evil hag (spice with jealousy and a long nose)
One dashing prince in search of eye-candy
A handful of charming and unthreatening animal pals
A heaping spoonful of happily ever after in domestic bliss
It’s a recipe we’re all familiar with, with a neat ending and an unthreatening message of good defeating evil. But in this day and age, are the stereotypes supported by fairy tales perhaps a little archaic?
Who doesn’t love a good fairy tale? We remember them as they were told to us as children, and they remain a large part of our lives through the power of blatant commercialisation and creative re-imagining in film (arguably the same thing). But as I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed a growing trend of concern about these stories (chiefly, the Disney princesses) and the messages they might send to children, who are at their most impressionable.
Despite the variety between different classic fairy tales in plot, setting and characters, it is clear that the gender roles remain mostly the same. The men are dashing, brave princes who save their princesses from mortal danger and the women are helpless and in need of saving. Of course, one could argue that the evil stepmothers and witches have some agency – but of course, their inner fire is driven by vanity and jealousy rather than any legitimate objective. And, of course, in the end they are defeated to make way for the pretty damsel, who in reality is just some eye-candy for the princes, who hardly (if at all) get to know their ladies before they marry them.
They’re just fairy tales, you might say. Who cares? And on some level, you’re right. Fairy tales are just stories – they’re fun and romantic and have spawned endless other stories and adaptations. And anyway, a child isn’t likely to sit down and psychoanalyse Cinderella. Nevertheless, the message that women are aesthetic objects waiting to be rescued by a strange man will probably transmit in some form – and if these are the roles that young girls are raised to idolize, what will it do to their own sense of agency and self-esteem?
Not all hope is lost! Although the princess ideal is still undeniably popular amongst children (chiefly young girls), things are starting to shift in the ways that fairy tales are told. 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, for example, showed Belle as a more self-sufficient character, educating herself and playing a more active role in her own life (especially her love life). Belle does not settle for Gaston, the archetypal hero prince, but rather bravely rescues her father and stands up to the intimidating Beast, ultimately saving him.
Further, entirely new tales are emerging through the movie powerhouse that is Disney, such as the highly popular Brave (2012), Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016), which paint the ‘princesses’ as the masters of their own destinies, concerned first and foremost with their own life and character and certainly able to save themselves from peril! Although it may seem small, portraying these female characters as the heroes of their own stories will likely positively influence the children looking to films and stories for life lessons.
It is perhaps an impossible task to rewrite all of the classic fairy tales (or limit their popularity), but with an increasing number of alternative stories for young children to look to, there is hope that the gender roles they support will not be seen as defining or inevitable. Instead, with a greater selection of ‘princesses’ and ‘princes’, children will not feel fixed to one path, but able to pursue whatever excites them, whether that be archery or glass slippers.
Images obtained from:
http://candiceraquellee.blogspot.ca/2015/05/why-you-can-still-tell-your-little.html
Rona Chadwick © Cath Tate cards, from http://www.mylearning.org/feminist-activism–education/images/1-2624/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomgauld/
https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/belles-town-age-beauty-beast-theory/
http://lwlies.com/articles/disneys-snow-white-live-action-remake/