Do kids need fairy tales?

By Matilda Cutting, Trailblazer Blog Writer

Fairy tales. Something the majority of us grew up with, yet they are just a collection of sweet, happy bedtime stories and films for kids. But I think fairy tales are just money-making schemes showing society's unrealistic expectations of what girls and women are expected to be. 

Let me explain to you my pessimistic and unpopular opinion on the subject. 

From Rapunzel and Snow White to The Little Mermaid. Each of these films gives young girls the wrong idea. It shows that they have to be a damsel in distress, rather than being their own hero. For a man to fall in love with them, they have to change themselves. Which is wrong, isn't it?

These films  tell girls that they have to fit into society's norms rather than being themselves. It tells them they have to follow society's expectations of what a girl is. It makes them think they have to have long hair, wear makeup and love wearing dresses. Never wearing makeup and wearing a t-shirt and jeans would never be allowed. 

That brings me to my next theme, beauty. When the heroes and villains of these fairy tales are shown in movies or described in books, you can automatically tell who's good and who's evil because of their looks. The theme of beauty continues in that it's always the beautiful women who get their happy endings in fairy tales – and not the ugly ones. 

This gives the idea that for a woman to achieve anything in life, to have any hope at love, she has to be attractive and look pretty all the time. 

Because of this, more and more girls are becoming insecure about their looks and they are left with the idea that their happy ending has to involve a man and marriage because there's no other option. These are young girls who are only just discovering what they like and don't like, yet they're being told exactly how to behave. Why are we making these innocent young girls who should be having fun and enjoying their childhood so insecure about their looks and who they should be? 

For the girls who do fit these stereotypes and society's norm, fairy tales are good and enjoyable forms of entertainment. But for those of us who aren't really feminine, dress-wearing or caked in makeup, fairy tales are just a way to make us feel insecure about who we are, and that needs to change. 

Image by Free Fun Art from Pixabay