The editorial by Anthony M Schreiber explores the evolution of classic bedtime stories through a politically correct lens, questioning whether tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and others inadvertently perpetuated outdated biases. Citing American author James Finn Garner, the piece highlights revisions to stories such as Sleeping Beauty, now reimagined as “sleeping person of better-than-average attractiveness,” and Snow White, who now associates with “seven vertically challenged persons.” The article humorously reinterprets characters, reframing the “ugly duckling” as “the duckling that was judged on its personal merits” and portraying Snow White’s stepmother as a victim of “social conditioning in a male hierarchical dictatorship.”
Garner’s work, Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, reworks narratives to address perceived sexism, racism, and ageism, with even the magical mirror in Snow White offering a revised compliment about the protagonist’s “perfect weight for her shape and height.” The editorial also jokes about Little Red Riding Hood encountering a “cross-dressing wolf” and Granny being “in full physical and mental health.” The piece concludes with a lighthearted challenge to readers to reconsider storytelling traditions, ending with a rhetorical question: “Do we still call a spade a spade?” The tone balances satire with a nod to modern sensibilities, inviting reflection on how cultural narratives shape perceptions.