Nigah Raja 

Professor Pastore

Fairy Tales and Re-Writings Composition HA5

18 October 2022

Passive Sleeping Beauty Leaves a Mark on Gender Stereotypes

            Does Sleeping Beauty do more than just sleep? Everyone knows the fairy tale about a young girl who falls asleep for a century and preserves her beauty. But why is beauty everything to her? Probably because otherwise, the prince wouldn’t have saved her. No one wants to kiss an old, ugly lady, especially not prince charming. If not for her youth and looks, Sleeping Beauty would never have gotten her happily ever after. That being said, the message enrooted in this fairy tale has to be looked into. Many scholars and researchers have analyzed the story through different interpretations and discussed why it’s relevant today. The main reason is that some major themes from this fairy tale have affected society and how it views gender roles. This essay will discuss how Sleeping Beauty’s passivity contributes to gender stereotypes. 

            In “Two Sleeping Beauties,” Genevieve Yue, a scholar and a critic in Los Angeles, examines the passivity of the female leads in two films based on Sleeping Beauty. The first film, Sleeping Beauty (2011) by Julia Leigh focuses on a college student, Lucy, who takes drugs and while unconscious, spends the night in bed with male clients. Yue describes her as extremely passive as she permits her body to be exploited in her sleep. Although Lucy’s observer gains control due to her lack of power, Yue argues that Lucy’s passiveness could be resistance as she mirrors others’ desires and represses her own. The second film, The Sleeping Beauty (2010) by Catherine Breillat follows a six-year-old girl, Anastasia, who is cursed into a century-long sleep. During her sleep, she explores a dreamland that prepares her for adult decisions. She awakes in a sixteen-year-old body and goes on a lonesome journey to learn what it means to be a young adult. She finds empowerment within her femininity. This film doesn’t showcase “the virtues of patience” that are usually found in Perrault’s fairy tales but instead displays “female self-discovery.” (Rue 36). Yue describes her journey as “far from passive” since Anastasia learns to be independent. Both films showcase two different interpretations of Sleeping Beauty. Leigh portrays her character as submissive, mysterious, and reserved. This plays into gender stereotypes by normalizing men taking full control over a woman’s body. It shows that women should be docile and willing to give up power to a male figure. Meanwhile, Breillat presents her character as fierce, outgoing, and self-reliant. There is no prince to kiss her lips and make her worries disappear. She survives on her own and proves that strong-willed women can accomplish anything. This film goes against gender stereotypes, but sadly it is one of the very few retellings that does so. 

            In “Show and Tell: Sleeping Beauty as Verbal Icon and Seductive Story,” Maria Tatar, a professor in Germanic languages and literature at Harvard University, conveys how the roles of different characters in Sleeping Beauty influence gender stereotypes. After analyzing a variety of retellings, Tatar concludes that the role of an active male and a passive female is one of the similarities found in them all. She describes these roles as the male being the “bearer-of-the-look” and the female as an object “to-be-looked-at.” (Tatar 143). Not only does this prove how persistent this theme is in fairy tales, but it also reveals how harmful such characteristics can be in society. The beauty standards set for women are highly unachievable. Sleeping Beauty’s beauty in many of the versions is described as flawless and desirable. In Giambattista Basile’s version, “Sun, Moon, and Talia,” Talia’s beauty is so powerful that when the king sees her, he can’t help but gather the “first fruits of his love.” (Tatar 145). Her beauty is to blame for the king’s disgusting actions. This message is repeatedly seen through time and how women who are sexually assaulted are blamed for dressing in a certain way. Tatar points out how this fairy tale teaches the wrong lessons and plays into gender stereotypes. Women are objectified and treated as less than human because their beauty is all that matters. As long as they don’t use their voice and remain passive, men will find them desirable. This fairy tale reveals gender roles that have continued to exist for centuries. As a result, these gender roles have created stereotypes that are hard to break. 

            In “Gender Stereotypes in Walter Elias Disney’s Animated Film ‘Sleeping Beauty,’” Muhammad Asadullah, a researcher and student at the National University of Modern Languages, analyzed the gender stereotypes aimed toward women, and more specifically towards Aurora, the female lead. Some general conclusions that he made were that “the producer presented women as weak, shy, delicate, dependent, indecisive, and incompetent.” (Asadullah 1). In the film, Aurora was cursed to sleep for a hundred years once she turned sixteen. The evil fairy, Maleficent, had a more active role in this film. She was outraged for not being invited to Aurora’s birth ceremony and showed her anger upfront by cursing the child. Maleficent is categorized as bad, evil, and selfish for openly expressing her emotions. This contributes to gender stereotypes and Maleficent is used as an example of what girls shouldn’t behave like. Instead, they’re expected to follow Aurora’s behavior and live a passive, vulnerable, and patient life. Both Aurora and Maleficent portray societal norms for what is acceptable and not in women.  This film teaches the audience that passivity is a good trait in women and that being an active woman will make society look down on you. The gender stereotypes that are found in this film which was made in 1959 still show relevance in today’s society. Women who are bold and assertive are frowned upon while those who are patient and obedient are likable.

            Between the three previously mentioned sources, there are some agreements about how the passiveness of a female character has an impact on gender stereotypes. After analyzing different versions of Sleeping Beauty, a few things can be found in common between them. For one, Sleeping Beauty is almost always seen as passive, dependent, and patient. Only in Catherine Breillat’s film is the main character seen as independent, brave, and smart. All of the sources discuss the importance of beauty in a woman and how beauty overpowers real-life skills. There is a distinct difference in gender roles seen in this fairy tale. The prince/king is confident, heroic, and charming while the princess is fragile and helpless. These characteristics are visible in stereotypical gender norms. Another similarity mentioned by Asadullah is that “They face patriarchal oppression, gender-based biases, and exploitation of all types.” (Asadullah 4). Women go through struggles of all kinds and the message of gender inequality illustrated in this fairy tale only makes their life harder. 

            To conclude, the few traits that Sleeping Beauty possesses are defined by gender stereotypes. She will always be seen as less than her male counterparts and is only valued for her looks. The lesson in this fairy tale could be misinterpreted, thus it shouldn’t be intended for all audiences. Ultimately, fairy tales are corrupt and nonsensical. Since fairy tales correlate with gender stereotypes, it leads one to wonder why they’re targeted toward children. Are young minds being corrupted by these supposedly innocent fairy tales? Why does Walt Disney purify such fairy tales yet keep the gender stereotypes? How are these fairy tales influencing the behavior of young boys? 

Works Cited 

Asadullah, Muhammad. “Gender Stereotypes in Walter Elias Disney’s Animated Film ‘Sleeping Beauty.’” Journal of Social Science, Education, and Humanities, Science World Publication, 20 May 2020,                                     https://www.academia.edu/43114377/Gender_Stereotypes_in_Walter_Elias_Disney_s_Animated_Film_Sleeping_Beauty_. 

Genevieve, Yue. “Two Sleeping Beauties.” Film Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 3, 2012, pp. 33–37. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2012.65.3.33. Accessed 28 Sep. 2022. 

Tatar, Maria. “Show and Tell: Sleeping Beauty as Verbal Icon and Seductive Story.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 28, no. 1, 2014, pp. 142–58, https://doi.org/10.13110/marvelstales.28.1.0142.