Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, a French writer, coined the French term "Conte de Fée", in the 17th century, which translates to fairy tale in English. She was one of "the genre's most prolific and influential authors...She published four volumes of fairy tales [which] were translated into English in 1699. Her most famous tale today is The White Cat » (Heiner). There were many other authors whose work is still praised today, such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm; between them, they composed Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Snow White. The most widely accepted definition of a fairy tale is a short story in the broader genre, the folk tale, which features fantastical characters such as fairies, dwarves, mermaids, and giants who often use magic and most often ends with the story's protagonist living happily ever after. After. These stories have been around as long as humanity and are an important part of all cultures around the world, passed down orally from generation to generation. Many children grew up with the princesses Cinderella and the mystical and funny teenager Peter Pan; in return, they were taught many underlying themes found in almost all fairy tales, the most common being sexism and the false sense of hope, but also a somewhat ambiguous theme and not always so easy to spot but just significant: racism. “One of the most fundamental purposes of literature written for children is to convey moral lessons and encourage moral behavior” (Kim). Fairy tales are a product of the times in which they were written, where extreme sexism was rampant. Today, in modern times, men continue to teach young girls, in one way or another, about gender roles and what is feminine and...... middle of paper . .....//www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/are-these-disney-movies-racist>.Nelson, Alyssa. “5Dumbo.” Disney films and racism /. PBworks, May 11, 2009. Web. December 12, 2013. .Schwartz, Daylle Deanna. “Marriage is not a fairy tale.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, September 26, 2013. Web. December 12, 2013. .Temple, Emily. “The Troubling Origins of 10 Famous Fairy Tales.” Flavor thread. Flavorpill Productions, LLC, November 8, 2012. Web. December 12, 2013. .Triska, Zoë. “The REAL Stories Behind These Disney Movies Will Ruin Your Childhood.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, November 12, 2013. Web. December 12. 2013. .