Fed-Up Dad Censors Outdated Gender Stereotypes In Daughter's Disney Books

Some of the changes that the Minnesota dad made include Cinderella marrying Belle from the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. What’s more, The Little Mermaid chooses pizza over Prince Eric, and Rapunzel graduates top of her class at Harvard. Meanwhile, Princess Tiana makes some nachos that she keeps for herself instead of baking sweet treats and sharing them with Prince Naveen.

The dad’s hacks made him very popular on TikTok. To date, he’s received 2.4 million likes on all of his videos on his channel and he’s got a following of 48.4k people.

Naturally, quite a lot of people were pleasantly surprised by the ‘fairy godfather’s’ project and literary makeovers, calling him the ‘best dad ever’ and praising his fight against gender stereotypes for the sake of his two daughters.

However, others were more skeptical and some believed the dad may have gone too far in his quest for gender equality. Some internet users were concerned that the dad was setting a potentially dangerous precedent about editing out everything we don’t like in books. Meanwhile, others pointed out that the dad’s updates may not be consistent with how the characters in these stories would behave.

I previously spoke at length about gender stereotypes and the need for equality at home with Elizabeth Arif-Fear, the founder and director of ‘Voice of Salam.’

“A woman should not be expected to be responsible for the home just because she is a woman. A couple needs to discuss chores based on working hours outside of the home and any other caring responsibilities that affect schedules and workloads,” she told Bored Panda during an interview.

“If both partners are working full-time then they should be sharing the housework equally. Sadly, research shows that women still do more housework than men even when working. On a practical level, if a couple is committed to an equal level of partnership, drawing up a chore timetable can be useful, as can designating roles by working out who does what based on their likes and strengths,” she said.

According to Elizabeth, attitudes toward gender go beyond chores. “They are a symptom of sexism. In such a relationship, both partners are not equal. No woman should be expected to work two full-time jobs—one paid and one at home—while her able-bodied husband sits back and does nothing at home. In today’s world, looking after the home and/or children is a full-time job in itself and such work needs to be shared. Families often have to rely on two incomes and women have the right to pursue professional goals—something which their spouse should encourage as part of an equal partnership,” she told Bored Panda.

“Being financially dependent on a man is not a healthy or safe option. Spouses must be equal in opportunities and shared duties. As working patterns have shifted with the economy in the past decades, outdated sexist attitudes also need to shift. A women’s role is where she wants to be—just like a man’s. It’s not her job to pick up or look after male relatives/spouses. If she chooses to stay at home as the family is financially able to manage on one wage, that must be the couple’s joint decision. Even then, there must be mutual respect, sharing of responsibility, and a fair equitable division of chores.”