Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, a French writer, coined the French term “Conte de Fée”, during the 17th century, which translates to fairy tale in English. She was one of "the most prolific and influential authors [of the genre]... She published four volumes of fairy tales [which] were translated into English in 1699. Her most famous fairy 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; among the three 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 tale within the broader genre, folktale, that features fantasy characters such as fairies, dwarves, mermaids, and giants who often use magic and most often ends with the story's protagonist having lives happily ever after. After. These stories have existed for as long as humanity and are a significant part of every culture around the world having been passed down orally from generation to generation. Many children grew up with Princess Cinderella and the fun-loving teenage mystic Peter Pan; in return they were taught many underlined themes that can be found in almost all fairy tales, the most common being sexism and the false sense of hope, but also one that is a bit ambiguous and is not always so easy to spot but simply significant: racism. “One of the fundamental goals of literature written for children is to impart moral lessons and encourage moral behavior” (Kim). Fairy tales are a product of the era in which they were written, where extreme sexism was rampant. Now, in modern times, girls are still taught, in a sense trained, by men about gender roles and what is feminine and...... middle of paper ......//www. buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/are-these-disney-films-racist>.Nelson, Alyssa. "5 Dumbos." 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. .Tempio, Emily. “The Disturbing Origins of 10 Famous Fairy Tales.” Aromatic thread. Flavorpill Productions, LLC, November 8, 2012. Web. December 12, 2013. .Triska, Zoë. “The true stories behind these Disney movies will ruin your childhood.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, November 12, 2013. Web. December 12. 2013. .