Classic children’s books in a Cambridge University archive are set to be labelled with ‘trigger warnings’ for ‘harmful content relating to slavery, colonialism and racism’.
Researchers are reviewing over 10,000 books and magazines in an effort to expose offensive authors. This is after campaigners demanded that teachers stop using racial slurs while reading Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
With other modern classics like Little House On The Prairie and the works of Dr Seuss dubbed as potentially harmful, Femail has examined other children’s texts which have come under fire.
Criticism includes that of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book which was slammed for it’s ‘colonial’ depiction of animals and Roald Dahl’s Matilda which was dubbed transphobic for it’s portrayal of masculine Miss Trunchbull.
FEMAIL looks at the possibility of other bedtime stories being ‘cancelled.
THE JUNGLE BOOK
Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 book The Jungle Book was accused of being part of the construction ‘colonial English national identity.’
Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 work The Jungle book is a collection of stories set in a forest in India with a cast of animals and ‘man-cub’ Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves.
Although the book and its many adaptations are a childhood favorite, critics have criticized the novel for being part the construction of a ‘colonial English nation identity’.
In 2001, academic Jopi Nyman argued that the book’s depiction of Indian children and animals contribute ‘imagining of Englishness as a site of power and racial superiority’.
He argued that not all animals are depicted equally in the book. The author depicts “colonial animals as racistized”, while characters such as “White Seal” promote the “true English identity”.
Modern criticisms of Kipling’s 1899 poem The White Man’s Burden have focused on his advocacy for colonialism and depiction of other races as inferior.
A 1967 film adaptation Kipling’s novel, has also been praised, mainly for its depiction King Louie, an ape. This has been accused of perpetuating the stereotype of African Americans.
MATILDA
Roald Dahl’s beloved 1988 novel Matilda was accused by one online critic of being transphobic due to it’s portrayal of Miss Trunchbull
Roald Dahl’s beloved 1988 novel Matilda has been a favourite among young readers for decades, telling the story of a young girl who escapes her abusive parents with the help of her kind teacher miss Honey.
However it’s not Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood some readers have a problem with, with one online critic claiming the depiction of Matilda’s tyrannical headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is transphobic.
The character is portrayed as having a ‘gigantic and formidable’ physique including with large shoulders, arms and legs with a ‘deep and dangerous voice’. She is not feminine and is known by her first name, Agatha.
Meanwhile, Miss Honey is perceived as much more feminine, beautiful and smaller than Miss Trunchbull, described as ‘like a porcelain figure.”
According to one online critic writing for Salon magazine, Trunchbull is an allegory for ‘the hubris of being transgender’.
‘Women need to be aware of their limitations, and should not imitate men’s authority.
HARRY POTTER
A few Harry Potter fans have claimed that the book’s depiction of goblins in Harry Potter is anti-Semitic
Last year J.K. Rowling was embroiled in a series of transphobia rows after mocking an online article using the words ‘people who menstruate’ and featuring a male serial killer who dresses as a woman to slay his victims in her latest book.
Online critics don’t just find the author’s opinions offensive. A few Harry Potter readers have claimed that the book’s portrayal goblins is antisemitic.
Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only only bank of the wizarding world and is owned and operated by goblins who are said to be ‘clever as they come, but not the most friendly of beasts.’
Social media critics have suggested that these goblins with hooked noses and a desire to own gold are antisemitic stereotypes.
This claim has been disputed by several critics, who pointed out 2004 comments Rowling made comparing the terminology in the book to the anti-Semitic propaganda from the Nazis and how Lord Voldemort was based in part on Hitler.
BEAUTY AND THE BEST
Some critics have claimed that Beauty and the Beast explores themes of Stockholm Syndrome, which describes the phenomenon of people forming alliances with their captors
Some critics believe that Beauty and the Beast doesn’t really tell a romantic love story. It is more about a kidnapped girl who develops Stockholm Syndrome.
The original tale, written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740, has been adapted several times including into the much-loved 1991 animation.
Belle eventually falls in love with her captor and is forbidden to leave the castle.
Stockholm Syndrome refers to the phenomenon of captives forming alliances. It was named after four hostages who were taken in a Stockholm bank Robbery in 1973.
Emma Watson, however, who played Belle, in Disney’s live action version of the story, said that although she ‘grappled” with the question at first, she decided that her character was able ‘keep it her independence.
THE SECRET GARDEN
The Secret Garden is a novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was first published in book form in 1911. It has been criticised for its racist dialect and colonial overtones.
The Secret Garden is a novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was first published in book form in 1911. It has been widely criticised for its racist dialect and colonial overtones.
The novel tells the story of 10-year-old girl Mary who was born in British India to wealthy British parents who neglect her and she is cared for primarily by servants who allow her to become spoilt and demanding.
After Mary’s parents die in a cholera epidemic, their few remaining servants flee her house. Mary is then placed temporarily under the care of an English clergyman.
Mary’s maid, in one scene from the novel, says to Mary, “I thought that you were a black also,” which causes Mary stamp her foot and to say: “You thought that I was a native!” You dared! You don’t know much about natives! They are not human.
Other concerning lines include Mary speaking about house staff in India: ‘They are not people – they’re servants who must salaam to you.’
NARNIA’S CHRONICLES
Some controversial themes have been criticized in CS Lewis’ classic fantasy novels. Pictured, the cover for his novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
CS Lewis’ classic fantasy novels have been criticized for their controversial themes, despite children’s fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe being voted Britain’s most popular book.
The Calormene empire, an empire in the south part of Narnia inhabited the Calormenes, is part of the fantasy world created and maintained by the author.
According to the Telegraph’s Edward Lucas, the depiction Calormenes as ‘cruel and ancient’ is racist stereotyping of a kind common in the GA Henty era, now thankfully forgotten.’
Philip Pullman, a novelist and critic of the Chronicles of Narnia, called them ‘blatantly racism’ in an interview with The Observer. He said that the books contained a ‘peevish mix of racist, misogynistics, and reactionary prejudice’.
Pullman, who wrote His Dark Materials trilogy, stated that the book was “colonially demeaning of girls and women.” It is blatantly racially insensitive. One girl was sent to hell for her interest in boys and clothes.
PETER PAN
J. M. Barrie’s 1904 Peter Pan play, 1911 novel, 1911 novel, and subsequent screen adaptations have been criticized for their portrayal of Native Americans
J. M. Barrie’s 1904 Peter Pan play, novel 1911 novel, as well as their subsequent screen adaptations, have faced controversy over how Native Americans are depicted.
Critics argue that the novel has racist undertones. The author refers to Tiger Lily’s status as a princess of the ‘Piccaninny tribal’ and often uses the offensive expression’redskins.
After saving her life, Tiger Lily declares Peter “the Great White Father”.
The 1953 animated adaptation of Peter Pan warns viewers that Native Americans Indians are called’redskins’.
Disney claims that the scenes in which Peter, The Lost Boys, and The Lost Boys dance in Native American headdresses were a ‘form mockery andappropriation of Native Peoples’ culture and imagery.
DR. DOLITTLE
Hugh Lofting’s “Dr. Dolittle’s first publication was in 1920. However, it was modified in the late ’80s to remove some offensive content.
Hugh Lofting’s “Dr. Dolittle’ was first published in 1920 however in the late ’80s was altered to remove the racist content.
In one passage from the original book, the protagonist helps an African prince who wants to marry a Caucasian princess by bleaching his skin while the novel also featured offensive illustrations of African people.
Isabelle Suhl, Librarian, called the book “chauvinistic” and called the protagonist “the personification Of The Great White Father Nobly Bearing White Man’s Burden”.
She told the New York Times that her creator was a “white racist and an chauvinist, guilty almost of every prejudice known to modern western man.”