Stereotypes In Red Riding Hood

The fairy tale helps the child to understand a balance between the good and the evil; it gives him a hope for a good future.” Fairy tales assure the

Fairy Tales are not just stories that parents tell to their children, but stories with hidden valuable messages which are mostly left on a side. In the article “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” Maria Tatar clearly explains how people need fairy tales in their lives. Tatar also states how fairy tales have the ability to take the listener, especially children’s, into a journey in which they can play with their imagination so that they can discover their deepest fears and wishes. Personally I agree with the author, because of the fact that in an individual’s lives as they get older, they will try to define themselves, sometimes comparing their own life with a character from their favorite story or Fairy Tale.

In “Ninja Red Riding Hood” by Corey Rosen Schwartz, this version of the Red Riding story addresses the notion of stereotypes that are created against ninjas. Unlike the European versions of this tale, Schwartz’s text and Dan Santat’s illustrations tell us that Red Riding Hood is a powerful and invulnerable ninja; whereas her calm and mindful grandmother is trained in tai chi. Since being vigorous and strong are associated with ninjas as individuals who fight and kill evil, Schwartz’s and Santat’s limited knowledge in tai chi and martial arts show the North American stereotypes that have been created against ninjas, but also show that in order to protect oneself one does not need to kill evil.

Ever since Disney films were first produced, it has been obvious that they are non-representative of the population, and that these films often reinforce stereotypes for people of color. The films Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas all fall into the trap of misrepresenting the culture of other groups of people besides those who are white. This mistake, whether intentional or not is partially due to the misinterpretation of history, cultural traditions and the norms of non-Western societies. These three films all show that Disney filmmakers reproduced stereotypes related to people of color, distorted the traditional culture of non-white groups, and harmed those affected by these flaws in the films.

INTRODUCTION Fairy tales in western culture are used amongst parents to teach their children strong moral lessons and teachings. The teachings embedded in fairy tales reflect the views and beliefs of society in that era, showing the different gender stereotypes for males and females. These views and beliefs that are reflected in fairy tales are patriarchal. Enticing children with the mystical elements of fairies, witches and princesses, guarantee that they are attentive to the story, whilst also ensuring that they are provided with moral instructions to abide by.

Fairy tales existed in different forms from generations to generations. People mostly grow up knowing at least one fairy tale or more. However, what people do not pay attention to is the gender roles that lie in the ground of fairy tales. Making children to grow up to be accustomed to the stereotypes of women and men. In fairy tales, the female characters are always occupied giving birth to beautiful princesses, doing household chores, planning against each other, and being concerned about their beauty.

Walt Disney has presented fairytales for thousands of children to love and enjoy, but most importantly to learn from. However, several individuals claim that the fairytales are nonsense and do not present real life situations to children. Nor do the films depict an appropriate representation of women and men. Especially when the majority of the films present Disney princess with gender stereotypes that deal primarily with body image and social behavior. It is also claimed that children are co-opted by a money hungry corporation. On logistical and economic terms, this can be deemed as true. The purpose of creating these fictional characters was originally to bring joy and happiness to the entire family. Children are still growing up and getting to know the real world and one way for them to understand is by teaching through fictitious scenarios. While majority of his work comes from Walt Disney’s magical imagination, several of his fairytales are based upon folk literature. As G.K. Chesterton had said, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed”. No matter the terror that lies ahead, children learn to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and good things can come from any bad situation. These are key elements that children should learn from a very young age. They allow children to become better prepared for real life situations that they

Fairy tales are deeply-rooted in Europe and they are passed down from the one generation to the other both orally and in writing. It cannot be denied that one of the most favorite past time for all children is listening to fairy tales about mythical creatures, princesses, castles and other enchanting stories. However, until very recently, parents have not realized the immense, hidden power these stories have over the unconscious and conscious mind of young readers. Many classical fairy tales lurk dangers, as they reinforce stereotypical perceptions about gender roles and especially about women. This research paper will attempt to analyze these perceptions, based on some researchers (Rowe Karen E., 1979 and Kumly Esin, 2017).

Often featuring distressed and docile princesses relying on a princely savior, fairy tales have recently prompted discussions on the gender roles being instilled in children with each “once upon a time.” In a world where women are still underrepresented in traditionally “masculine” environments, it is vital that young girls are empowered and inspired by capable female role models. Attempting to determine the extent to which fairy tale gender roles are instilled in children, Ella Westland organized an experiment that specifically examined Cornish schoolchildren. In her article “Cinderella in the Classroom,” Westland is able to adequately explain the motivation behind her study addressing the concerns of feminists about the stereotypical

The fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” has so many versions that have been told from books and movies and each contain messages. Throughout history “Little Red Riding Hood” has conveys the same primary message that danger is around. When telling a child about “Little Red Riding Hood” they understand one message that they should not talk to strangers, but children do not understand other messages that are analyzed like killing, poverty, abuse, etc. As adults, we grasp the concept in the messages. I have categorized the concepts into groups: representation of sexuality, evolution, and victimization. My Literature review focus on these three categories and

When thinking about fairy tales many of us, if not all of us, revert back to childhood. When we were children some of the best memories are those of the movies we used to watch; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Frog Prince, things of those sorts. What many of us do not know is that fairy tales go back farther than that of Disney’s productions. In this course, we have been learning about different views of fairy tales. One of the views that we have focused a lot on is told by Bruno Bettelheim in his book, The Uses of Enchantment. In his eyes fairy tales have the most effect on children and the way children grow up. The second view that we have learned about is J.R.R Tolkien’s in his essay, “On Fairy Stories”. Tolkien claims that

For almost two centuries, fairytales have been a huge part of society and mainstream pop culture. Fairytales are ways creators explain the world to children. Fairytales give a platform to teach young children moral lessons and give them ideas on how to apply them to everyday situations in kid-friendly language. Even though fairytales are make believe stories, often the portrayal of males and females in them are not accurate. Women are often seen as damsels-in-distress who wait for a brave knight in shining armor to come rescue them and live happily ever after. Men are often described as handsome heroes ready to save the day. How is this proper representation on what women and men roles are? In the majority of fairytales the way gender roles are displayed it fosters up an image that women are inferior to men. Traditional gender role stereotypes in fairytales negatively impact young children.

First of all, a fairy tale can help kids deal with thoughts and feelings they are yet to discover. According to the text, “Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim who specialized in the importance of fairy tales for childhood, believed

“Once Upon a Time” and “Happily Ever After” have taken on a life of their own, independent from the stories in which they were written. Beloved by children and adults alike, these stories have been passed down over multiple generations. Along with these stories come morals, values, and stereotypes. A prevalent stereotype found in fairy tales deals with genders and their norms and children in their early developmental years are exposed to these gender stereotypes. These are used as a tool to help children develop their gender identity. As they endure over time, fairy tales continue to teach gender stereotypes and this perpetuates our society’s current beliefs of gender.

Fairy tales like Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Snow White have always been the best bedtime stories that have the power to establish a strong bond in the relationships between parents and their children. Reading fairy tales, not only enhances children's imaginations, but also helps them use different perspectives to see and judge the protagonists and antagonists in the stories. Unfortunately, in most fairy tales, female characters in Rapunzel, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast, women always play inferior roles like cleaners or helpless princesses. On the contrary, the male characters usually play superior role like princes or heroes, who are set to save the weak (female characters). Fairy