Who is the fairest of them all? This phrase is as old as time but odds are it is a similar sort of face that springs to mind – a princess with beautiful hair. Gender-Swapped Fairy Tales takes the two gender binaries of male and female, and imagines if they were swapped within the best known fairytales. The tales themselves are centred around their characters so much that they feel both new and old all at the same time.
How to Tell a True Prince sees masculine sensitivity as a virtue. Jaqueline and the Beanstalk introduces a fierce, angry female giant. Rapuzel and Gretel and Hansel both introduce sinister male witches. Even the act of reversing the title name is a statement in itself. The tale has two central characters, after all, so why is Hansel’s name always first? Why has Beauty functioned as a noun within fairytales but never Handsome? The tales told here challenge the familiar narrative and offer children stories which question what they think to be fact.
Beautiful artwork from Jonathan Plackett fills the book. The pictures put me in mind of decorative tiles which enhances the timeless feel of tales. Elegant clothes designs create character – particularly memorable to me is the down worn by female Beast with its elegant patterns and wide ruff. Everybody has known at least one terrifying old lady with a heart of gold and yet how often does this character type appear in fairytales?
This is certainly a book that challenges male and female stereotypes. I did wonder whether some of the characters might have identified outside these binaries. The book’s introduction states clearly that it recognises identities other than male or female and that it set out specifically to challenge rigid social constructs about gender.
Writers should steer clear of gender stereotypes and I hope this book inspires others to think beyond the overly-familiar. I hope it also enables children to dream themselves and their personalities into the tales and encourages them to play and dress up and dream as widely as they can imagine.
- Gender Swapped Fairytales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett is available now from Faber & Faber. RRP £20.00
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