Natalie Portman slams the ‘skewed gender assignment’ of traditional fairy stories

Natalie Portman wants children Aleph, 9, and Amalia, 4, to defy gender stereotypes as she slams the ‘skewed gender assignment’ of traditional fairytales

Natalie Portman wants her children to defy gender stereotypes.

The actress, 39, shares Aleph, nine, and four-year-old Amalia with husband Benjamin Millepied, and has released a book titled Natalie Portman’s Fables.

The book was inspired by the way she used to change pronouns in the fairytales she told, because she was tired of how they didn’t reflect the world.

Re-write! Natalie Portman wants her children to defy gender stereotypes

She told HELLO! magazine: ‘I found myself changing the pronouns in many of their books because so many of them had overwhelmingly male characters, disproportionate to reality.

‘All books and movies should be reflective of the world, rather than have this kind of skewed gender assignment.

‘Boys need to see that women have a multitude of opportunities open to them, to consider what they think and feel, and how they experience the world.

‘[In films and books] women don’t just need to be bad-ass warriors or fierce and confident. We also need characters who have self doubt, who make mistakes, because we all mess up, we’re human.’

Tome: The Black Swan star has released a book titled Natalie Portman's Fables

Tome: The Black Swan star has released a book titled Natalie Portman’s Fables

Natalie insisted just praising women isn’t helpful either. She added: ‘So many people say things like “Women are stronger and better leaders” and think they’re making a feminist statement.

‘But it’s limiting for a woman, for anyone, to be put on a pedestal!’

Referencing the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Black Swan star added: ‘A pedestal is just another kind of cage.’

When it came to the language of the book, Natalie knew exactly what would make kids laugh.

‘I wrote it for [my children]. They were the first readers of my work, so I got to test it out on them and see how to keep their attention,’ she explained.

The actress, 39, shares Aleph, nine, and four-year-old Amalia with husband Benjamin Millepied [pictured February 2020]

The actress, 39, shares Aleph, nine, and four-year-old Amalia with husband Benjamin Millepied [pictured February 2020]