Little Red Sex Machine
Once upon a time, Red Riding Hood was a good little girl. When she foolishly strayed from the path in the forest and spoke to strangers, she fell prey to the wicked wolf, but, fortunately, the heroic woodcutter rescued her just in time. Today's versions of the popular fairy tale tell a different story: for example, in the 1996 movie Freeway, the paved-over forest is full of gangs, guns, and wolves, but the teenager is her own savior. And what about that wolf in drag?
Many of us know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the innocent little girl who anxiously skipped through the woods to deliver food to her ailing grandmother only to discover that the old woman had been replaced by a deceiving wolf. Although the story’s innocence in its literal translation is obvious to children, through mytho-eroticism the story serves as an important tool of manipulation for a patriarchal society seeking to control women.
Originally an oral tale from Northern Italy, though the story’s plot elements can be traced as far away as Japan, China and Korea, the story was written in the early 1800s by two German brothers, Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm (the same two men Hollywood adapted onto the big screen in the fairy tale The Brothers Grimm). However, the Grimm brothers did not set out to write down the exact words of the verbal legend. Instead, they borrowed their tale mainly from two other sources: a French tale, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, published by Charles Perrault in 1697 and a play, Leben und Tod des kleinen Rotkäppchens: eine Tragödie, written in 1800 by the German Romantic writer Ludwig Tieck. Tieck invented the hunter who rescues Rotkäppchen and her grandmother from the Wolf.
The Grimm brothers were not aware of the social implications of the tale. They were not great thinkers, nor did they care to be. They were story tellers; that is all. Yet, in their sociohistorical ignorance, the brothers accomplished much more than they wanted to. In essence, they were able to expose a patriarchal society and the tools by which that society operates to manipulate and control women.
Though many feminine scholars have concluded the symbolic significance of the Little Red maiden as the female clitoris, it is worth noting that her role is one of contrivance. The direct implication is that in fear of being consumed by a lustful life, a life that leads to all earthly ills, from birth out-of-wedlock to sexually transmitted diseases, women should not explore their sexuality.
As far as the grandmother is concerned, she is represented by the male, a big bad male wolf. In this case, the grandmother has been replaced by the wolf, though, inherently she is the wolf. Grandmothers are at the crown of patriarchal society in that it has been their role to pass down traditions to their daughters and granddaughters, raising them as good, passive, obedient wives. As a result, she reestablishes the same patriarchal society in which she was raised and is reduced to a symbolic reminder that the old will be reborn in the young.
It must be understood that the Grimm’s version of Little Red has been revised for much younger audiences. From the original oral tales up to Perrault’s version, the tales were so ribald they often received charges of indecency from the Vatican. An example from an earlier version shows a much more provocative account of Little Red’s encounter with the wolf. "Take off your clothes and come under the covers," says the wolf to Little Red Riding Hood. "I need to go outside and relieve myself," the girl prevaricates. "Urinate in the bed, my child," says the wolf, a wicked gleam in his eye -- and only then does she know it is not Grandmother beneath the bedclothes.
The Grimm brothers were able to tone the story down for children, though the impact is still the same. No longer does Little Red and the Wolf discuss urinating under the covers, instead she interviews the wolf in a rather playful manner. “What big eyes you have” she says to the wolf. “Only the better to see you with, my dear,” replies the wolf. It isn’t until Little Red questions the wolf about its teeth that she discovers it is not Grandmother. “What big teeth you have, Grandmother,” says Red. “Only the better to eat you with,” shouts the wolf. Like the Grandmother, the wolf wants to consume Little Red, thus subjecting her to patriarchal society.
Though some school boards in the U.S. have been pressured to blacklist this fairy tale because of its "overtly" sexual content, the Grimms consciously made their tale more innocent and less erotic than earlier versions. They also restored a "happy ending," which true folktales always have. An earlier, more literary French version left Little Red in the Wolf's stomach -- the better to scare you with its moral!
Yet, what is interesting about Little Red is her strong connection with many other tales of young women in peril, from Sleeping Beauty to the South American myth of La Llorona, the woman of the night that comes to take away unsuspecting young, naïve women. Her story is also one of deception and tragedy, though her big bad wolf is a Spanish soldier who romanced her, fathered her children, and then left her for a more beautiful Spanish woman back home. Lovesick and seeking revenge, La Llorona drowned her children in the river and then committed suicide. She is said to walk the night abducting and killing young women she believes stole her love, thus causing women to police themselves. Bedtime is early for young Latinas.
Although these were not tales created for children, for listeners and readers who knew that the passions of princes are not always chaste, that beautiful girls might grow up to marry beasts, and that lecherous wolves can lurk in the woods or dress up in women's clothes, their impact on the culture of young women is profound. These stories are not simply tales of horror, they are meant to police young women, for surely the male characters in them are in no harm. In fact, for Little Red, it is not only an obvious male that threatens her, but a male that also saves her. It is a man’s world, women just live in it.
Many of us know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the innocent little girl who anxiously skipped through the woods to deliver food to her ailing grandmother only to discover that the old woman had been replaced by a deceiving wolf. Although the story’s innocence in its literal translation is obvious to children, through mytho-eroticism the story serves as an important tool of manipulation for a patriarchal society seeking to control women.
Originally an oral tale from Northern Italy, though the story’s plot elements can be traced as far away as Japan, China and Korea, the story was written in the early 1800s by two German brothers, Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm (the same two men Hollywood adapted onto the big screen in the fairy tale The Brothers Grimm). However, the Grimm brothers did not set out to write down the exact words of the verbal legend. Instead, they borrowed their tale mainly from two other sources: a French tale, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, published by Charles Perrault in 1697 and a play, Leben und Tod des kleinen Rotkäppchens: eine Tragödie, written in 1800 by the German Romantic writer Ludwig Tieck. Tieck invented the hunter who rescues Rotkäppchen and her grandmother from the Wolf.
The Grimm brothers were not aware of the social implications of the tale. They were not great thinkers, nor did they care to be. They were story tellers; that is all. Yet, in their sociohistorical ignorance, the brothers accomplished much more than they wanted to. In essence, they were able to expose a patriarchal society and the tools by which that society operates to manipulate and control women.
Though many feminine scholars have concluded the symbolic significance of the Little Red maiden as the female clitoris, it is worth noting that her role is one of contrivance. The direct implication is that in fear of being consumed by a lustful life, a life that leads to all earthly ills, from birth out-of-wedlock to sexually transmitted diseases, women should not explore their sexuality.
As far as the grandmother is concerned, she is represented by the male, a big bad male wolf. In this case, the grandmother has been replaced by the wolf, though, inherently she is the wolf. Grandmothers are at the crown of patriarchal society in that it has been their role to pass down traditions to their daughters and granddaughters, raising them as good, passive, obedient wives. As a result, she reestablishes the same patriarchal society in which she was raised and is reduced to a symbolic reminder that the old will be reborn in the young.
It must be understood that the Grimm’s version of Little Red has been revised for much younger audiences. From the original oral tales up to Perrault’s version, the tales were so ribald they often received charges of indecency from the Vatican. An example from an earlier version shows a much more provocative account of Little Red’s encounter with the wolf. "Take off your clothes and come under the covers," says the wolf to Little Red Riding Hood. "I need to go outside and relieve myself," the girl prevaricates. "Urinate in the bed, my child," says the wolf, a wicked gleam in his eye -- and only then does she know it is not Grandmother beneath the bedclothes.
The Grimm brothers were able to tone the story down for children, though the impact is still the same. No longer does Little Red and the Wolf discuss urinating under the covers, instead she interviews the wolf in a rather playful manner. “What big eyes you have” she says to the wolf. “Only the better to see you with, my dear,” replies the wolf. It isn’t until Little Red questions the wolf about its teeth that she discovers it is not Grandmother. “What big teeth you have, Grandmother,” says Red. “Only the better to eat you with,” shouts the wolf. Like the Grandmother, the wolf wants to consume Little Red, thus subjecting her to patriarchal society.
Though some school boards in the U.S. have been pressured to blacklist this fairy tale because of its "overtly" sexual content, the Grimms consciously made their tale more innocent and less erotic than earlier versions. They also restored a "happy ending," which true folktales always have. An earlier, more literary French version left Little Red in the Wolf's stomach -- the better to scare you with its moral!
Yet, what is interesting about Little Red is her strong connection with many other tales of young women in peril, from Sleeping Beauty to the South American myth of La Llorona, the woman of the night that comes to take away unsuspecting young, naïve women. Her story is also one of deception and tragedy, though her big bad wolf is a Spanish soldier who romanced her, fathered her children, and then left her for a more beautiful Spanish woman back home. Lovesick and seeking revenge, La Llorona drowned her children in the river and then committed suicide. She is said to walk the night abducting and killing young women she believes stole her love, thus causing women to police themselves. Bedtime is early for young Latinas.
Although these were not tales created for children, for listeners and readers who knew that the passions of princes are not always chaste, that beautiful girls might grow up to marry beasts, and that lecherous wolves can lurk in the woods or dress up in women's clothes, their impact on the culture of young women is profound. These stories are not simply tales of horror, they are meant to police young women, for surely the male characters in them are in no harm. In fact, for Little Red, it is not only an obvious male that threatens her, but a male that also saves her. It is a man’s world, women just live in it.
posted by Caleab at 11:42 AM
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