Fairy Tales 2.0

Fairy Tales 2.0

Ladies, I don't know about you but at one point in my life I wished I was a princess. For the longest its been: the princess is rescued by a tall prince and together they live happily ever after, the end. Children who's minds are developing spend a good amount of their time watching these movies thinking how awesome their life would be if they were a princess. The biggest problem with that is, these princess movies are sending false messages. They fail to include the beautiful humans that come in all shapes, colors etc. How are these children suppose to grow up and rule the world when all they know is white pretty faces get to live a happily ever after?

First in line was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which was released in 1937. Next came Cinderella in 1950. Since then a total of nine more official princess movies have dominated the world. Every one of those princess are these beautiful and effortlessly perfect females. Articles like "Cinderella revised: Women's Appearance Modified as a Function or Target Audience Sex and Attractiveness" raise awareness on the fact that the beauty of those princesses and happily ever afters aren't scenarios children should be learning in the world today. On page 563 of the article it says, “Cinderella, for example, was a lovely young maiden who, in addition to her sweet and generous nature, was blessed with sparkling eyes and a shapely figure. As we all know, good things eventually happened to Cinderella – she went to the ball, slid a glass slipper onto her dainty foot, married the prince, and lived happily ever /after.” It's sad to say these are the fairy tales children admire and aspire to be like, if the woman is beautiful then the man will carry her to her to to her happily ever after.

Now lets do the math. Eight out of eleven of the official princesses are woman with pale skin, meaning only three out of eleven of these princesses have brown skin. I might not be a mathematician but I'm 100% sure that 3:8 is an unfair ratio. Children in every color shape and size etc. sit and watch these princess fairy tales yet the majority of the princesses they aspire to be like are pale faced. AWKWARD! Fairytales have now been exposed thanks to articles like "Multicultural Literature Education: A Story of Failure?" On page 324 it suggest we should be “teaching children stories that were deliberately designed to counteract traditional stereotypes." Teaching fairytales that break not only the "princess is saved by the prince" but also the "white faces live happily ever afters" stereotypes will allow these sweet innocent children to enjoy a movie while learning to understanding that beautiful has no color and anyone can do anything they work hard for. A few of those beloved princess fairytales have now been re written with practical life lessons.   

Education as we know it today contains lesson plans with books that include realistic characters and scenarios that take place in complicated world we live in today. Articles like "Snow White and the Trickster: Race and Genre in Helen Oyeyemi's Boy, Snow, Bird" shines light on a retelling of a fairy tale with a modern twist. The article states, “Although all retellings and adaptations tend toward deconstruction, the deconstruction at work in Boy, Snow, Bird is of a more fundamental nature...Oyeyemi literally deconstructs the fairy tale into its constituent parts, its dominant tropes, without reworking them into a singular narrative.” Let me tell you, Boy, Snow Bird is a book you won't want to put down. This book breaks every stereotype written in the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Spoiler alert: it contains some characters with white skin and some with black skin. In the book there are men who dont save the day, and even more surprisingly there is a transgender character. Ultimately, the book Boy, Snow, Bird even shocks the reader with no happily ever after.

Since 1937 Princess fairytales have captured the hearts and minds of young children. Sadly they fail to evolve at the same rate society does lacking true messages about gender and racial diversity, lessons children should be grasping rather than the typical the prince saves princess and together they lived happily ever after. Thanks to authors like Helen Oyeyemi, educators can continue to use fairy tales in the classroom. It is up to the modern versions of those beloved princess fairy tales to teach valuable life lessons to the children who hold the future in their hands.