Wow, hi guys! It's been so long since I wrote in this blog, y'all probably feel like you don't even know me anymore. Things can change drastically in a span of four months - but they didn't for me, so don't worry. I'm still a cynical Instagram addict with a love for kittens and fem power. School has kept me busy since September, but since I'm basically on Christmas break now, I am hopping back on the literary band wagon and I am ready to supply y'all with some quality blog posts (My philosophy professor turned me into a cowboy over the span of a semester - sorry...y'all). I decided I'd start my blog relapse with an assignment I did in my Women's Studies class. I'm not going to say anything more than that, but I would love some feedback! Not that I can change it now that I already handed it in...hmmm...whatever! I'd still like to know what the internet thinks. Holla at your girl. Peace.
Cinderella and the 21st Century: A Potential Love Story
When I first began thinking about this project, I knew two things: 1. I wanted to transform my artifact in a positive way and not completely destroy the current artifact, and 2. I knew that I wanted to pick an artifact that displayed the most stereotypical aspects of femininity to young children, predominately girls. Of course, the obvious choice is Barbie. She is widely circulated, probably the most well-known “girl’s toy” out there, and is very obviously unrealistic, physically. Barbie tells stories to young girls about femininity, but I wanted an actual story; an account of female passivity, oppression, and powerlessness. So, for my cultural artifact, I’ve selected Disney’s Cinderella as both a physical and cultural misrepresentation of women. Cinderella “[is] portrayed as helpless…she is the quintessential ‘perfect girl’, always gentle, kind, and lovely” and she is forced to interact with “evil women” on a daily basis (Henke, Umble, Smith, 2004: 406-410). As a young girl, I never batted an eye at Cinderella’s over exaggerated beauty, inability to speak for herself, or normativity, and this is exactly what I want to address. The story of Cinderella has been accepted for decades as an appropriate story for children to be told. But the ideas that this story suggests about gender, femininity, relationships between women, and the importance of beauty are all things that are undoubtedly harmful to the intellectual growth of children. In my project, I wanted to portray an antithesis to the old Cinderella, creating an image that might represent a more humanitarian form of story-telling and a more realistic representation of women and female empowerment.
There are multiple examples of negative representations of gender embedded in the story of Cinderella. The story begins with, not even Cinderella herself, but her father. She is described as his lovely daughter and then her beauty is described in further detail. Right off the bat, there is a sense that Cinderella is not her own person; that she is controlled by others. This is reiterated when Cinderella’s person is immediately handed over to her evil stepmother and step sisters as a result of her father’s death. They are incredibly cruel to her because they are jealous of her beauty. This relationship makes jealousy and competition between women seem normal. The fact that this is the only contact that Cinderella is having with other women is unbelievably harmful, especially when shown to young girls. If these are the stories that are being told to young girls about their mothers, sisters, and friends, jealousy and competition will seem acceptable and expected. As the story goes on, the prince is introduced. The language that is used to describe his situation is loaded with gender bias. The time has come for him to pick his bride, says the story. This language sends very clear ideological and patriarchal messages to the reader about who is in charge in this story, choosing to make masculine power seem more important and more pervasive than Cinderella’s choice. The prince holds a ball in order to scout out a woman. Cinderella, being poor and lowly, goes through the trials of trying to find something acceptable to wear. Eventually, after much struggle, she gives up and runs to the garden where she meets her fairy godmother. The instances that follow this meeting are the most troublesome. The fairy godmother is kind to Cinderella. She makes her look beautiful in preparation for the ball, and because of this, Cinderella ends up marrying the prince. Now, embedded within these instances lie three main ideas that are what made me decide to transform her. Firstly, the fairy godmother is kind to Cinderella, but in the context of this story, being kind is synonymous with sharing beauty secrets. The fairy godmother does not offer Cinderella friendship, love or compassion – she offers her beauty. Even though this interaction is an example of a positive relationship between women, it is based on a shallow and harmful foundation. Secondly, the story suggests that the only reason Cinderella has the “privilege” of being chosen by the prince is her beauty. Only after she has been transformed into something she hadn’t been previously is she noticed by the prince. Thirdly, Cinderella becomes empowered and happy after she is beautiful and MARRIED. The under-lying and most obviously flawed idea in this story is that this story is not about Cinderella at all – not her interests, her beliefs, her actions or achievements - it is about what is done to her, negatively and positively. She is an object that is lived around; she is not living. Her decisions are made for her by others and she is not an active participant in her own life. This is what needs to change.
My transformation does not include a rewritten story, but instead, an image with stories embedded. I’ve created four new Cinderellas who each represent and shift different aspects of the story. The way I set up my image is important to the story. The two main symbolic elements lie in the uncolored faces of the Cinderellas and in the words behind their bodies. Cinderella, in the Disney version, is very obviously Caucasian – blond hair, blue eyes, etc. In my variations, Cinderella is without race, making her relatable to everyone. The blank face serves a dual purpose in providing a “blank slate”, suggesting that these Cinderellas are new and they are able and willing to grow and learn. Secondly, the words behind the women in my image are the original story of Cinderella. I placed them behind the women to suggest that these new Cinderellas have overcome the previous story; it is literally behind them. The four Cinderellas that I’ve chosen all carry a slightly different message. The first is an openly feminist Cinderella. Throughout my childhood in books, movies, social situations, etc. feminism had always been tiptoed around and never openly addressed until I was in high school. Imagine a Disney princess speaking about and rooting for sisterhood and equality for all races, genders, and classes instead of not saying anything at all and just accepting things the way they are. Having an openly feminist role model for young children could drastically change the way that they grow up. The second image I’ve used includes Cinderella embracing another woman. Two big issues in Cinderella are negative female relationships and heteronormativity. Cinderella needs to be shown interacting with friends who are not animals, but real people. A positive mother figure or a sister willing to listen to her would’ve drastically changed the dynamic of the story. Also, in terms of romantic relationships, representing homosexuality in children’s fiction is something that’s rarely done, sadly. There should definitely be more positive representations of differing sexual preference. Another option in this case though, would be to completely eliminate romantic relationships from this kind of story altogether. Children are children and they are familiar with friendship, not romance. Focusing on positive friendships within Cinderella would leave children with more relevant messages that could be applied to their daily lives. The third image is Cinderella reading a book. This example is fairly straightforward. Children are impressionable, and when children see people reading, it makes them more likely to read. Cinderella’s intelligence is never discussed in the current version of the story and perhaps changing that could change the way children feel about reading and studying. The fourth image is a tattooed Cinderella. Cinderella’s image in the current story is unrealistic. There’s no doubt that some women look that way, but beauty is not just one type of woman or man. Breaking down beauty ideals is something that needs to be done fast. Or, better yet, eliminating the talk of being beautiful from Cinderella and other fairy tales altogether and focusing instead on intelligence, hobbies, relationships with others and other things that have to do with who a person is, not what they look like.
Overall, my main proposition is to acknowledge the fact that we, as a human race, are at a point in history where one Cinderella is not going to satisfy the needs of a generation. Focusing on one kind of role model leaves out many young people simply because this singular role model is not accessible to every single child. Creating a wider spectrum in terms of what we are showing young people will make them feel better – like they have someone they can really relate to. Cinderella has the capacity and ability to create an open environment and a positive example for young people in terms of relationships, happiness, and difference. Acknowledging that this current version of Cinderella is past her prime will allow for changes in cultural stories and a positive shift towards acceptance and enlightenment.
Works Cited
Jill Birnie Henke, Dianne Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J Smith “Constructions of the Female Self: Feminist Readings of the Disney Heroine (excerpt)” from Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions edited by Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee (2004) pp. 406-410
