good for little girls or not

[Unicorn Dream]

A question of representation...

This is a really interesting topic. I think the problem with conventional fairytales, (which is now ending with the rise of modern tales)...was that the ultimate happy outcome for the princess was always to settle with the prince - happy ending. It certainly does influence young girls to see settling down with a man as a great thing to do and perhaps - the high-point of their life. On top of this, the unmarried, childless female in all fairytales - does tend to be a witch!

It doesn't necessarily mean all girls that loved fairytales are going to go down the path of believing their ultimate aim in life should be to settle down...but it's just one more element in a very big chain of things in everyday life - that does, subtly send that message to young girls. Whilst there are plenty of boys toys that only have the man - ActionMan etc...when it comes to girl's toys - (up until a few years ago), they always came with a male counterpart - Barbie and Ken, for example. It's subtle, but it's there...that a woman needs a man for her picture to be complete. But the message, isn't entirely the same towards boys. It shouldn't really be like this, women should feel confident living their lives on their terms, single or not.

Ultimately, I believe that fairytales should represent a range of outcomes for the princess/female/male involved. Happiness should not just be the princess finding her prince - there should be some fairytales that demonstrate the princess, making a great success of building her own kingdom...for example!

The key is having a diverse range of outcomes to broaden children's minds in terms of what happiness, success and achievement can be.

 

[Old World American]

That's okay, Feminists give Wagner all sorts of crap even though there is not a single female character in his principal mythological work Der Ring Das Nibelung, that does not speak her mind, defy tradition, or be wholly strong in their femininity in some fashion. Even the mortal females are full of fire and fight!
The principal "feminist" characters are awfully flaky compared to real women. Take Chopin's work The Awakening. Apparently becoming a realized woman means severing family ties, balking and belittling any form of love, abandoning children, and committing suicide. Women for Women's rights are in a noble cause. My experience with those who call themselves Feminists, however, is that many women resent being associated with them because their view does not allow for women to really act as they please. Since I am probably sounding sexist I will put forth first that these opinions come from the women in my life. Basically, a feminist will allow for complete and equal freedom among genders so long as no one falls in love, has sex, acknowledges emotion, or likes the societal label of "feminine".
Women are so special in that they are (the better if you ask me) half of the human experience, the other mysterious half that men only stumble around. I'm all for equal rights but why in god's name would a woman want to act like some stupid man? This is the distinction I draw between those for Women's Lib and Feminists.