Everyone has watched “Cinderella”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Snow White”, and “Sleeping Beauty”. I remember watching these movies along with every other “princess” movie. After watching them, I'd go dress up and try to look like them. Without realizing it, I was seeing sexism and filling my head with unrealistic expectations. Sexism is a serious topic and for some people; it plays a big role in their everyday life. Sexism is prejudice or discrimination against someone for their sex and/or gender. It is mostly targeted at women but is also a big problem for men too. Sexism is seen in many things such as someone's everyday life, social media, books, movies, etc. I'm focusing on sexism in fairy tales and Disney movies such as “Cinderella”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Snow White”, and “Sleeping Beauty” and then showing how more recent movies have gotten better but still aren't perfect by talking about “Frozen”.

An article from BBC called “Is Disney sexist?” by Craig McLean on December 11th, 2017 helped me figure out that, in the Charles Perrault version of “Cinderella” written in 1697, Cinderella was known for cooking for her evil stepmother and stepsisters. She runs around cleaning the house all day and instead of being a daughter, she's a maid. She goes about her life like this until one day a fairy godmother shows up and makes her “pretty” for a ball. Ultimately she is saved from slavery by Prince Charming. There’s a big problem in this, just like in  “The little mermaid”.

According to an article from The Washington Post called “Researchers have found a major problem with “The Little Mermaid” and other Disney movies” by Jeff Guo on January 25, 2016, in the Hans Christian Andersen version of “The Little Mermaid” which was written in 1836, the mermaid was shown in a revealing seashell bra. She has this beautiful voice, but then she meets this prince, and she trades her beautiful voice for a pair of legs. She ultimately gets her voice back and gets to keep her legs, but she loses her whole life underwater for this prince. There is still a problem with this just like in “Snow White”.

After reading an article from Cracked called “5 Ways Modern Disney Is Even More Sexist Than The Classics” by Vicki Veritas and Matt Cowan on January 04, 2017, I realized that, in the Grimm brothers' version of “Snow White” written in 1812, they made women crazy about their appearances and in need of male protection. Just like in “Cinderella”, Snow White also has an evil stepmother. Snow White’s stepmother was angry and jealous of her, so she tried to kill her. Snow White runs away and then seeks male protection. She finds 7 dwarfs and cooks and cleans for them in return for protection even though they are only 2 ½ feet tall. Snow White’s evil stepmother is secretly a witch, and she enchants an apple and gives it to Snow White. She eats it and goes into a deep sleep, yet again she is ultimately saved by a prince with a “true love's kiss”. Just like Snow White, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty is also awakened from a deep sleep with a “true love’s kiss.”

I found a lot of good information in an article from The Guardian called “Once upon a sexual assault … it’s not outrageous for fairytales to get a modern update” by Stephanie Merritt on November 27, 2017, that helped me believe that, In Giambattista Basile’s version of Sleeping Beauty written in 1634, Aurora is cursed to die on her 16th birthday but because of her guardian fairies she only falls into a deep sleep and can only be awakened by a “true love's kiss.” In November of 2017 Sarah Hall, a mother from Newcastle made headlines by asking her son’s school not to show or teach the story Sleeping Beauty in the younger kid's classrooms because of its “bad message about kissing sleeping girls” but she suggested it could be used for older kids such as middle school to discuss and/or teach consent. Yet again in Sleeping Beauty, Aurora is saved by a prince. Since these stories were written there has been a lot of change. Movies still aren’t perfect but they have gotten a lot better. For example “Frozen”.

According to an article on NPR called “Songwriters Behind 'Frozen' Let Go Of The Princess Mythology” written on April 10, 2014, I found out that Frozen was written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and released on November 27, 2013. Frozen is a great example of how movies are getting better at making sure there is no sexism but there are still problems. For example, in the movie, there is a problem with body dysmorphia. In the movie, both sisters have extremely tiny waists and huge pretty eyes. The movie sets high and unrealistic standards. This just shows that there are no perfect movies and there will always be some sort of problem with every movie. Frozen is also a good example of how movies have gotten better. For example, the princesses save themselves/each other (rather than being rescued by a prince).

Everyone has watched “Cinderella”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Snow White”, and “Sleeping Beauty” without necessarily realizing it, they were seeing sexism and filling their head with unrealistic expectations. These are just some examples of movies/stories with sexism in them. Sexism is still a big problem today. It's gotten a lot better since the times these stories were written, for example, “Frozen” was released on November 27, 2013, which wasn't that long ago and the movies are not perfect but it's an example of how movies have gotten a lot better over time. In so many movies the princess is saved by a prince. We need a Cinderella to stand up to her evil stepmother or an Ariel who doesn't trade her voice for legs or a Snow White who’s not dumb enough to open the door for a creepy old lady in a black cape. We at least need an Aroura who can only be awakened by a kiss. We need female characters who fight for themselves and maybe find love along the way.