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Motion: THW believes that we should rewrite classic fairytales in the name of feminism Position: Leader of the Opposition

Speech Proper The opposition believes that this house should not rewrite classic fairytales in the name of feminism. We believe that we should maintain classic fairytales the way they are and we should not rewrite these fairytales because the opposition believes that it is not an effective mechanism in promoting the feminists movement. The Prime Minister discussed two arguments earlier: first is the promotion and empowerment of women in the society and second is equality. With regards to her first argument, let me present two concerns. One, the opposition believes that children do not see the characters in the fairytale as someone oppressed or degraded. These children just see them as fictional characters, nothing more and noting less. This means that it can not really affect their entire life and what I mean when I say entire life is that these characters can only be considered as part of their childhood. It will affect the decisions or choices that these children are to make in their latter years. Another concern is that the feminists do not get the right definition that we get from feminism. Feminists do not see that feminism is actually a matter of choice. It is in fact honouring the choice of women as long as she gets enough rights that she herself considers. So if a woman chooses to be dependent on a man, we can not say that she is oppressed because she chose it for herself. For the Prime Ministers second argument, I would like to clear things out when she discussed equality. The opposition believes that what the Prime Minister meant by equality is actually opportunity. We believe that their way of thinking about equality is not true because truth be told that by nature, men and women are born equal. In the classic fairytales, the little mermaid chose to be a human in exchange for her voice and meet her prince. This action shows courage and bravery and it is not against feminism simply because men are usually the ones depicted to show these values. What I am saying is that in the fairytale, it is the little mermaid who was given the opportunity to showcase these values. Cinderella is another example. She waited for her prince and it demonstrates patience and hoping. In real life stories, men are the ones who are usually waiting for a womans sweet yes and the patience and willingness that they display gives them a positive feedback. In the fairytales however, it is the woman who is given that privilege. Fairytales do not really show the women as oppressed. Now, let me talk about my arguments. First, I will be taking about classic fairytales not being a political tool. Before everything boils back to feminism, let me discuss that fairytales are written for the benefit of the children and the aim of

these fairytales is to bring fun and entertainment to them. So what do we mean when we put entertainment into the picture? The opposition pertains to the feeling that the children get when they read or hear these stories. And what the opposition means by entertainment is to enable the children to know that these fictitious fairytale characters only exist in fairytales and the story is something that would make them happy for the time being only. So what do we consider as standards to say that these fairytales will not affect them? The opposition believes that as long as there is no abuse in the story, it will not affect their behaviour. As all fairytale stories always have a villain, we do believe that it will not really affect them because all fairytales have a happy ending; the villains are defeated and the princes and the princesses are happy. Considering the fact that fairytales are the target of fairytales and these children are innocent, then, we can say that they can not be a potential target for the feminist movement. So even if we try to rewrite the classic fairytales and target their young minds, there will still be no good effect for the feminist movement. My next argument is that classic fairytales by nature of literature has a subjective interpretation. By nature, every work of literature is subjective and by saying literature, we mean to include classic fairytales. Assuming that everyone has read any classic fairytales once in their life, putting into consideration that everyone has gone through childhood, we can deduct several different interpretations. For the children, as mention earlier, it is more of an entertainment for them. For some women, they may see the women characters as a damsel in distress. For some men, they could picture the male characters as a symbol for strength and masculinity. Fairytales like other forms of literature is subjective. It can not be use to forward a single message or force a single belief or purpose to its readers. Therefore, it can not be use for the feminism. Let me say again that the opposition believes that we should not rewrite classic fairytales in the name of feminism because it is not a political tool and it is subjective in nature. With this, I end my speech.

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