As I read Cinderella to Kaseh for her bedtime story tonight, i realised what a horrible story it is. It' unsuitable for a child like her and there's so many wrong messages in it. "Cerita ni tak bagus Kaseh, mana ada Prince that will sweep you off you your feet", i tried explaining to her. Unfortunately she wasn't very conviced. Oh no, what have i done! I bought the book at the first place, it was an innocent purchase. I grew up reading Cinderella, Snow White,
Beauty and The Beast and etc so i thought hey, it's a fairytale, popular childhood stories with good moral values. Right? Wrong!
Here's why you should keep Cinderella and all the other Princesses away from your daughters.Firstly, Cinderella teaches you that a girl's main purpose in life is to find a Prince that will sweep you off your feet and you will live happily ever after. That a girl is so helpless and only this Prince will rescue her from her evil step mother and half sisters. Secondly, Cinderella teaches you that, hey I just got to know this guy, dance a little and let's get married. Errr.....what we should be teaching our daughters is that - never talk to strangers, don't trust them what more marry them! And thirdly, Cinderella emphasises that physical appearance is uberly important that when she is no longer in her Princess's dress, the Prince no longer recognise her, he only knew it was her because she coukd fit the glass slipper. Like this is super salah.
In this day and era, what we should be teaching our daughters is to be dependent and financially resourceful. They shouldn't be relying on any man for a better life. We should provide them with the education where they will be able to use it to fend and create a career for themselves. If they do find a well to do suitor aka the Prince, then it's a bonus. But relying for that Prince to come? I'm sorry girlfriend, it ain't happening.
There's so many alarming messages that came out from this simple fairytale. Don't get me started on the Fairy God Mother and the step sisters. How come at such a tender age, Cinderella is already imprinting sifat hasad dengki (jealousy) , that her step sisters are jealous of her beauty and poise. And what about her father who marries an evil women? The father seem not to care about the welfare of his own daughter, that he is so blind and gullible to marry a woman so prententious in front of him and abuses his daughter behind his back? ( I'm assuming Cinderella's maternal mother passed away ok). Come on, Dads are better than this.
This so enough said about Cinderella. We should ban her and all the other Princesses from our homes. Kaseh will not be pleased, it isn't her fault because this is what they learn from watching TV and reading books available in the market. But as parents, we need to guide our children accordingly. Just because it's pink or purple, doesn't mean that it's innocent.
Lucky for us, I see Frozen in a different light, that only a strong sisterly love will set you free. And the recently released Malificient starring Angelina Jolie, sends the right message about maternal love. No Prince charming is going to wake Sleeping Beauty up.
Our girls must be empowered and we must teach our boys to respect girls! Gender equality begins at home and it starts with you Moms and Dads. Good bye Cinderella, you aren't welcome here.
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