I chose this piece of art because this is one of the first pieces of art that I could find that depicted Little Red Riding Hood as a child that, when compared to the interpretations and recreations of Little Red Riding Hood in today’s society, the majority, if not all, of these depictions present Little Red Riding Hood as a woman in her teens. In the original text of The Story of Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood is described as a little girl not a woman in her teens. This shows that Little Red Riding Hood is still being sexualized today and in a way that would be considered socially acceptable because no one wants to see a young child be sexualized for the enjoyment of perverted people but instead it has become socially acceptable to sexualize a teenage woman, hence why Little Red Riding Hood has continued to be depicted as such in modern adaptations. This leads me to wonder this: What other fairytales have been sexualized in this way and how did these adaptations become accepted by society?
I love the painting you used for your blog post! The image has many striking details. More specifically, the fact that there are crumbled daisies in her hair further portrays the nostalgic memory of children frolicking and making flower crowns. Furthermore, the wolf snarling at her while she smiles puts into perspective how naive this protagonist is. To answer your question, a significant amount of our female protagonists are under sixteen years old, and in the case of Snow White, fourteen years old, and based on that fact alone, these stories have significant sexual undertones. Society has accepted these because they use them in marketing for Halloween costumes and television shows like Once Upon A Time. I would have loved to read your expansion on why you think Little Red Riding Hood is still sexualized and why under the lens of Gender theory, that is significant.
This picture looks beautiful, but I am more concerned about the story of what happened in the picture – Little Red Riding Hood tamed the wolf with wisdom? Or does the author like to suggest a state of harmony between humans and animals? Either way, compared to traditional fairy tales, this picture has a more comprehensive and objective presentation of women (or girls).