Voyeurism And Sexualization In Francesca Lia Block's Little Red Riding Hood

Francesca Lia Block’s variant of “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Wolf”, depicts the themes of voyeurism and the sexualization of young girls. “Wolf” can be read as a variant of “Little Red Riding Hood”, as it encapsulates the fetishization and sexualization of young girls, and includes a ‘wolf’, or predator, that the protagonist is running from. The journey away from her home reflects her coming of age, as she matures and decides she doesn’t want to be taken advantage of anymore, describing the smell of her fear in tandem with the smell of freedom. It also discusses the protagonist's agency, a theme seen in “Little Red Riding Hood”, as she decides to leave and run away from the wolf’s abuse, but also avenges her and her mom by pulling the trigger.

Block’s retelling is feminist, as she calls out society for its patriarchal structure that enables young girls to be sexualized, and challenges the expectations surrounding young women. To begin, Block uses her protagonist’s narratives about her body and voyeurism to illustrate the harmful perspective the patriarchy holds against young girls. The protagonist is described to dislike P.E., because “[She hates] getting undressed in front of some of those stupid bitches who like to see what kind of underwear you have on so that they can dis you in yet another ingenious way. (Block)” The protagonist’s anecdote demonstrates that young girls are adopting these harmful ‘rules’ set by the patriarchy, implying that girls must wear a certain type of underwear, presumably one that appeals to the male gaze. Further, the protagonist’s immediate assumption of her male peer’s dream day is to “fuck Pamela Lee, (Block )” in contrast to her own dream day, which is to “swim in blue-crystal water all day naked without being afraid in a warm, clean, safe place” (Block

The significance of the contemporary setting, coupled with Hallet and Karasek’s observation, expresses the urgency of Block’s feminist adaptation; not only is Block highlighting the horrible reality of how young girls are seen in a patriarchal society, she also demonstrates that it is still a significant issue amongst girls and ‘wolves’ in modern society. The idea that young girls in a modern society are still internalizing the harmful narrative of how male happiness is related to sexual desire, while female happiness is from simple freedoms such as being free of fear, is a harmful implication that Block is bringing attention to in this story. On top of that, Block juxtaposes the wolf and the boy to demonstrate that girls can be seen by males in a nonsexual way; one that does not elicit fantasization or fetishization in some way. The protagonist describes her dislike of being looked at, a result of the way the wolf looked at