Politically Right Fairy Tales

Politically right fairy tales fetch modern responsiveness to antique tales.

The Birth of Politically Correct Fairy Tales

The 1990’s witnessed a rising trend in Political correctness of the fairy tales. Eradication of offensive language from everyday language was the prime concern. Sexist connotations were eradicated using the title mail carrier instead of mailman. The movement aimed at making lay men aware of the impact, of words which at times went to the extent of sanitizing speech. Modern sensibilities were culminated into Ancient tales by Politically correct fairy tales.

Violence of classic fairy tales & reading books of bad influence was questioned by parents and educators. Books like Where the Wild Things Are were banned by schools for they contained questionable content, like artistic nudity & outright behavior. Conditions were favorable for new stories to cast light on the absurdities of politically correct culture.

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

James Finn Garner published Politically Right Bedtime Stories In 1994: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times. A sequel, once upon a More Enlightened Time: More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories appeared in 1995.Politically Correct Holiday Stories: For an Enlightened Yuletide Season was his next work. Currently out of print, these books are available in libraries. The original politically correct fairy tales include:

• "The Three dependent Goats Gruff" ("The Three Billy Gruff Goats ")
• “Cinderella”
• "The Three Little Pigs"
• "Rumpelstiltskin"
• Little Red Riding Hood”
• "Rapunzel"
• "The Emperor's New Clothes"
• "Goldilocks"
• "Snow White"

Ancient stories in order to remove any politically incorrect language were revised. For instance, Snow White's companions became vertically challenged for the term dwarf was considered offensive. Besides this, the stories viewed characters in terms of whether their actions were acceptable in an enlightened society. Goldilocks, therefore, became the villain of her story for intruding on the natural habitat of the bears.
Modern touches were added by garner to the familiar stories.

Additional Modern Alternatives

Some truth existed to the idea that classic fairy tales didn't always fit modern sensibilities, although Garner's works poked fun at the idea of political correctness. Several inventive children's picture books questioned some common fairy tale themes:

Must princesses always wait for a prince to save them? The Paper Bag Princess sends the princess out to rescue the prince from a dragon.
Is the world always divided into easy categories of good and evil? The Accurate Story of the Three Tiny Pigs plays with the thought that the Wolf was misunderstood and just a victim of circumstance.

Ongoing Concerns

"Politically incorrect" content in fairy tales is an ongoing concern. The Daily Mail published an article about parents choosing modern classics over offensive and violent fairy tales, fifteen years after the publication of Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times.

Encouraging discussion of issues brought up by classic stories by parents and teachers, provides an alternative to outright avoidance of these tales. Children can enjoy the magic of fairy tales while developing a critical eye toward literature.