While preparing my application assignment I was talking to Professor Ide and recommended a book to me called “Cinderella ate my daughter”. I didn’t have time to read it, but I looked through a couple different book reviews about it, and thought it raised some very interesting themes. Most importantly was the author, Peggy Orenstein’s views on the princess complex that controls almost every American girl from ages 2 to 6.
Orenstein believes that Disney and princess themed merchandise and apparel set young girls up for failure because of unrealistic expectations. For example the idea of waiting for your “knight in shining armor” or “prince charming” to come take you away to live happily ever after is damaging because it instills the idea the women are judge on their beauty.
The next phase for little girls is the “tween” at which time to break away from the princess she moves on to the less girlie and sexier Bratz dolls, and so begins beauty and sexy being the most important attributes. In general the author blames Disney for all the stereotypes and stages little girls go through. Specifically Orenstein blames the Disney starlets who play the innocent virgin angle on Disney for a couple years and then end up drunk and disorderly or slutty and sending nude pictures (ex: Lindsay Lohan and Selena Gomez)
Orenstein sees little girls as being set down the path of princess turned whore regardless of how well they excel at other important aspects of their lives. She feels like the culture encourages this behavior from girls that it’s almost a rite of passage for girl to constantly be proving physically they are feminine.
The advice she offers to parents is to say ‘no’ more.
I agree with you. All my life i struggled to feminine enough. Princesses hair is nice and neat, flawless skin, no glasses, and beautifully dressed. I grew up a tomboy in the middle of nowhere and figured i would never have a knight and shining armor. i thought i had to be like a princess to be accepted. It is not fair for little girls to see these petite princesses and aspire to be like them. Girls need to know that Disney's standard of perfection should not be theirs. Theses standards set at such a young age can cause future relationships to suffer. I had a friend who calls herself a princess and will only settle for a prince. Well that's fine and good if you are out of your ever loving mind. Nobody is perfect and being "perfect" will not promise happiness.Luckily for me i had a mother and other female role models that taught me to love myself, flaws and all. After all we all have flaws and i find that as perfection. We are human and bound to make mistakes, have flaws, and be different. Little girls need lessons like that.
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