Alicia Keys has no qualms about laying down the law when it comes to her children's movie-watching habits — especially the classics most people don't think twice about.
The singer and her husband, Swizz Beatz, have two young boys — 6-year-old Egypt and 10-month-old Genesis. Keys says in a new interview with Net-A-Porter's The Edit that she feels like she was meant to have little dudes: “I feel like it’s by design that I’m raising boys; like there’s a reason. I really feel that," she said. “They say that every child learns from their mother — it’s ingrained from babyhood."
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That's why Keys is hyper-aware of what seemingly harmless childhood staples can imprint on young men. "Have you watched Snow White lately? I get real funky about the classics; I don’t like [my sons] watching it. It’s totally sexist, misogynistic — she’s cleaning for seven dwarfs." She continued, "There’s nothing wrong with a woman who chooses to stay at home with her family, it’s a hard-ass job, but it’s the way it’s spoken about."
She's not making this shit up. Seriously, go back and watch Snow White, and tell me you don't get an icky feeling watching Snow White happily performing her domestic duties for these seven little men. Those dwarves ain't got no respect for the ladies. And Snow White is not unusual; the bulk of classic Disney movies (and many old kids' movies in general) are laced with sexism and misogyny — as well as racism, colonialism, the promulgation of unrealistic body images, and the supposed need for a male savior. And those certainly aren't lessons that Alicia Keys' little boys — or any kids, really — need to learn.
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