Baker-Sperry, L., & Grauerholz, L. (2003). The pervasiveness and persistence of the feminine beauty ideal in children's fairy tales. Gender & Society, 17(5), 711-726.
The writers make an interesting observation regarding fairly tales from centuries ago with those being created today. In all these stories, there is a certain image promoted regarding women. They sell the idea that there is certain beauty standard women should aim to achieve and maintain at all times. This article creates a topic of debate on whether the popularization and importance assigned to beauty in women is natural or a construct of society. The writers are professors at Illinois and Purdue and they seek to engage fellow intellectuals in the debate.
Boudinot, D. (2007).…show more content… He argues that it is the duty of literature to highlight ongoing issues in a specific society. He relates the challenges faced by Cinderella with the problems women face in media, business, and politics. This article will help show that the folk tales from years ago will continue to be retold to reflect current issues. The main audience for this author is women who are looking to achieve more than what society expects of them.
Marshall, E. (2004). Stripping for the wolf: Rethinking representations of gender in children's literature. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(3), 256-270.
This article seeks to highlight the manner in which both genders are represented in literature works from the last century and beyond. Their argument is that discussing such representations is quite important at a time when equality and sexual orientation are subjects of public debate. They do not call for the express of shelving of works seen to look down on one nature. Instead, they are calling for more liberal and feminist works to be made available to children. This could help to even out the imbalances that exist in the current make up of literature works.
Miller, L. (2008). Japan's cinderella motif: Beauty industry and mass culture interpretations of a popular icon. Asian Studies Association of Australia, 32(3),…show more content… T. (2004). Ella evolving: Cinderella stories and the construction of gender-appropriate behavior. Children's literature in education, 35(2), 135-154.
The writer is a PHD Holder at Ohio University and she has studied the impact of fairly stories on the mindset of people. In this article, she tries to highlight the manner in which the Snow-white story, and its variations, dictates the manner in which girls and women in totality are expected to act in society. She argues that it is important to offer alternative messages regarding women to wipe away the notion that society should dictate how they act. This article will be important in highlighting the power of fairly tales and the importance of every society having its own stories.
Trousdale, A. M., & McMillan, S. (2003). “Cinderella Was a Wuss”: A Young Girl's Responses to Feminist and Patriarchal Folktales. Children's Literature in Education, 34(1), 1-28. The writers in this article set out to find out whether the subliminal messages sent out in fairly tales have an impact on the development of children. In the study, the researchers collected views on a famous fairly tale from children between 8 and 12. A majority of them felt that stories such as Snow white sent out the message that women cannot exercise their free will or even physical strength. In contrast, men are depicted as being able to freely fight for what they truly believe as theirs. The writers believe there is need to change the narrative in fairly
