She believes the kiss in the fairytale does not reinforce the message of consent

A mother has asked her son’s school to remove Sleeping Beauty from the curriculum because it promotes and ‘inappropriate sexual’ message.

Sarah Hall, from Northumberland Park, north Tyneside, said the fairytale does not teach children about consent and shouldn’t be read to young children.

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She realised while reading the book to her six-year-old son Ben that it teaches children that it is okay to kiss a woman as she sleeps.

She said: ‘I think it’s a specific issue in the Sleeping Beauty story about sexual behaviour and consent. It’s about saying is this still relevant, is it appropriate?’




The tale features a prince breaking a spell by waking a princess from a deep sleep by kissing her.

Sarah Hall believes that Sleeping Beauty promotes an inappropriate sexual message (Picture: NCJM)

She said she is worried about what message the tale, which features a Prince waking up a Princess by kissing her, sends to impressionable youngsters.

The 40-year-old left a comment in her son’s record book, and contacted the school to ask if books featuring it could be taken out of circulation for younger classes.

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She said: ‘In today’s society, it isn’t appropriate – my son is only six, he absorbs everything he sees, and it isn’t as if I can turn it into a constructive conversation.

‘I don’t think taking Sleeping Beauty books out of circulation completely would be right. I actually think it would be a great resource for older children, you could have a conversation around it, you could talk about consent, and how the Princess might feel.

‘But I’m really concerned about it for younger children, would really welcome a conversation about whether this is suitable material.’

The fairytale sees a young woman put under a curse that can only be broken with the kiss of her one true love

Sarah said she might not have given the story a second thought, but recent coverage of sexual abuse and consent, including the social media ‘Me Too’ campaign, made her think about the subtle messages which, say says, help create a culture where consent isn’t seen as important.

She said: ‘These are indicative of how ingrained that kind of behaviour is in society. All these small things build up, and they make a difference.’

The mum-of-two says there might be problems with other fairytales, but that she is mostly disturbed by the ‘non-consensual’ kissing in this story.

She said: ‘I think it’s a specific issue in the Sleeping Beauty story about sexual behaviour and consent.

‘It’s about saying is this still relevant, is it appropriate?’