Feminist Cinderella gives glass slippers the slip
A NEW children’s book puts a twist on fairy tales to show women can achieve their goals without men.
In Fairer Tales: Princesses Doing it for Themselves Cinderella does not fuss about glass slippers but makes snazzy trainers before going on to launch a shoe design business.
And instead of being rescued by a prince scaling up her long hair, Rapunzel cuts it off to use as a rope to escape the castle, which she then rents to Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
And while the traditional Sleeping Beauty waits to be woken and saved with a kiss by a handsome prince, the new book sees her save her pocket money so that when she wakes her savings have grown.
Copies of Emma Dodd’s book, published by HSBC UK, will be sent to primary schools in a bid to build children’s confidence about financial management. It is also free online.
It has been released after research found 64% of girls claimed they didn’t “understand money” compared to 52% of boys of the same age.
Psychologist Laverne Antrobus said: “Ensuring boys and girls can see empowered female characters is important in building confidence and understanding of what girls can achieve independently.”