Looking back at some of the most popular fairy tales, we can see how unattainable standards of beauty are enforced upon us from a young age. The media we consume as children tells us that there’s only one acceptable type of body shape, skin colour, and facial features. If you do not align with this specific (and largely unrealistic) model of beauty, you are inadequate, unworthy of love, and destined for an unhappy life. Most of the Disney Princesses are based upon fairy tales; each one is slim, follows a carefully curated set of looks, and the majority of them are white. Before Tiana (Princess and the Frog) graced our screens in 2009, Disney had no black princesses, and they are yet to introduce another one. The standard of representation within fairy tales forces children to perceive only one type of beauty, which could lead to a tough battle of self-acceptance.
The standard of representation within fairy tales forces children to perceive only one type of beauty, which could lead to a tough battle of self-acceptance.
As well as this inherent lack of representation, fairy tales are dominated by patriarchal structures of authority. Women are framed as passive objects, who can only be saved by men. Even two of the most universally regarded and cherished fairy tales, Cinderella and Snow White, depict women’s role as tirelessly cooking and cleaning. In these tales, the protagonists’ only functions are to clean for men whilst they are away at work, or to find a ‘handsome prince’ to fall in love with, as obviously this will solve all their problems… These fairy tales reinforce rigid gender roles upon easily influenceable children, teaching them ideas of a hierarchy between men’s and women’s importance and power within society.
Fairy tales are dominated by patriarchal structures of authority. Women are framed as passive objects, who can only be saved by men.
In addition to outdated perceptions of gender roles, fairy tales exhibit internalised misogyny between women, by forcing them to battle against each other, to win the love of a man. In each fairy tale, the conventionally ‘pretty’ women are granted a happy ending, whilst the other women are named ‘ugly’, ‘evil’, or ‘wicked’, and are forced to live a gloomy life, in jealousy of the ‘prettier’ character. This portrays the very opposite of intersectional feminism, in which the voices of all women are respected, no matter of your race, sexuality, class, or any other factors that may mean you are discriminated against. This teaches children, especially girls, that ultimately, their worth is defined by their appearance, and that other women are a threat to their happiness.
It's time to modify fairy tales, to include characters that represent all bodies, race, gender, and sexualities, and teach children of everyone’s beauty.