Publisher’s Points to Ponder: Fairy tale-ing or truth telling

When I was 6 years old, my mother gave me my first set of books that contained colorful characters I eventually called friends. Many of the stories I read in those books are called fairy tales. These two words alone imply deception, but children look past that to find a possible pathway to their purpose in life. I was one of those little girls who believed every word. However, as I grew older, I learned that life is not a fairy tale.

Life taught me that sleeping for a long time does not make me beautiful like Sleeping Beauty. I realized that long hair like Rapunzel is not required to attract a rescuer. Most importantly, I have accepted my flaws--unlike Cinderella--and no longer need to change how I look or dress to fit into certain groups or win the affection of a handsome beau who would marry me. My friend Cinderella is the perfect example of a young girl portrayed as worthless, unstylish and ugly. She had to become someone else to get accepted.

Many of the fairy tales I read set marriage as the goal for girls. That ideal was typically followed by the requirement to transform into the world’s idea of a beautiful being worthy of a handsome prince. And, of course, everything worked out in the end, leading to happiness ever after. Hmmm. Could these tales be the spark that ignites the fire in young girls who want to alter their bodies to look like the celebrities bragged about by boys? What about the parents who pay for plastic surgery? This doesn’t seem right.

While some children understand that the stories are fictional, the messages may still impact a child’s view about his or her self-image and what is required to be happy forever. In some ways, social media replaces imaginary people and plots, but the narrative is the same story that you’re not good enough as you are, and if you do this, you will find Mr. Right. So why can’t Mr. Right find me and accept me as I am? Telling our daughters and sons that they are perfect as God created them is the truth we should share with them every day.

I am proud of production companies like Walt Disney Studios, who recently made me believe in fairy tales again by introducing princesses of all shades, such as Pocahontas and Tiana from New Orleans, with whom I immediately fell in love with because she looks like me. Also, I love that she did not wait around for a prince to rescue her and tell her what to dream. She had a dream of her own. Finally, a believable storyline.