pooh pooh to pink

ok i have just read a truly interesting book. and if you have a daughter (particularly a young one) you should go get a copy. its called "cinderella ate my daughter" by peggy orenstein and it is a must read for raising our girls in the girlie girl consumer swamp we live in. now let me start by saying i truly enjoy things that are feminine. i like pink. but...in moderation. and i dont let the "girlie" material dictate my life - thats easy to say for someone who did not grow up in the girl explosion years and who is now (gasp) 30 something. but i think this is far more relevant for the girls right now in their formative years. when i read this book it made really stop and think "whoa."

the author starts off right at the stage i see my daughter entering. the princess phase. she has real issues with the disney princesses and although i started off thinking - well i grew up watching those films and reading the stories and im a confident successful person who didnt dream of being saved by my own prince - with the way girls are marketed to now, there is definitely something to what she is saying. firstly the disney version of these princess stories are pretty wimpy. these princesses dont do much of anything. snow white is a bit ocd and is happy to clean for a group of men - even before meeting them, cinderella doesn't really do anything to better her situation but "wish upon a star", sleeping beauty sings and dreams of a man to "complete her", and worst of worsts....ariel literally gives up her voice for the chance to be with a man (um...i have chills at this...how did i not notice that?!) she doesnt delve into each of the princesses in detail, but i sort of did a run down in my head (ackowledging that i may well have overlooked things - ie ariel's mute-ness) but feel that my childhood fav belle is probably still the best option. here is a girl who doesnt acclimate herself to her society even at the villagers' mocking "that girl is so pe-cul-iar" "with her nose stuck in a book" - she loves books, and reading is how she spends her free time, she is loyal to her father and so much so that she gave up her freedom so her father could get well and live, but in doing so she does not cower to her captor, she doesnt bow to his commands (eating when she feels like it not when he demands it) and then although she is at first scared by the beast, she sees the inner good in him, regardless of his looks and even returns to help him after she has been freed - because she knows he kind. (im sort of proud that this was the princess i liked best ha). i say all this to qualify that i do not despise the princesses in total and i'm not saying im forbidding my girls from watching these - i mean they are fairytales - but it does give one pause to ensure that they also hear stories of strong women who have personal goals and aren't relying on someone else to make their happily ever afters.

the book goes on to address so many more very important issues; the teen pop idols, the getting- older-younger marketing phenom, the pink materialism cultural explosion, social media and so much more that really is so important for parents (and adults in general) to take note of. i have to tell you my view has changed most certainly as i walk into a store, or even when i hear even myself affectionately call estelle "my princess" ...i hope it has made me more conscious of my decisions when buying things, and allowing things in our home. im not talking life revision but i am talking life moderating.