Osaka University professor Kazue Muta described classic fantasies such as “Sleeping Beauty” and “Snow White” as tales “promoting sexual violence.”
While most popular children’s fairy tales are designed to be wholesome, Professor Muta released a statement on Dec. 11 which might change that notion. She took to Twitter to explain that the idea of a “princess being woken up by the kiss of a prince” is actually an instance of “sexual assault on an unconscious person.”
There’s no question that Professor Muta knows a thing or two about sexual misconduct considering that she authored a book about it called “Sir, that love is sexual harassment!” In addition, the professor is also a specialist in historical sociology and gender theory.
Despite Professor Muta’s impressive credentials, not everyone shares her sentiments as Japanese netizens swarmed on her saying, “You can’t apply modern law or ethics to fairy tales,” “This kind of dismantling of our culture and traditions does more harm than good,” and “No matter how you interpret those stories, what the princes did is not sexual assault!” among others.
According to SoraNews24, the Disney version of the classic tale “Snow White” could actually be considered as sexual assault by today’s standards given that the prince kissed an unconscious princess against her will. Although the main point of Professor Muta’s tweet was to simply raise awareness about all forms of sexual misconduct in general.
“You might think I’m ruining the fantasy of it all, but these stories are promoting sexual violence and I would like everyone to be aware of it,” Professor Muta explained.
Other netizens poked fun of the situation and tweeted, “Meh, since they’re handsome they get a pass. That’s how it always works.”
“I’m a lawyer and since Snow White doesn’t press charges there are no grounds for sexual assault charges,” another user quipped.
In the Grimm Brothers’ original “Sleeping Beauty” as well as Disney’s version of the fairy tale, the prince isn’t as perverted as he is told prior to the kiss that it would wake the princess from her eternal sleep.
As SoraNews24 points out, one could argue that this is essentially a magical form of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
