I think it comes as a surprise to no one that the American education system isn't perfect. But I believe that the biggest crime is book banning. We all claim to believe in freedom of speech and trying to stop books from being read violates that freedom.
The most common place for books to get banned is in schools. At this point, it's no surprise that books like "Harry Potter" or "To Kill a Mockingbird" are challenged because they always have been. "Harry Potter" is often challenged because it features witchcraft. Parents don't want their kids reading books like "To Kill a Mockingbird" because they feature controversial real-life topics. I think this is a mistake because I think we can learn something from reading something controversial.
Recently I've been seeing more and more articles popping up about school districts banning more and more classic children's stories, even fairytales. The most common one to get banned lately is "Sleeping Beauty."
The reason this story has been challenged so much lately is that people believe that we shouldn't tell a story to children about a man saving a woman with a kiss that she didn't give consent to, that it sends the wrong message to children. Now, I 110% believe that we should teach children the importance of consent. The fact that many adults don't even seem to grasp the concept is terrible and if more people did, then the world would be a safer place, and we should never promote stories that encourage us to never ask for consent. But in the case of "Sleeping Beauty," I think it's important to keep the context in mind.
In the original Grimm's fairytale version, "Sleeping Beauty" is a dark and messed up story. The Prince impregnates Sleeping Beauty while she's under her sleeping curse and the only reason she wakes up is that she goes into labor. Any child can recognize how wrong that is. Just because a little boy heard that story doesn't mean he's going to go around getting unconscious women pregnant when he grows up.
Some even discourage watching the Disney version, which is far less dark (though Maleficent is still a terrifying villain). Here is where context is important. The argument that the kiss was wrong because it was nonconsensual doesn't make sense here. The reason that Prince Phillip is able to wake Princess Aurora with his kiss is that it's true love. It was established that they were in love earlier in the film. Surely anyone in Aurora's position would want the person they're in love with to free them from a curse that requires true love's kiss.
Another important thing to remember is that the film is fiction. A movie made sixty years ago, that was a different time. Most kids nowadays want to watch "Frozen" or "Moana." Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" isn't something we should waste our energy getting worked up about (says as I'm writing an article defending it).
Trying to censor older Disney movies is like trying to erase a piece of history. "Sleeping Beauty" is not a perfect film. But trying to erase it is denying the mistakes of the past and the progress Disney has made in trying to make their princesses more interesting and independent. There's also other aspects of the film to appreciate, like the beautiful animation, soundtrack, the fantastic villain and wonderful fairies. The film also passes the Bechdel test. The fairies probably have more conversations on how to take care of Aurora than they did on any man.
Banning stories for being "sensitive" is wrong, because it's an opportunity to learn something. And so is taking one aspect of a story out of context without looking at the full picture, just to make outlandish claims, is also a huge mistake.
