1. Gender Stereotypes in the Selected Stories of Grimm’s Fairy Tales: An Analysis
Dr. S. Barathi
Assistant Professor
Department of English
SRC, SASTRA University
Kumbakonam.
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2. ABSTRACT
Fairy tales are taught to young children during their primary education throughout the world to impart moral values in them. Fairy tales exist in many languages which are more specific to the cultures in which they were written. The culture represented in fairy tales helps to a great extent in the socializing process of children and they are widely influenced by these stories which help them to understand the gender roles. But in most of the fairy tale stories we come across stereo typical characters like the witches, the innocent women dominated by men and most of the male characters are portrayed as noble ones. Despite loosened gender role prescriptions, fairy tales surprisingly still disseminate stereotypical images of men and women. Many of these stories portray their heroes as powerful, tough, and dominant while the heroines are selflessly dedicated and submissive damsels in distress. The present study aims at locating the gender stereotypes with reference to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, as it portrays universal characters from the West.

3. Male domination is so rooted in our
Male domination is so rooted in our collective unconscious that we no longer even see it. It is so in tune with our expectations that it becomes hard to challenge it – Pierre Bourdieu

4. Introduction
Women are often portrayed as nimble, fragile creatures by various writers.
A study of fairy tales will reveal how the characters are portrayed.
This article deals with the contribution of fairy tales in the formation of gender identity among young people in a process of socialization into gender roles as they grow up.
The research uses qualitative method for analyzing six texts from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

5. Fairy Tales - Origin and Development
Fairy tales are short stories that typically feature fantasy characters such as the mermaids elves, fairies, dwarfs, etc.
These tales are transmitted from generation to generation through oral tradition similar to that of folk tales.

6. Writers influenced by Fairy Tales
Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Caroll, Kenneth Grahame, Brothers Grimm, C. S. Lewis, Richard Scarry, and R. L. Stevenson.
(Writers of past)
Steven Spielberg, Shirley Temple, Willow
(Writers of present)
Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, Leos Janacek, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner (Famous composers)

7. British and Irish Fairy Tales
Alice in Wonderland
Beauty and the Beast
Hansel and Gretel
Little Red Riding Hood
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Rapunzel
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Ugly Duckling

8. Gender stereo types: Definition
The Dictionary of Sociology defines Gender Stereo types as:
… one-sided and exaggerated images of men and women which are deployed repeatedly in everyday life. They are found commonly in the mass media because they operate as widely understood shorthand. Sociologists often see stereotyping as part of the process by which children are socialized into sex roles and by which adults and children are denied opportunities for more individually varied development.
(“encyclopedia.com”)

9. Fairy tales and Gender Stereo types
Envy of beauty - Jorinda and Jorindel
Cruel step mother - Hansel and Gretel, Mother Holle
Fairies as jealous Creatures- Rapunzel
Women with greed- The Fisherman and his Wife
Old woman as a counselor-The Twelve Dancing Princes
Male domination- The Robber Bridegroom

10. Gender Socialization
Gender socialization occurs through such diverse means as parental attitudes, schools, how peers interact with each other, and mass media.
Sometimes gender roles lead to inequality.

11. Fairy tales and Theories
Social constructionist cognitive development theory
Identity theory and identity control theory
Gender polarization
Androcentrism
Biological essentialism.

12. Impact of Gender bias on Female Characters in Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Around the age of nine in the U.S., the impact of the gender-biased socialization contributes to problems related to body image and self-esteem. - Gurian (“education.com”)
Girls often perceive themselves in terms of their attractiveness to boys.

13. Conclusion
Fairy tales play a crucial role in reinforcing gender stereotypes.
The study of the selected fairy tales from Grimm’s Tales shows that stereotypes pertaining to masculine and feminine roles exist in the use of language, context and illustration in the tales.
This article contributes to a better understanding of how gender stereotypes are characterized in fairy tales and this could be extended to contemporary fairy tales and study can be conducted to compare them both.

14. Scope for Further Studies
Effectiveness of Fairy tales to teach ethics to children.
 Fairy tales as a resource in ESL and EFL Classrooms

15. THANK YOU