Essay Sample on Gender Stereotypes in Children's Literature

In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, children's literature tended to default to preconceptions of sexist stereotypes. For instance, women doing the housework, living for men, and having no real self-identity. For instance, Snow White worked for seven dwarves and rode away with a prince at the end of the story. Even Ariel from The Little Mermaid lost her voice to spend time with the man she had rescued. These tales are sexist and don’t show women’s rights the way they should. In contrast to today's stories, Zootopia focuses on women in the workplace, identity, and self-discovery. Older stories tended to be sexist, don’t include women in work, and are unequal.

Snow White was a fourteen-year-old girl who fled the Queen, who was envious of her appearance. The plot immediately focuses on a young girl, monopolized for her looks. With the help of animals, she rushes through the forest and finds refuge in a small cottage. Here, the first thing she says is that the residents must not have had a mother, since the house is filthy. The sexism starts about 20 minutes into the story. She was singing a tune and cleaning in no time. Her first thought was to tidy this strange place. Her words were, “Why they’ve never swept this room… you think their mother would…”. This behavior leads to the latent function that the mother cleans the house and without one, no one cleans at all.

The Passive Main Character

Snow White is the main character of this story, but even so, she is low on the totem pole. Her whole life revolves around the need to clean, from the Queen making her work in the castle, to working for the dwarfs. Even the article, Leaning with Disney, agrees. They say there is a lot of “ideology of female subordination” and is evident in Snow White and her passive role. She follows along with the Huntsmen telling her to run away, and with the dwarfs wanting someone to clean. She even goes along with the prince as he whisks her away. The main character is so inferior due to her gender and the storyline Disney chose to make. 

Snow White was seven when she made a deal in the original Brothers Grimm narrative, which was written in the early 1800s. If she cleaned, sewed, cooked, and washed, she could live among the dwarfs, “keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us”. So even though Disney made Snow White seven years older, they preserved the original premise of a young girl serving these seven dwarfs. These sexist stereotypes should have never been included in a Disney princess movie that many young girls would come to see.

Both Brothers Grimm and Disney had nearly identical storylines. One was produced in 1812, the other in 1938. In the span of 100 years plus, Disney and society hadn’t improved with its classical literature. 

It's disheartening that unlike so many other Disney classics no efforts were made to improve the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Snow White and her Sexist Storyline

Snow White may have chosen to follow the life of cleaning and falling in love, some may argue. But she was still a fourteen-year-old girl who had a young mind and was originally created in the 1800s. People also may claim that nobody forced her to clean the home of the dwarfs or go live with the prince. While this is true, something must be said about how she was still written in a sexist way. Back then, the only way women knew was housework, and falling in love was the social construct. Women were tied to staying at home, and when the Brothers Grimm kept this stereotype, they promoted this idea. If this movie was released in the 2000s, reviews would be angry and rash because of how sexist it is. 

Modern Society, Modern Stories

While Snow White is more depressing, it's evident that the 1930s were not keen on new concepts. In contrast, the 2016 film Zootopia does not contain any of these conventional clichés. Judy Hopps was a fearless young bunny who aspired to be someone who made a difference from the beginning of her existence. Unlike Snow White, she was never distracted by cleaning services that were thrust upon her. Judy was intended to be a cop from the start, and her aspirations came true in the end. Even the side male role was reduced to a close friend. This film can teach young females that they can have a fulfilling life. They don't have to rely on a man to be who they want to be, and Judy proved this. When this story first came out, it was a wonderful analogy to the Disney standard of true love. When we go from housework and unreliable love at first sight to true passion and individuality, our society has matured.

Identity from Disney

Following Zootopia's theme of self-discovery, the book's examples prove how society has gradually changed as we have become more accommodating. Zootopia portrays a realistic view of modern society by depicting real life with its trials and tribulations. In real life, it's not every day that girls are kissed and brought away to be princesses in faraway castles. Finding a meaningful career is more likely to lead to a happy ever after. Zootopia is a critical movie to be produced by Disney because it gives more of a realistic approach to life. 

Identity for females is important, especially because Snow White didn’t give identity to search around for. When newer movies in society are released containing female characters who have self-expression, it’s a move toward a modern, accepting community. Currently, in the world, it’s normal for women to have jobs and travel the world. In the 1930s, most women were held in the house, and jobs were less prominent. I see the world and Disney only advancing in its position with women. 

The Change from the Past to the Future

Children’s literature is supposed to appeal to children. It should have magic, action, wonder, and more. It’s called children for a reason. This literature should include content that is made for kids that will keep them entertained. Snow White may keep a child immersed because of the fun songs and the plot of the Queen’s jealousy and eventual poisonous apple. Zootopia can keep a kid fascinated because a bunny follows her dreams while getting tied up in a mystery filled with commotion and comedy. Both movies do their job of being interesting, but I’ve proved how drastically different they make this happen.

Society is making a difference when we move away from stereotypical tropes. Now that content is produced without sexist motives, proof of this advancement is shown. Snow White may have been sexist and didn’t promote women in work, power, or finding themselves, but now we do have this. As time moves forward, women do get more opportunities, and society advances along with it.