Prevalence of Gender Discrimination, Sexism, and Hypermasculinity in Fairy Tales

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Gender Discrimination, Sexism, and Hyper-Masculinity in Fairy Tales
Fairy tales are short stories for children that deal with the magical and wonderful world of imaginary and idealized beings. They reflect society's cultural values and norms and are used effectively to inculcate cultural values in children. However, the idealization of feminist beauty, gender discrimination, and sexuality has been the most prominent themes of fairy tales. For the same reason, fairy tales have been a subject of controversy and discussion for feminist scholars worldwide.
In fairy tales, the female protagonist is represented as an emblem of feminine beauty; these tales project female beauty and passivity as ideal for females. Likewise, males are represented as stereotype portraits of masculine vigor, aggressiveness, and dominance. These prominently outlined and specified roles of both genders make fairy tales a subject of great controversy and interest for scholars. For instance, in "The Indian Cinderella," this gender demarcation is more evident as both male and female protagonists embody typical masculine and feminine traits, respectively. Moreover, the passivity of female characters and their craving for masculine protection further elaborates on the themes of sexuality in this fairy tale.
Similarly, many studies verify that stress on feminist beauty and passivity and hyper-masculinity has been an integral part of the plot of approximately all fairy tales throughout history. This trend has gained popularity in the last two centuries. These studies pinpoint and criticize the highly sexist approach of these stories in handling gender roles in society. Thus, it is safe to assume that sexuality and gender discrimination have been an integral part of fairy tales throughout their past and recent history. The trend is still running unabated.
Cyrus MacMillan's "The Indian Cinderella" is a typical fairy tale since it portrays stereotypical male and female figures and projects a typical view of masculine dominance over females. Many aspects of the story endorse this fact; for instance, the male protagonist's character is a typical embodiment of a dominant, aggressive, and mighty man. First of all, people call him "Strong Wind"; this name reveals much about the impression of a man that the writer wants to create upon the reader (Macmillan 16). As his name indicates, he is a man of great courage and valor. Since he was a great helper of a heroic figure named "Glooskap," his background record reflects his heroic and enterprising personality(Macmillan 116).
He is a brawny and strong man with the incredible power of becoming invisible. Indeed he is an idealistic male figure to whom all women want to get married. All his character traits place him in the bracket of a specific masculine character who is strong, aggressive, and dominant. He wants to dominate females by using his power of invisibility and puts them to the test before selecting one of them for marriage (Macmillan 116). In doing so, he represents himself as a typical masculine figure of traditional society. The dynamics of his personality imperceptibly instill the stereotypical image of a man in the reader's mind and makes him biased towards gender equality. Thus, this character is undeniable proof that sexism and gender discrimination are integral parts of this fairy tale(Macmillan 117).
Moreover, the story's female protagonist is nothing short of a die-cast image of designated traits associated with females in conservative societies. She is unnamed, indicating that she has no identity and only represents a typical feminine character. Her elder sisters are jealous of her, and the reason for their jealousy is not linked with her extraordinary talent; conversely, her outstanding beauty makes them envious (Macmillan 117). So, here again, Cyrus projects false feminine beauty standards and treats them as the most valuable assets possessed by a female. Her sisters attempt to make her ugly by trimming her black hair and scorching her face, and this event further accentuates the fact that the significance of a female is based only on her external beauty. For the same reason, the only way her sisters can find to degrade her is to spoil her hair and face as they do not consider her innocence and spiritual purity as traits that make her beautiful (Macmillan 117).
Furthermore, despite her innocence and truthfulness, Cyrus depicts this young girl as completely bound to social norms and customs as, like all other girls, she longs to get married to Strong Wind. This attitude marks the embedded passivity in her character. She considers marriage with a dominant and powerful man as the only way to get a secure and respectable position in society. Despite being honest and beautiful, the protagonist does not trust her abilities and personality since she lacks self-confidence and self-identity. Therefore, to overcome this identity crisis and her difficulties, she has no option but to get married to Strong Wind. Above all, this passivity is not projected as a negative aspect of her personality; conversely, the writer presents her passivity and subjugation to male dominance as one of the positive aspects of her character.
Indeed the character treatment of the female protagonist of this fairy tale leads a critical and observant reader to a logical conclusion that the story of "The Indian Cinderella" prominently reflects gender discrimination. The author reinforces the traditional notion of gender roles by bracketing both male and female protagonists into rigid gender roles. In doing so, the author conveys a strong and negative social message to the young readership. This character treatment restricts children's minds and forces them to believe in specific gender roles in society. Furthermore, it establishes stereotypical images of males and females in children's minds, and for the same reason, they become non-responsive to the notion of gender equality and women's rights.
One can also see other glimpses of female passivity projected in the story. Strong Wind is a symbol of hyper-masculinity; thus, every maiden of the land desires to marry him. Had he not been a solid and puissant warrior, he would not have held such a sway over meek and helpless females. Every girl tries her best to come under his protection because they consider themselves wholly powerless and dependent on society; for this reason, their names are not given in the story. This gloomy aspect of the story clarifies the actual status of females in a traditional socie...