Gender Roles In Beauty And The Beast
Beauty and her Beast
In today's America, gender roles are always a hot topic for debate and under constant pressure for reformation. People's disagreement and confusion stem from different views of what a gender role should be, and just as important but often overlooked, what a gender role currently is. Who are the people that are pushing for reform, and have we already reached the point where things have gone too far? You may be surprised. Webster's dictionary defines inertia as "a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force". It is evident upon even a shallow inspection that there are a few people who create the current, and a tidal wave of …show more content…
Many women who were involved with the reform movement were receiving formal education as well and began to ask why they were not allowed to vote. Perhaps they had never heard the story from half a century earlier in England entitled "Beauty and the Beast". This type of children's story, which was fondly called a fairytale, was a mechanism set in motion by the aristocracy of the time. The original incarnation of this now famous tale was written in simple but effective language and contained a powerful innuendo aimed at young women: be selfless and the perfect male suitor will find you. The story told of a beautiful selfless girl aptly named Beauty who was the daughter of a wealthy and respected man. Beauty found herself in a dilemma where she had to choose between staying with her father whom she loved dearly or keeping her promise to a beast who she also loved, and returning to his castle. Upon returning to the castle and finding the Beast half dead, Beauty proposed to him, and when they kissed he magically turned into a charming prince who was coincidentally her perfect suitor. As Zipes points out, it's a lesson in submission because Beauty goes from sacrificing herself to save her father from the beast, to sacrificing herself again to save the Beast
In today's America, gender roles are always a hot topic for debate and under constant pressure for reformation. People's disagreement and confusion stem from different views of what a gender role should be, and just as important but often overlooked, what a gender role currently is. Who are the people that are pushing for reform, and have we already reached the point where things have gone too far? You may be surprised. Webster's dictionary defines inertia as "a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force". It is evident upon even a shallow inspection that there are a few people who create the current, and a tidal wave of …show more content…
Many women who were involved with the reform movement were receiving formal education as well and began to ask why they were not allowed to vote. Perhaps they had never heard the story from half a century earlier in England entitled "Beauty and the Beast". This type of children's story, which was fondly called a fairytale, was a mechanism set in motion by the aristocracy of the time. The original incarnation of this now famous tale was written in simple but effective language and contained a powerful innuendo aimed at young women: be selfless and the perfect male suitor will find you. The story told of a beautiful selfless girl aptly named Beauty who was the daughter of a wealthy and respected man. Beauty found herself in a dilemma where she had to choose between staying with her father whom she loved dearly or keeping her promise to a beast who she also loved, and returning to his castle. Upon returning to the castle and finding the Beast half dead, Beauty proposed to him, and when they kissed he magically turned into a charming prince who was coincidentally her perfect suitor. As Zipes points out, it's a lesson in submission because Beauty goes from sacrificing herself to save her father from the beast, to sacrificing herself again to save the Beast