by basprunger in Little Known Fairy Tales, Unconventional Fairy Tales Tags: Andrew Lang, fairy tales, gay fairy tale, Iliane, lesbian fairy tale, princesses, The Girl Who Pretended to be a Boy, Transgender, Transgender Fairy Tales, Unconventional Fairy Tales, Violet Fairy Book

Many of the stories we were told as children are built on a foundation of traditional gender roles. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White (among others) all need to be rescued by strong, sword-toting young men. Although they are less well-known, however, there are transgender fairy tales out there. A perfect example of this is “The Girl Who Pretended to be a Boy,” which can be most easily found in Andrew Lang’s “Violet Fairy Book.”

Since this text is out of print, I’ll summarize. The story starts off a little like “Mulan.” A great emperor takes over a lesser kingdom and offers the king peace on the condition that he send one of his sons in for ten years of service. The king, however, has three daughters and no sons, so he tests the girls to decide who to send. Although all three of the daughters try, only the youngest is enough of a “manly” warrior to pass the king’s test. She goes into the emperor’s service. After proving her worth to the emperor in many ways, he selects her to go on a difficult quest to bring him the woman of his dreams, the beautiful Iliane.

After being rescued by the disguised princess, however, Iliane falls in love with her. The princess, who reciprocates these feelings, wishes she was a man. To make a long story a bit shorter, they eventually run away together. A hermit who tries to stop them curses the princess, changing her gender. The princess, however, is glad to finally be the man she wanted to be all along. The text reads “when the princess suddenly felt she was really the man she had pretended to be, she was delighted.” Obviously, they get married and live happily ever after.

Although the story is pretty lengthy, I actually find it more engaging than many of the fairy tales I heard as a child. It certainly beats hearing about helpless heroines. Maybe, with more publicity and encouragement of tolerance, this tale can find its way back into bedtime stories.