Cinderella
"Who doesn’t love Cinderella? Millions, it turns out." Though millions have loved and learned from the fairy tale Cinderella, many find fault with it themes, or supposed ones -- "girls are taught to be pushovers, do all the housework and that their problems will disappear if they’re hot enough to land a rich husband;" "her Fairy Godmother...waited years to improve Cinderella’s life in any way, instead of helping her out when her parents died, or when her step family forced her into slavery;" "Depicting a female who appears utterly helpless until a male swoops in and rescues her from all of her troubles sends a troubling message;” "It’s much healthier for girls to recognize their own problem-solving skills, rather than look to boys as the solution."
The origins of the Cinderella story as we know it appear in the French fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault in 1697 (and the brothers Grimm probably have a hand in it somewhere). It is a "persecuted heroine" theme, in which the heroine finds happiness after years of abuse and neglect. No use hating on that. However it happens, isn’t it a good thing to find happiness and success after years of problems or abuse?
Dolce and Gabbana
Being homosexual and a former couple did not spare fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana from the vitriol for not toeing the party line. They spoke against artificial insemination and for the traditional family as one thing that "must not be changed." Afterward, a cacophony of celebrities lashed out against the two in familiar fashion -- from boycotting their designs to burning them. Gabbana said of singer Elton John, "You preach understanding. You preach tolerance. And then you put the knife in? All because someone else doesn’t see things your way?"
I kinda hate to keep plucking this same string. But others such as Dolce and Gabbana also notice that those who most vociferously preach tolerance often don't have much tolerance for those who don't see things their way.
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