A while ago I wrote a graduate research paper on the female role models presented to young women in fairy tales. I was (and am) very proud of this paper, because it explicates a point that I am adamant on: that despite what some feminists would have you believe, storybook princesses can actually provide solid female figures for young girls to look up to during one of the most turbulent times of their lives. So, here is my paper, in all its glory, for you to enjoy. If you don't make it to the end it won't hurt my feelings--it's a long paper. But I hope you will at least skim through it, and let me know what you think! The genre of fantasy fiction has been a staple of young adult literature for centuries, dating back as far as the 1600s. The (for all intents and purposes) contemporary paradigm of the modern fairytale got its start in the mid-1700s, with Perrault’s collections of moralistic fairytales, which eventually evolved into the Blue Fairy Book. As c...
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