I need your opinion on something, yes you taking a break from Netflix (thanks!). Is Cinderella really such an anti-feminist movie? Here’s the thing…

Apparently, progressive ladies aren’t too fond of Cinderella, or so I’ve heard. I’ve also heard that someone even wrote a new version of Cinderella in which Cindy refuses the hand of Prince Charming in the end and feminists everywhere loved it because it showed Cinderella as a strong, independent woman who don’t need no man.

Is it just my Y-chromosome pitching a hissy fit or was that the stupidest decision of Cinderella’s life?

I guess on one hand it makes sense. I’ll try to step into a woman’s shoes for a second (I suddenly crave chocolate) and I suppose I see the problem: Cindy can do nothing on her own and needs a man to rescue her. Women don’t like to be seen as helpless waifs just sitting around waiting for the big, strong man to rescue them from the bad guys. And, even as a guy, I get tired of reading those characters. I mean do something for goodness sake.

So I get that women want strong, independent heroes in their media. That’s why Katniss, Ripley, and Wonder Woman are so famous.

On the other hand, hating this story almost seems sexist. While I get the anger, some extremes go way too far in the other direction. It seems that some women are offended that Cinderella needed help from a man simply because he’s a man, and that she should have refused his offer not because of their lack of real love, but because, again, he’s a man and asking a man for help is a weakness.

Frankly, that’s sexist…against both sexes.

From a guy’s perspective, refusing my help based on my sex is insulting. It says I’m a bad guy just for being born this way (hey, if the gays can say it, so can I).  But what’s worse is calling a woman weak because she needs a man’s help.

Newsflash: everybody needs everybody’s help. The women in Cinderella’s life made her miserable, so a man was her only real choice. And every man needs a woman to help them from time to time, too. My wife and I have rescued each other more times than we can count. And I hate when either sex says that needing the other sex is a weakness. Men, you can’t be strong on your own. Women, neither can you. Each of us has half the puzzle and we need the other half–not necessarily in a romantic way, but as friends, parents, and leaders.

Personally, I think men and women are two sides of God. Neither of us can be independent because neither of us is God.

But what do you think? Is Cinderella going too far with the damsel-in-distress motif? Should the haters back off? What’s your experience?