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Lots of us grew up with Disney stories and they’re an inseparable part of our childhood. However, some people believe that these tales have a negative impact on young women because they contain harmful gender stereotypes. A dad is going viral on TikTok and the news for updating and modernizing his daughter’s Disney books to better reflect the times we live in and to make life better for both of his girls.

The Minnesota dad, who has two daughters and goes by the tag @dcaspers on TikTok, filmed the entire process and uploaded the videos for everyone to see. He changed classic fairy tales like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and others, giving them twists nobody could have expected.

His actions, however, have divided the internet and sparked a fiery discussion online. While some lauded the dad for reworking gender tropes into something more egalitarian and realistic, others thought that what he’s doing might amount to censoring classics for the sake of appearing progressive.

Check out the dad’s videos below and let us know what you think of his project, dear Pandas. Are you fans of his reworked stories or do you prefer the classics? Do you think we should aim to constantly update older works of literature or should we simply aim to publish new and modern stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This dad is updating Disney princess books to make them more modern for his two girls

Image credits: dcaspers

Check out how he removes gender stereotypes from the tales in his TikTok videos

@dcaspersChanging tomorrow starts today. #madatdisney #girldad #dadhacks♬ Mad at Disney - salem ilese

#1

Merida Is Baking Cookies And Asks For Help. The Boys Say No. She Gives Them Cookies Anyways. Sorry Boys, If You Want A Cookie, Clean Up The Kitchen First

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Otter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Merida doesn't cook, she's a princess and her family has servants to do the cooking! Tiana is the cook.

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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.

#2

Rapunzel Enters A Contest, Bakes A Pie And Wins... Her Boyfriend Approves. Rapunzel Dreams Big And Wins Top Of Her Class... Now He Bakes Her A Pie

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Loki’s Lil Butter Knife
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think I am about to give myself an aneurysm over how politically correct and performative this is. Why the hell can't Rapunzel bake a mean pie and also get her law degree at Harvard?

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#3

Cinderella Is Forced To Clean, Cook And Is Bullied... And Thinks A Guy Is Her Only Savior. Cinderella Stands Up For Herself Against The Bullies And Now Controls Her Own Destiny

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Aamna Shah
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think Cinderella is unfortunately oversimplified to make it regressive. If you look at the movie objectively, it's clear that Cinderella is a young girl who lives in an era where she probably has extremely limited choices. She has lost her father as a kid and is living with her abusive step mom and step sisters. Like most victims of abuse, her mind is in survival mode and she knows that she has to stay obedient in order to protect herself in that environment. Cinderella herself is not subservient. Her abusive environment demands that from her to survive. We see that she does speak her mind from time to time. Another thing people forget is that Cinderella was not asking for a man or begging to become a princess. Her dream was to escape her abusive household. In my opinion, and everyone is allowed to disagree with it, she's a victim of child abuse and blaming her for not leaving is not much different from modern society blaming women for not leaving their abusive husbands.

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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.

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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.

#4

Cinderella Heads To The Ball And Finds Her Prince Charming. Now Adding Diversity To Disney. Cinderella Goes To The Ball And Finds Her True Love!

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Brendan Roberts
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wouldn't say that the heterosexual relationship is problematic. No sexuality is wrong.

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#5

The Beast Is Sad, Belle Makes Brownies. Belle Worked All Day And Picked Something Up

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come one...that is forced. Pay gaps are real, but addressing this regarding buying cheap cookies is very much pulling it out of context. And who says they do not share expenses if you want to further play this game? To be honest, this does not seem to be changed for the daughters but rather for the audience at TikTok.

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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.

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“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.

#7

In What Universe Is Just Holding A Dustpan Considered Caring? Doc Is Wise And Cleans The Whole House Himself

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Tarryn Louise
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Helping is a wonderful message. Your messages to your daughter are crap.

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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.

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“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.”

 

Some people thought the dad reworking the classic Disney stories was inspiring:

However, not everyone agreed with his modern approach to popular children's books: