The fairytales you grew up reading and watching could soon be expelled from schools – the latest to fall under the gender stereotype hammer.
Australia’s Respectful Relationship program argues that some of our most loved classics can create unrealistic standards as well as a “sense of entitlement in boys and lower self-esteem in girls.”
Not even Cinderella’s dazzling looks and Rapunzel’s glorious hair can save them with those two tales, as well with Snow White, under the spotlight. The program wants these stories to be analyzed in class and compared to modern stories that challenge gender norms. Kids will also be encouraged to let their inner sleuth out as they act as “fairytale detectives” comparing the roles of male and female characters in their favorite stories.
The program was introduced on the advice of the royal commission into family violence and claims children as young as four can show signs of sexist behavior. Yep, you read that right – four! It states the themes of women always being rescued by men enforce the wrong ideas about gender roles. “If a man or woman does not fit this description, they are usually made out to be the ‘baddies’ or the villain — like a witch or an evil prince.”
The recommendations don’t stop there. The program also wants to open the discussion around statements like “good morning, princess,” “boys don’t cry” and “girls can’t play with trucks.”
But not everyone’s excited about seeing the back of our leading ladies and men. “My concern as an educator is, there is no real balance in the program. It is pushing a cultural left argument,” Australian Catholic University senior research fellow Kevin Donnelly So, what do you think?