Thought I'd share a piece from Snow White Gets Her Say

(the whole thing can be downloaded here) https://www.hellyeahimafeminist.com/wp-content/EBOOKS/Snow White Gets Her Say - chris wind.epub

The Wicked Stepmother

Rumour has it that I was cruel to my stepdaughter, kicked her out of the house, and tried to kill her. All because I was jealous of her beauty. As usual, rumour is somewhat exaggerated. And somewhat incorrect.

I did not try to kill her. (However in one case, I did send her away. But not because of the king’s decreased attention to me, no, it was because of his increased attention to her—I was trying to protect her).

As for beauty (that is, sexual attractiveness), at my age she’d realize it doesn’t last. And if that’s all a woman has, well, when she loses that, she loses everything. An old man can keep his wealth; women don’t have riches to keep. An old man can keep his title (king, duke, knight, nobleman, priest, minstrel, blacksmith, cobbler); women’s titles (whore, madonna, or mother) go when menopause comes. An old man can be a sage; women do have knowledge, but no authority to use it (we become witches, not wise men).

So, men have replacements for their sexual potency; women don’t. So men remain powerful without sexuality; women don’t. Knowing all of this, I never put much store in sexual attractiveness. So no, I was not jealous of her beauty. If anything, I was jealous of her youth: she had more time to develop other resources, other reasons to be valued and respected.

And so yes, knowing all of this, I insulted her looks, I made fun of her, I was cruel to her: I discouraged her pursuit of beauty, hoping she would then pursue those other resources, those other reasons—those alternatives! Don’t you see? To be feminine is to be beautiful; I thought if I denied the beauty, she’d have to redefine the feminine. (For all of us to live happily ever after.)