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Primrose Werner-Scalf
Professor Nathan Cole
English 2010-26
December 9, 2014
Position Revision
How Fairytale Movies Shape Beauty Ideals In Society

Although some do not blame their romantic-relationship problems on fairytale movies

they watched as children, it is fair to say the ideals and morals in these movies have caused an
effect on the social construct of their lives. The focus on beauty and ultimate happily ever afters
taken from fairytale stories stick in a way that encourages a lifelong domino effect of
disappointment. When viewers do not obtain the perfect fairytale lives filled with physical
beauty, true love, and perfect happily ever after's like they anticipated, life becomes more of a
burden because they don't obtain what they expected.
Fairytale movies are meant for entertainment purposes, yet they are looked at as more of
a social instructional guide in society. In an Anthropology essay written by Doctorate student
Alice Neikirk who studies the effects of fairy tales in society, states Fairytales plant an
influential seed in the minds of children and as children grow, these subtle concepts morph into
their perspective of reality.(Neikirk, 2) Children who view these shows may grow to believe
that in order to have a happily ever after, one must behave like the characters in these fairy tales.
This is both a good and bad thing. Some characters in fairytales show great qualities like

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courage, kindness, and compassion, but not all of their traits are good, especially the traits that
encourage woman to be submissive and reliant on others rescuing them.
The main component of fairytale movies that greatly affect and influence society
negatively are the ideals of beauty in women. With gorgeous flowing locks of hair, big-bright
eyes, full lips, impossibly thin waists, and elegant attire are enough to make anyone envious of
the beauty of the animated fairytale princesses.

(Fig 1)
To be beautiful is the pursuit of many women in our society because "In the case of the
beauty ideal, women who achieve a high degree of attractiveness are psychologically and
socially rewarded" (Baker 714). Most fairytale princesses ultimately want one thing, to find their
true love and live happily ever after. Since these princesses are so beautiful and submissive, they
usually get what they want. This leads many people to believe that in order to get what they want
in life, they must also be beautiful and mimic the personalities of these princesses. "Children's
literature is especially useful for studying value constructs such as the beauty ideal.. where

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normative restriction prevails, one is likely to 'find an elaboration of socialization structures that
conduce toward the internalization' of such values. Thus, we would expect to find these values
expressed in media, especially those marketed toward children" (Baker-Sperry, Lori and
Grauerholz 713). This statement says that the pattern of 'beauty equals reward' is bred into
society to the point of becoming a value integrated in society. This can be dangerous because
making beauty a more important attribute reduces the importance of other qualities like good
character and personality. Which remind me of beauty pageants that encourage bulimia,
anorexia, and superficiality. Martina Cartwright, Ph. D and blogger for Psychology Today
writes: "Many experts agree that participation in activities that focus on physical appearance at
an early age can influence teen and/or adult self-esteem, body image and self-worth."
Cartwright) The emphasis on beauty in our society make woman into objects rather than a
person full of unlimited worth and potential. Not to mention the self-esteem issues and pressure
felt by woman who think they must be beautiful to find happiness. Being a 24 year old woman
myself, I feel the pressures in my society to be beautiful. I feel pressure to do things like buy
make up and have a thinner waist. On a day I don't wear make up in comparison to when I do, I
get treated nicer and looked at more when I am wearing make-up.

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(Fig 2)
In most stories like Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and many other
stories, 'beauty' is a word used often to describe the girls. "As Snow Whites wicked
stepmothers irresistible offer illustrates, what we generally learn as children through fairy tales
is that all princesses are beautiful and may even try to improve their beauty. In fact, their beauty
is their wealthquite literally, since being beautiful enables them to win a prince and a fortune.
Hence, what fairy tales foreground is the idea that femininity is closely linked to aestheticization,
and that beauty is a feminine virtue which needs to be cultivated. Whether it be Psyche enticed
by Proserpines beauty cream or Snow White lured by the wicked Queens gaudy stay-laces,
these female characters all exemplify how much their own fate depends on their physical
appearance, on their power to construct a self which matches male expectations." (TalairachVielmas 5)
The solution to the effects of fairy tales in society in regards to beauty is to make it
known to the masses that media has a much bigger affect on society than we know. The media

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corporations must be warned of the negative impact of their movies and that it must be changed.
They need to changed characters in future moves to look and seem more realistic even if it isn't
as esthetically appealing. Make them have bigger waistlines, smaller eyes, less full hair so
woman don't feel so ugly. Like for example, in figure 3, we see Barbie, a child's doll and play toy
on the left sold in many stores across the nation, and a more real looking doll on the right. The
attributes of the Barbie on the left is impossible for a human to achieve. It is physically
impossible without plastic surgery. What is so wrong with selling dolls that look more real like
the doll on the right in the picture?

(Fig 3)

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We must also make it a point to teach the realities of life to children at a young age so they can
be better prepared to face the real world where people aren't as happy or as beautiful as portrayed
in movies.
Fairytale characters certainly give us hope for a happily ever after filled with adventure.
Fairytales help us to want to be more brave, spirited, and good. Fairytales certainly help create
societal structure by teaching us how to have better moral obligations, yet it also teaches us how
to carry ourselves, and how to perceive others. It teaches superficiality and the false notion that
physical beauty is a most important aspect in a woman if she is to be happy. This is wrong and
we must safeguard ourselves and our children from the medias lies about beauty and the true
worth of a woman.

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Works Cited
Baker-Sperry, Lori, and Liz Grauerholz. "The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine
Beauty Ideal in Children's Fairy Tales." Gender and Society 2003: 711. JSTOR Journals.
Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
Cartwright, Martina. "Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?" Psychology
Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
Fig 1. Casting Disney Princesses. Digital image. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
(http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/06/19/casting-disney-princesses-could-k-stew-playbelle-1521885)
Fig 2. Princesses and Their Prince-Disney. Digital image. Fanpop. Web. 8 Nov. 2014
(http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/disney-princess/images/10993899/title/princesses-princewallpaper)
Fig 3. MailOnline, Bianca London for. "Revealed: What Barbie Would Look like as a Real
Woman (the Results Might Surprise You)." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 02 July 2013.
Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
Neikirk, Alice. "Happily Ever After (or What Fairytales Teach Girls About Being Women)."
Anthropology 324 Essay (n.d.): n. pag. Hilo.hawaii.edu. University of Hawaii. Web. 8
Nov. 2014.
Talairach-Vielmas, Laurence. Moulding The Female Body In Victorian Fairy Tales And
Sensation Novels. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2007. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

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