Is Cinderella a Feminist?

Odd question right? I mean we don’t really characterize these characters into political categories or debates. But the reality is that these political debates seep into our everyday lives whether it’s simple life choices, a career choice or the entertainment we choose to watch or read, including the stories we have grown up with. In recent years Disney has been in the spotlight for political debates, specifically in regards to the gender roles and stereotypes they have implemented on their princesses. The princesses we have grown up adoring hold this disappointing idea that they are anti feminist, but some question if Cinderella falls in the same category. The original story of Cinderella dates back to 1697 with the first known writer being Charels Perrault, with then multiple rewritings by authors such as the Grimm brothers. Yet all these authors had a common theme where without a doubt, the story of Cinderella definitely is an anti feminist story  despite its history and  different versions of the story that try to prove otherwise, it’s a story that enables stereotypes and gender roles. 

Before we are able to determine whether or not Cinderella is actually feminist, we must determine what feminism really is. Feminism has been an ongoing movement for decades, a battle where women have consistently had to fight for their rights, whether it was being able to work outside of the house or vote. In a journal article exploring the different forms of feminism and feminism in context, they explain that “Feminism counters traditional philosophy with new ways of addressing issues affecting humanity, calling for the replacement of the presiding patriarchal order with a system that emphasizes equal rights, justice and fairness” (“Feminist Theory”).  Feminism is the opposite of what we have going on now. So many systems have been heavily based in patriarchy, meant to give men the upper hand while women have to fight their way to get the same respect or power. Feminism creates systems in which women are given the same opportunity and support as men do in patriarchal systems, it’s not women > men but rather women = men. In the context of feminism within children’s stories like Cinderella, feminism is meant to create stories empowering women, eliminating gender stereotypes and creating motivation for all children.

By that logic Cinderella must be a feminist, she’s a woman inspiring kids by pathing her own path right? The big debate with Cinderella is that she is seen as a “crybaby”, a woman that just sits and waits for her problems to be resolved, while all she does is complain and weep. Some say it’s a natural human reaction, others see it as another woman playing into that damsel in distress role. Charles Perrault has one of the most passive versions of the Cinderella story, in his version, on the day of the ball “Cinderella watched them on their way for as long as she could; seeing them no longer, she began to cry. Her godmother saw that she was all in tears, and asked what the matter was. ‘I wish . . . I wish . . .’; but she was crying so much that she could not finish” (Perrault 131-132).  She sat and cried, instead of taking it upon herself to get what she wanted. She had her fairy godmother come to her rescue, but in real life women don’t have fairy godmothers, it’s either you get it done for yourself or you sit in sorrow. But Cinderella just had a natural human reaction, “Cinderella is criticized for crying in the film because she can’t attend the ball, but in reality, she cries because they abused her in an act that rivals assault. She is not weak for crying; it is a normal human reaction” (Steele and Figueroa). Steele and Figueroa take on the Cinderella debate in their article: “’Cinderella’ embodies feminism through kindness and strength. With the heightened fire against Disney and their gender roles a lot of people jumped in on the debate and their point of views. Steele and Figueroa beleive that Cinderella is in fact a feminist for being so emotional and following that trope of a woman having to be so kind and gentle. Those factors are just Cinderella being a human being, Cinderella wanting more for herself makes her a feminist, her emotions don’t define her as anything less. Yet not everyone has the same opinion. Alexander Sergeant explains that Cinderella lost its feminism due the writing world being overtaken by men, he explains that “As the story became increasing popular, male writers and artists became interested in adapting the tale. But in doing so, they found in Cinderella not a story of female wish-fulfilment but a more general sense of escapism” (Sergeant). According to Sergeant, Cinderella is anti feminist because the male perspective has shifted Cinderella from being a story about a woman getting all her wishes to come true, to a woman having to escape a scary and toxic environment where she is consistently pushed into downplayed gender roles and seen as less than. The story of Cinderella not only encapsulates a woman that falls into gender roles as this damsel in distress needing someone to save her from such a toxic and abusive situation, but it’s a story written from the perspective of men. Men who during this time period only saw women as housewives, so that was heavily reflected in their writings, even in children’s stories such as Cinderella. 

Taking it a bit further, Cinderella is not the only story suffering the effects of antifeminism, fairy tales as a whole are suffering the repercussions. As the debate on gender roles expands, some people take it upon themselves to rewrite these stories, eliminate the gender stereotypes, create children’s stories that empower kids instead of confusing them or bringing them down. Maria Barros-del Rio explores two authors’ rewritings of Cinderella where she explains that “While both versions are centred around gender, Donoghue and Garner employ different strategies, namely queer alliances and parodic scenes respectively, with the aim of overcoming the same structural obstacles. The resulting characters are rebellious and successful women who challenge tradition and open new horizons for female empowerment through the reinvention of the fairy tale genre” (Barros-del Rio 239).  In the eyes of Barros-del Rio these retellings truly did accomplish eliminating gender stereotypes. Of course gender still played a huge role in these retellings but they were not stereotypical and created these empowering stories of women accomplishing their dreams. But one person’s opinion can’t fight the facts that numbers present. Primono and Nurhayati had a study done exploring feminist theory within rewritten stories claiming to be feminist, they followed 6 common fairy tales that were rewritten. In table 1 of the article the frequency of traits associated with female stereotypes were presented. 5 out of 6 stories mentioned and used physical appearance, 3 of the stories had the kind and nurturing personality traits commonly associated with female characters, and 5 of the stories had their female characters in domestic roles/occupations (Primono and Nurhayati 27). Numbers do not lie, they explain that “The data is analysed using the feminism theory. As a result, the stories clearly and consistently define the stereotypes of women from their physical appearances, personality traits, domestic roles, and occupations. In this case, women’s portrayal in the reconstructed versions openly continues to glorify physical beauty as a standard for women’s appearance; on the other hand, they should also maintain femininity and do domestic works as housewives or caregivers” (Primono and Nurhayati 23). It is clear that gender stereotyping and roles are fully embodied and implemented into the stories we have grown up with, and even if we do not realize it subconsciously they always prevail because that is what we have always been taught. It is inevitable to avoid the use of stereotypes when that is all we have known our whole lives, and the numbers prove that, even in rewritings. 

Cinderella is a story written from the male perspective, resulting in a story of a woman suffering in an abusive and toxic household, where she is consistently looking for an escape. The women in this story are consistently downplayed, Cinderella being this overly emotional cant do anything for herself character, the stepsisters being displayed as being desperate for a man, and the stepmother following into the stereotype that older women equate evil.  Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist, exemplifies the need for escape in Cinderella, explaining that “The many stories in which innocent Cinderella is claimed by her father as his marital partner, a fate from which she can save herself only through flight, could be interpreted as conforming to and expressing universal childish fantasies in which a girl wishes her father would marry her ” (Bettelheim 246). In the versions of Cinderella in which she is set to marry her father, she always looks for an escape, but that is a common theme in all versions of Cinderella where the main character lives unhappily and finds herself stuck, until her savior comes to grant her an escape. Bettelheim then relates this to a child’s perspective, explaining that young girls begin to feel this need for a man, to the point that she begins to want her father as her partner. Again relating to how a story like Cinderella is antifeminist for implementing stereotypes where women are needy and are submissive to men, which then reflects onto the children reading said stories. 

Cinderella is not the only story that implements all these stereotypes that are then taught to the children reading and hearing these stories. The writing world has always been heavily dominated by men, with stories dating back decades and centuries, time periods in which women were nothing but a mere housewife. Stories from a male’s perspective such as Cinderella, consistently implement stereotypes that downplay women and as a result teach it to the young children reading these stories, making said stories antifeminist. 

Works Cited

Barros-del Rio, Maria A. “Emma Dononghue’s and James Finn Garner’s Rebellious Cinderellas: Feminism and Satire for Empowerment in Contemporary Fairy Tales.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, vol. 7, no. 5, 2018, pp. 239-246. CCNY Libraries, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/emma-dononghue-s-james-finn-garner-rebellious/docview/2188097966/se-2?accountid=9967. Accessed 16 10 2023.

Bettelheim, Bruno. “Cinderella.” The Uses of Enchantment, Alfred A. Knopf, 1989, pp. 236-276.

“Feminist Theory.” International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. Feminist Theory – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/feminist-theory. Accessed 03 10 2023.

Perrault, Charles. “Cinderella, or The Little Slipper Made of Glass.” The Complete Fairy Tales.

Primono, Galang Y., and Sulasih Nurhayati. “Female Stereotypes in Cinderella’s Reconstructed Stories.” Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Humaniora, vol. 6, no. 1, 2022, pp. 23-34. CCNY Libraries, https://cuny-cc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CUNY_CC/gc81bt/cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_1ad1e982d22446b7ab963d5b76d1a2b2. Accessed 16 10 2023.

Sergeant, Alexander. “How Cinderella lost its original feminist edge in the hands of men.” The Conversation, 28 June 2021, https://theconversation.com/how-cinderella-lost-its-original-feminist-edge-in-the-hands-of-men-163402. Accessed 2 November 2023.

Steele, Bernadette, and Esmeralda Figueroa. “’Cinderella’ embodies feminism through kindness and strength | Opinion | dailytitan.com.” Daily Titan, 18 February 2019, https://dailytitan.com/opinion/cinderella-embodies-feminism-through-kindness-and-strength/article_092b0733-250d-5d3c-9882-7db9175dfeb8.html. Accessed 17 October 2023.