“Cinderella Was a Wuss”: A Young Girl’s Responses to Feminist and Patriarchal Folktales

In this longitudinal study we examine a young girl’s responses to “feminist” and “patriarchal” folktales. Data were collected during five informal interviews with the participant at 8 and at 12 years of age and were analyzed according to grounded theory methodologies. Particularly salient issues raised by tales at both stages had to do with the exercise of personal agency, physical strength on the part of males and females, and the symbolic significance of dress. Findings challenge psychological theories about the appeal of folktales to young children, provide insight into developmental issues in young girls’ response to narrative, raise questions about how young girls negotiate cultural scripts in a patriarchal world, and highlight the importance of disrupting the layering of polarized gender norms and ideals through alternative narratives.