Since childhood, we are being fed the idea that a Prince charming will arrive riding on a horse one day and we’ll have the perfect love story. But should this be the ultimate goal of our life?
“Once upon a time, a girl was forced into slavery by her evil stepmother, her name was Cinderella. The girl kind, obedient and beautiful so she was rescued by a handsome prince.”
“Once upon a time, a girl was locked up in prison by a beast deep in the woods. The girl was caring, understanding and also beautiful so he fell in love with her, she fell in love with him who eventually turned out to be a handsome prince.”
“A beautiful girl was cursed and fell asleep for a hundred years but she was again rescued by a handsome prince.”
Though fairy tales open up a world of imagination and creativity, they are discriminating. The girl is always fair, beautiful. The prince is handsome and always to the rescue of the princess. Fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White show women as passive characters. It shows that they can’t stand up for themselves or determine their futures. Their traits of beauty and obedience will make sure that someone takes care of them. It sets unrealistic expectations for men to be competitive, aggressive. It sinks in the idea for them to be always brave and never feel anxiety or fear. Life is not a fairy tale. Children should be taught how to be good human beings. They should be more focused on being the right one instead of finding the right one. Fairy tales generally express that the main characters are straight, white, young, able-bodied and conventionally beautiful. These contribute to a lot of unhealthy thoughts in people in our diverse society. It’s high time to rethink these stories. Children in today’s world need examples that they can look up to.