Should Fairytales Be Twisted to Be More Feminist?

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#traditional stories

#movie adaptations

#kids movies

Fairytales are an important aspect of childhood, and to many, it is something that connects them to simpler times; times when the biggest worry was how the story ended, or if there were princess costumes for Hallowen, or if the DvD player would work so they could watch the same animated movie for the ninth time.

Why are these stories not considered feminist?

But behind all the magic and nostalgia these stories carry, there is a dark truth : many of the narratives and characthers don’t fit a modern lens, nor are they relatable to young girls. More traditional stories, specifically the ones originated from the Grimm Brothers fairytales, even when adapted to children so they exclude graphic details, are not relatable for them and do not represent woman well, even though women are usually protagonists in these types of stories. In these tales, woman are not skilled at pretty much anything; they are usually young, kind, and beautiful, even though their kindness is not shown many times; they suffer some evil, usually perpretated by an older, uglier woman; after or while they suffer, they become damsels in distress that cannot leave their horrible situations; they are saved by a man, which they then go on to marry.

Should modern adaptations of these fairytales twist them so they become more feminist?

https://unsplash.com/photos/girl-in-white-long-sleeve-shirt-lying-on-bed-UHDBJpT4QB4

What even are fairytales?

First, we have to look at the stories we are willing to adapt. While it is undeniable that they do not give important roles to women and many are passive in their own narratives, at their core, fairytales are stories of hope. Cinderella is not just a story about a girl that went to a ball and married; it is about an abused woman that remained kind and hopeful through her mistreatment, and managed to secure a stable future in the end. Similarly, we have Snow White, who was also made servant in her own home, but managed to get out of that horrible situation in the end. Sleeping Beauty was a sheltered girl that failed to foresee danger, and she was saved by a kind stranger. At their core, all of these stories show us that, even when we are in trouble, we usually can’t escape alone; that there is nothing wrong with being kind and full of grace in a world that does not reward you for it; that people in bad situations deserve saving. These girls strength is in the fact that they managed to get out of horrible situations and remain true to themselves; the fact they had help does not diminish this.

Also, we need to look at their marriages trough an historical lens. Marrying a prince or a king was one of the best things that could happen to a woman in the medieval period, ( at least from a male lens) which is where most of these stories are set in. Automatically, both the woman and her family gain status and financial stability, as well as superior medical care, food (both in quantity and variety), better clothes and shelter for winter, and do not have daily, heavy chores. Even if the money is not truly their own, as women usually could not own property and it was all controlled by men, royal women were usually gifted jewelry, that could be used as their trust fund. Sure, most of their assets are controled by their husbands or their closest male relatives, and they will be forced to endure childbirth multiple times to give heirs to the royal family during a time where women died frequently from the act; but, compared to peasant women, who faced hard, heavy daily chores, and also faced childbirth, being safer from plagues, having a more consistent food suply and better clothes and shelter for the winter months were luxuries many could not imagine.

So, how should these stories be adapted?

These fairytales are an important portal to the past; but, they are not so great in the present. In my point of view, these fairytales need to be carefully adapted to modern times so the story fits better the modern lens while keeping it’s core meaning and charachters intact. Let’s look at this example:

Snow White was a kind and graceful girl, that spoke very softly, worked hard, and was very frightned by the prospect of the evil queen killing her, so she ran through a scary forest to reach safety. There, she takes on the house chores, and, after eating the poisoned apple, is saved by a kiss. To produce a more feminist adaptation, we shouldn’t make Snow White someone who openly rebels against her step-mother, screams ,says harsh words, confronts people, and doesn’t do house chores. What we can do, is add some scenes to make her a more clear character; if we see her talk to the animals how arguing with people makes her feel bad, kids will understand it’s her personality that makes her so soft-spoken, it has nothing to do with being a woman. If she adds some quick lines thanking the dwarves for letting her stay in their cottage and that, in turn, she will take care of it, kids understand that she is paying back a favour, and not doing house chores because she is a woman. And, maybe the most important change of all, if we saw the prince dating her prior to her saving, kids wouldn’t get the message that male “saviours” deserve a reward for being good people, specifically a romantic reward. They would understand that the kiss was not a reward, it was just how people that were already an estabelished couple showed affection to one another.

Same goes to Cinderella. If we show kids how brave she was for leaving for the ball when she had such a difficult home life, we will show them that strength comes in many different ways. A simple dialogue between her and supporting characters, such as the mice or the fairy godmother, where she lists off things that might happen to her if her stepmother finds out, and reasons why she is afraid of going to the ball; not fitting in, her family recognising her, not having good clothes… These worries make her more human like and shows kids that they can do things they are scared to do.

Why it is important to maintain the core parts and charachters of the story :

This applies to all traditional fairytales ; if we are re adapting childrens stories, we cannot significantly change them or it’s charachters; what should be done is add scenes so certain aspects are modified or clarified. These stories will give kids shy, soft spoken, and more easily scared protagonists compared to modern stories; if both types of media are consumed, kids can learn valuable lessons from both. The more traditional fairytales shows kids that, even if bad people do bad things to us, we aren’t responsible to fix that; walking away, escaping is just as fine as fighting against these people, and being scared and accepting help doesn’t make anyone weak. The more modern stories show kids that they can fight for themselves, their family, or anything they love; that they can be bold and loud when they want. Both are important. How many kids end up feeling guilty they didn’t fight back against a bully, but instead went and told the teacher, feeling like they didn’t do enough? Then, they will remember Snow White, who also didn’t confront her bully directly, but instead ran away and got the help she needed. And they will realise that it’s okay, because if a princess did it, it can be the right thing to do. The kid that went against the norm, resulting in adults calling them “difficult”, will remember how Mulan marched as a soldier against everyones wishes, and realise it is okay to dissapoint people. That is what fairytales are for. We can’t just twist traditional fairytales to be more feminist without being careful in how we do it; each story has a lesson, each characther represents someone. So, unless the adaptation preserves the core meaning AND the charachters personalities, it is best not to twist the story at all.

This goes mainly to adaptations aimed for kids; I fully support adaptations aimed for adults to twist the story as well as they please. Let’s look at the movie “Snow White and the Huntsman”; it is completely different than the original story, but it is very loveable. Why? Because, adults have different needs when looking at a story compared to children. If they want the original, they can watch it and not internalize the misogynistic parts; children cannot.

#traditional stories

#movie adaptations

#kids movies

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