Gender Roles in

Fairytales

What is a Fairytale?

A fairytale is a story told or influenced by oral tradition. The tales are usually Based in a time “Long ago”, and begin with “once upon a time”, and end with “happily ever after”. Fairytales come from many different cultures, and often times the stories told in America originated from old European folk Tales. They usually include magic and enchantment, and good and evil characters.

Fairy tales are a part most children’s lives in America. Told as bedtime stories or seen in movies, most kids have heard the stories of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and countless others. Parent’s who tell theirChildren fairytales like that they are telling the same stories they heard whenThey were little. Disney has been Promoting and profiting from fairy tales since its 1937 debut with Snow White. It’s most recent fairy tale film, Tangled from 2010 is rumored to be the last Disney Fairy tale movie.

Gender roles in FairytalesIt’s common knowledge that sex and

beauty sell. This Is even apparent in the creation of fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm Fairytales were brought to America in 1857 , and they include some of the most famous fairy tales such as “Cinderella”, “Hansel and Gretel”, and “Sleeping Beauty”.

According to the LA times, out of 168 of these Grimm tales, 94 percent acknowledged Physical appearances, particularly female beauty. These tales reinforce the message to children that it pays to be pretty. The rich handsome prince almost always falls for the beautiful girl. The popularity of the stories shows that our culture considers physical appearance an important asset in life.

Snow White

Snow white and the seven Dwarfs was Disney’s first full length animated feature film. Snow white is the “fairest of them all” and also the most innocent and kind hearted. As a fourteen year old girl , she is slender, fair skinned, with rosy cheeks and lips. She is beautiful and has a beautiful personality. Her step mother is portrayed as mean and evil, and less beautiful. Snow white is very passive, and cannot survive on her own without help from the dwarfs or a man, or even the animals that help her. Many of the Disney princess tales show the women as being helpless and needing the handsome young man to come save them. Snow White and her step mother are ultimately competing for beauty. The magic mirror is who tells the queen who is the fairest of them all. This shows that beauty is measured by how men perceive the women, and not by how a woman perceives herself.