Cambridge University has issued a trigger warning for the fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood," citing "adult content" and "themes of violence." The caution was provided to students in advance of a webinar lecture discussing the history of bedtime stories.
The session, organized by Clare College, was offered free of charge to state school pupils as preparation for university-level study, particularly in the humanities. It aimed to encourage students taking GCSEs and A-levels to critically examine childhood stories and "read beneath the surface."
Official course notes stated, "Content warning: Please note this session will involve discussion of some adult content including themes of violence, with reference to fairytales." The original 1697 version of the story depicts the wolf consuming both the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood. A 19th-century adaptation by the Brothers Grimm also contained violent elements, though it concluded with a happier ending.
This incident follows a series of similar warnings at Cambridge. In 2017, the university's English department reportedly placed warnings on lectures covering various classic texts, using red danger icons for content deemed potentially upsetting. These included discussions of sexual violence and assault in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus," and scenes of extreme violence in Euripides' "The Bacchae."
In 2022, the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) advised staff to include content notes on all books and plays featuring violence, discrimination, and illness, stating the aim was to make education more inclusive by preventing excessive student distress.
Lord Toby Young of the Free Speech Union commented to The Sun, "Putting trigger warnings on fairytales is infantilising, even for Cambridge."