Gender Socialization Through Fairy Tales: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Early childhood stories are crucial for cognitive development in children. Fairy tales act as educational tools for children even before they step foot inside a school. Fairytales plant a sig nificant seed in the minds of children and as children grow, these subtle concepts morph into their perspective of reality. Fantastical lives of princes and princesses, witches and ogres, giants and dragons are portrayed in fairy tales. Their magical power captures the imagination of young children. The paper focuses on the topic of gender roles in fairy tales and how the development of children and their understandings are affected by these outdated views about gender. These fairy tales provide children the false narratives of gender structures. It explores the gendered messages enfolded in the fairy tales. The objective of this research is to see gender, its construction, representation and the differences in the fairy tales. The data consists of ten most viewed or read fairy tales. Critical discourse analysis has been used to highlight the contextual and implied meanings of some utterances that eventually reveal the portrayal of male and female characters. The findings show that genders are presented in stereotypical ways; males are having authority and violent nature and females are obedient, polite and resisting somehow to save their lives through their intellect and witty tricks. The results are drawn based on this analysis, which show considerable use of stereotype and social beliefs with regard to gender in the fairy tales This research has implication for the masses to change their traditional and stereotypical perceptions about gender roles and women’s emancipation. The current research is helpful in showing the biased representation of gender in fairy tales for the young impressionable minds. Moreover, it is beneficial for teachers and story writers.