Women 's Beauty : A Woman 's Worth With Her Beauty

1487 Words6 Pages
In fairy tales, there is nothing worse for a female character than being ugly and this is reflected in the beauty myth that women face outside fairy tales as well. Fairy tales equate a woman’s worth with her beauty. Americans do this as well by pitting beauty against internal traits and individuality. In doing this, women continue to receive their beauty myths from men, compete with other women and pass these unreachable beauty standards onto the next generation of women.
With fairytales, it is what’s on the outside that counts, especially in regards to women in the stories. The step sisters were “beautiful, with fair faces but evil and dark hearts” (Grimm 1). Their beauty is mentioned first because we talk about things most often in
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Their traits threaten the feminine ideal; they are too strong and too determined.
In many ways, Cinderella can be interpreted as an elaborate beauty contest emphasizing the message that a youthful (i.e. beautiful, because we know old is ugly) appearance, especially when paired with the appropriately meek demeanor, is the most important asset. Conversely, women that are not beautiful are a source of suspicion. “Why should that stupid goose sit in the parlor with us?” they said. “If she wants to eat bread, then she will have to earn it. Out with this kitchen maid!” (Grimm 1). The evil stepsisters are an example of how men (at least the Brothers Grimm) think ugly women treat beautiful women. When Cinderella does attend the festival, how does she go unrecognized? Surely, her stepsisters must be blinded by her beauty. “Her stepsisters and stepmother did not recognize her. They thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress” (Grimm 3).
The mutilation of the stepsister’s feet in Cinderella also presents the notion that women will go to great lengths in order to undermine each other. This sends a message to girls that they cannot trust other girls. “In assigning value to women in a vertical hierarchy according to a culturally imposed physical standard, it is an expression of power relations in which women must unnaturally compete for resources…” (Wolf 12). The fairytale
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