I notice that just about all young children's stories (fairy tales, etc) depict women in a subordinate role. This hit me while reading Cinderella: her ultimate goal in life is to be the prettiest so that she can marry the rich boy and make babies. More generally, females are absent, or if present, they're following boys or performing household tasks.
Having two daughters, I can't help but think that they'll in some way absorb this cultural baggage. I would rather raise them to be self-reliant and independent, and ready to embrace desires other than cooking and finding a boyfriend. Can anyone recommend any good sources of beginner-level books/movies/etc that have a more egalitarian approach?