More than a damsel in distress

Depicting Cinderella as an anti-feminist is misogynistic and victim-blaming

by Claire Bauschlicher, Reporter|January 23, 2023

Margaret Cartee

A woman is strong if she cries; a woman is strong if she fights; a woman is strong for the sole reason that she is a woman. There should be no standard for her. Cinderella, just by being herself and committing to her beliefs, automatically makes her an incredible role model to young girls.

“Cinderella” by Charles Perrault, adapted into the 1950s Disney classic, depicts the story of a young girl. She lives with her stepmother and sisters, attends a ball, falls in love with a prince, escapes from her abusive family and lives the life she’s always dreamed about. 

But throughout pop culture and the 21st century, the perception of the story has been skewed to view Cinderella as a helpless, passive woman who gets everything handed to her because of pure luck and her good looks.

Even Disney itself has started to look at the fairytale with a similar lens, like when the Disney channel film “The Cheetah Girls” released the song “Cinderella.” This smash hit’s main chorus features the lyrics: “I don’t want to be like Cinderella sitting in a dark, old, dusty cellar waiting for somebody to come and set me free.” The song is about standing up for oneself and motivating other girls to do the same, thus explaining that girls who do that are superior to Cinderella because they help themselves rather than receive help. 

Throughout the original film, the character’s main personality traits are kindness, compassion and optimism, emotions that have stereotypically been considered to be more feminine. Likewise, Disney princesses and other female characters who happen to be more stereotypically masculine are often perceived as more feminist because of their rejection of femininity. 

This should not be the case. Feminism is the concept of women choosing what they want to do in their life and staying strong in a world which favors male standards, emotions and rights. A woman is strong if she cries; a woman is strong if she fights; a woman is strong for the sole reason that she is a woman. There should be no standard for her. Cinderella, just by being herself and committing to her beliefs, automatically makes her an incredible role model to young girls. 

Although the film might have characterized Cinderella in this way because of the strict standards for femininity, that is another issue that the film has, and it should not be used as a way to demonize Cinderella’s actions. 

Not only is this perception of women damaging to young girls, it is also sexist in itself. This perspective, claiming that a woman can only be taken seriously when she’s acting in a historically “masculine” way is essentially submitting to masculine and patriarchal standards. But beyond the misogyny, it’s also victim blaming.

Commonly, this elevation of masculinity doesn’t come from a place of hatred, but rather from a place of fear. This comes from the women’s suffrage movement where the only way women could be taken seriously throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was through masculinity, characterized by the famous “We Can Do It” World War II poster depicting Rosie the Riveter, who is posed in a masculine fashion.

But throughout the story, this “anti-feminist” depiction is a complete misreading rather than an actual representation of the character’s experience. Calling Cinderella weak and anti-feminist because she was not able to stand up to her stepmother in a traditionally masculine way ignores the context of her life and sends a signal to young girls saying that sensitivity and vulnerability is weakness.

In reality, Cinderella, despite her years of abuse, is still emotionally strong, cares for others and views the world in the most positive light. She doesn’t hold back her tears but instead, lets herself be vulnerable to the viewers. When Cinderella gets hurt, she doesn’t design a master plan to escape her situation; she runs and cries. Not out of weakness, but out of her inner strength.

Cinderella isn’t a damsel in distress, nor is the movie a story about a man stepping in to save a helpless woman. It’s about a woman who faces the dangers of abuse and chooses kindness and optimism even when it’s hard. 

Cinderella never “waited” for a man; in fact, there is no scene whatsoever in the film where any of Cinderella’s dreams of a better life depict a man with her. Her only wish throughout the film was to be happy, nothing else. She stood up for herself through her emotions and thus was able to channel the fairy godmother, the embodiment of her optimism and dreams.

A woman who dresses and acts in a stereotypically feminine way isn’t submitting to the patriarchy, just as a woman who acts in a stereotypically masculine way isn’t anymore of a feminist because of her expression. 

Because Cinderella was somebody who faced adversity and chose optimism, she was an incredible role model for me as a child, and I often looked up to her whenever I felt lost or scared. Thus, even if Cinderella doesn’t act in a masculine way, she is such a powerful character and one of the greatest female role models I know.