Sleeping Beauty is a classic fairy tale which involves a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. The princess was cursed by the evil fairy to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years and be awakened by a kiss from a king’s son. Sleeping Beauty story has been an iconic fairytale moment for generations.
Looked at from contemporary perspective may it be this story is a little weird when looked at from contemporary perspective? This is the view of Sarah Hall- one concerned mother who’s requested her kid’s school remove the Sleeping Beauty story from their curriculum entirely.
Sarah Hall, 40 years old mom, from Tyneside, has sparked debate after suggesting the classic story normalizes and teach to unacceptable behavior, giving the young children a confusing message about consent.
Tell you what, while we are still seeing narratives like this in school, we are never going to change ingrained attitudes to sexual behaviour #MeToo #consent #mysonissix pic.twitter.com/3g4gyjifi9
— Sarah Waddington CBE 💙 (@Mrs_Wadds) November 19, 2017
Speaking with the Newcastle Chronicle, Sarah claimed how Sleeping Beauty gives the children the wrong message- how it’s acceptable to kiss a woman while she’s asleep. She said: “In today’s society, it isn’t appropriate – my son is only six, he absorbs everything he sees, and it isn’t as if I can turn it into a constructive conversation.
I don’t think taking Sleeping Beauty books out of circulation completely would be right. I actually think it would be a great resource for older children, you could have a conversation around it, you could talk about consent, and how the Princess might feel. But I’m really concerned about it for younger children would really welcome a conversation about whether this is a suitable material.”
Many celebrities have spoken out about how they read old-fashioned legends and tales to their children- and how they making sure the young children understand modern morals.
When it comes to stranger danger and conversations around consent Kristen Bell who voiced the cheery and determined Princess Anna in Frozen has a lot of questions for Snow White. Speaking with Parents, Frozen’s Anna, Bell, explained how she takes the time to discuss the similarly unsolicited kiss in Snow White with her children. Bell told Parents how she always makes sure to ask her daughters:
“Don’t you think that it’s weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission? Because you can not kiss someone if they’re sleeping!”
Be aware, make sure your children understand the difference between the old-fashioned legends and tales and the accepted social modern norms.
