Fairy Tales are majorly a reflection of a male worldview

16 January 2022

I do not take what I am unwilling to give.

18 January 2022

Brokilon. Ushering myself to the waking world, that was my thought as I bathed. And I thought it pertained to an old document, maybe in the Bible. It's not. It's a fictional forest. From The Witcher.

It's indisputable that Disney has monopolized the fairytale industry, their versions are globally mainstream. This way, Disney single-handedly influenced women's societal perceptions of themselves and their place in it, with an emphasis on prince saves princess and they live happily ever after niche.

If this is to be believed, young girls are trained to accept during their formative years that they are to be kind and friendly to animals, know and complete house chores, be pretty, and to be swept off their feet by the first man who pays them interest so that eventually they will be together to fulfill their ever after.

This overgeneralization has been laid on many times over and over with the same formula where princess meets prince then they end up together. Shockingly, until I watched one show that said all the narratives were male creations until Frozen came out, I did not realize that the characteristics and actions of the princesses, as well as the equivalent characterizations for their princes, are male constructs imposed on pliable minds in the guise of entertainment.

Personally, I always thought Cinderella was kind. A re-watch showed me that she was not an above reproach fictional character with how snarky she got with her stepmom and sisters behind their backs.

So it goes to fascinate me that that's how men think women should be: good-natured, friendly to everyone, willing to do housechores by themselves, beautiful and graceful all the time (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle) as opposed to the villainous females who were in power, vain, ambitious, controlling, scheming, and lazy when it comes to housechores (Cinderella's stepfamily, Snow White's stepmom and Ursula). There was more leeway with Ariel's portrayal, making her a more independent-thinking and risk-taking go-getter which I attribute to creator's humor on being half-fish. But they all needed saving as Wreck-It-Ralph summarized.

And this is the ideal man portrayed in fairytales: handsome and pays attention to the princess (as if those are enough). Mortifyingly, they are all presented as wealthy males (yes, including Aladdin. Definitely excluding the new gen fairytales from Tangled onwards. Mulan and Pocahontas do not count, they are based on actual people and are presented with a figment of a comparable life story). A bit of determination and will (Cinderella's Prince Charming) and bravery and fighting skills (Aurora's Prince Philip, Prince Eric and Aladdin who resemble each other) were presumed characteristics too with the exception of Prince Florian (nothing note-worthy in the Disney version but at least he has a name. More like necrophiliac tendencies if that would be of merit. Hey, Charming could be a name too! After all he's the only prince addressed that way).

Little boys would grow up thinking the women they should be with are pretty, domestic, submissive and from the outset, need saving and would easily accept their suit as long as they show interest and brandish bravery, not to mention be handsome and rich.

How could I make this read humorously? It still sounds preachy, not sarcastically funny.