Introduction
Sociology and gender studies are both expansive subject areas. In this paper, the author aims to identify and examine the existence of gender stereotyping in some famous works of literature, notably fairytales. This paper is a research proposal that outlines the research problems that the author hopes to identify, a contextualized background of the study (i.e. gender stereotyping in fairytales), a review of relevant literatures (focusing on some of the well-known fairytales that may contain evidences of gender stereotyping, a discussion about and the objectives and methods that will be used in the actual research paper. Gender stereotyping is but one of the many issues that members of society confront today.
This has grown into a sensitive issue for many, particularly women. Most individuals who are against the issue, specifically the practice of gender stereotyping, are women. It is important to note, however, that men tend to suffer from the consequences of this pervasive social issue too. In this research proposal, the author claims (hypothesizes) that gender stereotypes are prevalent in fairy tales and that they tend to significantly affect the children (and soon, adults) and their perceptions about gender.
Research Problem
There are numerous arguments that are aimed at approximating the age of storytelling. Some suggest that it is as old as human civilization itself. Regardless, it cannot be denied that storytelling has been a significant part of human culture. In the past, people relied on verbal communications to pass stories that may either be cautionary or educational in nature. In those cases, storytelling proved to be the only sensible choice because the modern day means of recording facts through books and digital sources were yet to be present. This was how fairytales became and remained a huge part of human culture, especially children. It would then be safe to suggest that people as a whole.
What makes this topic important is the fact that fairytales and storytelling play a significant role in the process of human growth and development. This is so because fairytales or children’s stories tend to be the first stories that people know as they grow up. In a typical scenario, a toddler learns how to speak, read, and write, as the parents or teachers teach them through storytelling. This means that the actual stories that are being shared by the parents and teachers with the children would have a significant impact on their (i.e. the children’s) beliefs, opinions, perceptions, and though processes.
Another factor that makes this a complex issue is that the manifestations of the effects of storytelling on children who listen to fairytales tend to be asymptomatic. That is, the development of the children’s opinions, beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes manifest once they grow older.
This is also the reason why the effects of storytelling and the issues that may be associated with it (see gender stereotypes) often go unchecked. For example, actual academic and peer reviewed studies that aim to discover the existence and the effects of issues like gender stereotyping in fairytales are relatively rare compared to other subject areas about literature.
This serves as evidence that there is a research gap that the proposed study on gender stereotypes in fairytales can adequately fill. In addition, the proposed research also opens a lot of future research opportunities that other researchers who are interested in the convergence of sociology and psychology (among others), and literature can conduct more studies about.
Background
Gender-related issues are among the most commonly debated issues in the world today; this, as the world becomes more liberated culturally, socially, economically, and politically. There are many gender-related issues that can be covered through research. Some of the most notable examples would be sexism (which is otherwise known as sexual discrimination), gender stereotyping (creation of simplistic generalizations based on someone’s gender and or gender-related attributes), and same sex marriage. The author of this paper focuses on the existence of gender stereotyping in fairytales.
In most cases, women are the ones who tend to have the desire and motivation to change the status quo in gender stereotyping—which is based on the argument that they still tend to be abused and discriminated even in this highly modern a society. For example, some of the most popular fairytales that are being read to children have evidences of the existence of gender stereotyping in them.
The story of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel are some of the most commonly known and shared examples. Although each of these fairytales have their own concepts and themes, qualities that make them unique and identifiable, they share certain qualities. One of which, arguably, is the existence of evidences of gender stereotyping.
In all three examples, it was being implied that in order for women to be truly happy, they would have to find the perfect partner, i.e. their prince charming, against all the possible odds, first; and that they could not possibly feel fulfilled if they fail in this endeavor. Put simply, most fairytales, at least the traditionally popular ones, imply that a woman would not be able to feed complete and happy without a man.
As simple as this discovery may seem, experts in the field of psychology and sociology argue that these can have a significant impact on the way how children, particularly females, think about and perceive themselves. In more specific cases, disneyfication also exists, which refers to the way how the fairytales’ emergence as a significant part of pop culture distort the children’s beliefs and ideologies . The term got its name from the fact that most fairy tales that have been popularized by Walt Disney Studios share the aforementioned characteristic .
Focusing on the larger historical and societal picture, what makes this issue fit is the fact that more and more people are starting to be find the motivation to check the ways how society’s perception on women and unorthodox gender identities can change in an indiscriminative way—at least based on the allegedly oppressed people’s point of view. One of the possible avenues that they can look at would be the existence of gender stereotyping in fairytales.
Review of Relevant Literatures
There are numerous specific examples that can serve as evidence that gender stereotyping indeed exists in literatures. In the concept where there is a damsel in distress, it is often implied that women are incapable of being strong, capable, and self-reliant, as evidenced by the statement “women are victims, weak spirited, and require a man to facilitate their safety” . The concept of the knight in shining armor, implies that women ought to be submissive to their male partners and that true partnership should never be offered to women even in a male to female long term relationship . This may be falsely interpreted by children who are reading and or listening to fairytales that contain these allegedly harmful and distorting elements.
People’s perception of reality, especially when it comes to romance and social relationships also tend to take a hit as a result of the gender stereotyping present in fairytales. Another concept that people who read and or listen to fairy tales tend to subscribe to is the concept of love at first sight. This is yet another evidence of the capacity of gender stereotyping present in fairy tales to distort a person’s beliefs and ideologies, among others. In this case, what gets distorted is the person’s perception of an ideal relationship—that love at first sight is possible, although studies suggest that in most cases, it is not, and that it only rarely exist .
There are of course numerous others that can be included in the list of concepts about gender stereotypes in fairytales that have already been covered. They, however, share one thing and that is they all argue that gender stereotypes in fairytales is something that needs to be more carefully studied because as it shows, it has a significant effect on how members of contemporary think about their respective gender roles, identities, perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and ideologies.
Statement of Objectives and Methods
The objective of the proposed study is to confirm if gender stereotypes indeed exist in fairytales. If they do, the proposed study also aims to examine how and in what form they exist and what their effects on the process of storytelling is; how members of society get affected, and whether those effects are positive or negative.
A qualitative research approach and an exploratory research design will be utilized in the study. The goal of which is to identify the various themes and concepts that evidences of gender stereotypes in the workplace have, and based on those themes and concepts, discuss them. As an example, some of the concepts that were already named and briefly described were the concepts of damsel in distress, and the knight in shining armor. The proposed study aims to identify specific fairytales and children’s stories that show evidence of gender stereotyping and categorize them based on the concept or theme that they promote.
Conclusions
Based on the preliminary research that was done in this research proposal, it would be safe to suggest that gender stereotyping is a real issue. The fact that more and more social movements are being aimed at stopping societal problems like sexism suggest that areas that can be identified as one of the root causes of such problems should receive more attention. In this case, that much needed attention comes in the form of a qualitative exploratory study about the existence of gender stereotyping in fairy tales.
There is a research gap that exists in this particular field of study. Fairytales and how they are delivered to children have a significant impact on the development of people’s perceptions, ideologies, opinions, and beliefs (about gender).
As for how the initial research questions and these ideas were shaped as the research developed, the answer is anchored on the plausible notion that children who are listening to and or reading fairytales are going to be adults soon and arguably, and their already distorted notions about gender (as a result of being fed with gender stereotype-related concepts in fairytales) are going to be among the reasons that make it hard for society to have a more conciliatory idea about gender-related issues. Through the proposed paper, the author aims to address that research gap and open more doors of research opportunities for future researchers to conduct further studies on.
Works Cited
Basta, Brianna. "The Peril of the Princess: How Gender Stereotypes Affect Young Readers." Marquette University (2012): Print. 1-12. Jan 2017.
Green, Samara. "Fairy Tales and Gender Stereotypes." The Huffington Post (2012): Web. 1. www.huffingtonpost.com/samara-green/fairy-tales-and-gender-st_b_1273872.html. Jan 2017.
Keithly, Jordan. "Once Upon a Time: Fairytales Past and Present." Eastern Washington University (2013): Print. 1-78. Jan 2017.
Patel, Henal. "Gender Roles Indoctrinated throughout Fairy Tales in Western Civilization." Rutgers University (2009): Print. 1-67. Jan 2017.
Steinzeig, Aleah. "Waiting for Prince CharmingL Gender Expectations in the European Fairy Tale." Pacific University (2012): Print. 1-55. Jan 2017.
