How Gender Roles Portrayed in Fairy Tales Affect the Development of Young Children (Essay Sample)

Name
Professor
Subject
Date
How gender roles portrayed in fairytales affect the development of young children
Fairy tales play a very significant role in the social and psychological development of young children. These takes are some of the main sources of information for children because they are told about them from a very young age. Before they join school, children hear about the stories form their parents, siblings and other relatives or even other older members of the society. Upon joining school and becoming literate, these children are introduced to the world of story books whereby fairy tales form the bulk of the information that they access. Television also plays a very important role in this area as children have a wide range of kids’ channels to choose from. Some of the shows are based on folk stories involving mythical characters that are said to have existed in the past. As the children watch and read the tales, they tend to associate themselves with their favorite characters. In this regard, fairy tales have a strong effect on how children perceive themselves especially regarding gender roles (Hess 371).
There are several common themes underlying the nature of fairy tales. Regarding gender roles, the male and female genders are portrayed as having different responsibilities and characteristics. For instance, when it comes to girls, most fairy tales are based on some beautiful young girl that experiences many unfortunate events in her life. However, in most of the stories, the young girl usually finds happiness, mostly because the world favors her because of her beauty (Webster 150). A good example of such a tale is the world famous ‘Cinderella.’ The story talks about a beautiful young girl who is teased and tormented by her evil stepmother and elder step-sisters. They make her do all the dirty work in their home while they enjoy their life to the fullest. However, as fate would have it, it is Cinderella that would have the last laugh. In the story, there is a young prince, quite charming and very rich. The prince was desperately in search of a wife, who would become the princess of the town. At the end of the story, it is Cinderella, the despised girl that eventually catches the eyes of the prince and they get married, living happily ever after.
From the Cinderella fairytale, for instance, there are various aspects that young viewers and watchers may associate with. In the story, young girls are always taught to be humble and kind despite the tribulations and unfortunate occurrences in their lives. Just like Cinderella, young girls are taught to be loving and dedicated even to those people who perceive them as their enemies (Lincoln, Anne and Allen 5). The role of a girl as depicted in the in the story is to be patient in life because true happiness awaits her in the end.
Another important theme in the story is marriage. In Cinderella’s town, every girl’s wish is to be married to the young, handsome and rich prince. They are all desperate to show their best side, trying to capture the attention of the prince. Young girls may be misled into believing that the key to happiness in life is by through marriage. It does not teach girls how they can be successful in life on their own without having to rely on marriage as their source of happiness. Additionally, the story does not tell the audience about the particular character of the prince. Rather, it only borders on his charming looks, his wealth and position in the society. This notion can be misleading to young children as they may get the perception that in marriage, it is only looks, wealth and power that matter. Young girls may grow up wishing that their future husband has such qualities. They may even shun some good young men merely because they are not wealthy or physically attractive. Boys can also be negatively affected because they may tend to think that to be happy in life; they should have wealth, good looks and a beautiful wife. This is such a misguided situation because nowadays, people get into marriages without giving consideration to important qualities like love, honesty, and respect. It explains the high rate of broken marriages happening right, left and center in the society today. Maybe the root of the problem is the misguidance that people grow up with; with a heavy influence from the fairy tales they read or watched when they were young.
Fairy tales have also played a huge role in advancing gender stereotypes. Usually, most of these stories depict women as being lesser being sin society in aspects such as leadership, physical strength, bravery and ability to take responsibility in their households or society. Most of these stories also tend to have an evil or wicked character, in most cases being played out by a woman who is either a witch or an evil step-mother. This evil character is usually the villain and is hell-bent to ensuring that the protagonist in the story, usually a young and beautiful woman, finds neither peace nor happiness. Such storylines try to portray women as their own worst enemies instead of being their friend’s keeper. Important to note is that in these stories, the antagonist is also usually portrayed as being physically unattractive. This depiction may cultivate a negative mindset in children that only physically attractive people can be good and kind. Good examples include stories such as Cinderella and Snow White.
In the same stories, it is unfortunate that the victims are usually saved by heroes who in most cases are men. The main point depicted here is that a woman is helpless by herself and can only attain her freedom when a man intervenes in her situation. This notion is quite chauvinistic in nature as it portrays women as being weaker human beings compared to their male counterparts. Men are given challenged to be the alpha males in society as women take the back seat. Young children watching or reading these stories may interpret it wrongly. Girls may be misguided into believing that it is boys who should take the lead while they play second fiddle. In this day and age, children should be encouraged to take responsibility regardless of their gender. No sex is weaker than the other thus some of the fairy tales are misleading and misguiding. Women can take care of their situation as long as they remain focused. Again, they can also help their male counterparts and save them from difficult situations; it should not always be vice-versa.
Another common misconception that children can get from fairy tales is that violence is an essential instrument that should be used to get what one wants. Fairy tales usually depict a male superhero using his skill in warfare to conquer evil villains (Girardot 277). For instance, in Snow White, the savior prince had to use violence so as to kill the evil witch that had placed a curse on the beautiful girl that he wanted to marry. In several other fairy tale movies produced by Disney, the main characters attack the villains using dangerous tools of warfare including machetes and swords. The main story line is that evil forces h...