Comments on: Selling Cinderella to our daughters

By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:02:59 +0000

Yep. We start them young!

LikeLike

By: Bev RN

Bev RN — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:11:23 +0000

TODDLERS?!

LikeLike

By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:49:36 +0000

I know what you mean, Bev! I tried explaining to my favourite 5-year old (the one featured in this post) about a Yale study showing that toddlers are more likely to choose ANY food that comes in a Dora The Explorer package – even if it’s exactly the same but more expensive than the non-branded food right next to it. Her response was a flat: “Duh… it’s because we LIKE Dora….!”

LikeLike

By: Bev RN

Bev RN — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:45:25 +0000

But The Paper Bag Princess doesn’t stop the inculcation of young by means of the unbelievable quantity of appealing toys that are directly related to the hero or heroine of the latest movie production.

I babysit and these characters are everywhere! Maybe they aren’t a bad thing – I grew up coloring Betty Grable and Clark Gable wedding pictures and I seem to be psychologically healthy, at least according to me. In fact, I was a 9 year old women’s libber!

Still, it really bothers me when I can’t find a coloring book or children’s placemat that doesn’t feature Spider Man, Tinker Bell or the like. Hey! Maybe I could convince those hero hawkers that I’m helping advertise their products and deserve a cut of the profits! Whadya think?

LikeLike

By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 23:58:46 +0000

Good point, Ellen. Princess-love is just one of many societal influences on little girls. And consider the 1980 anti-princess children’s book The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch – in which Princess Elizabeth realizes that she is better off without the ungrateful Prince Ronald and sets off into the sunset to live her own happy ending!

LikeLike

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 23:29:24 +0000

This is not a new thing, tho the serious marketing is…

I’m 65, and loved all things princessy when I was little, & always drew princesses (they have lovely dresses). When I was in my 20s there was a book out called something like “The Cinderella Syndrome” which talked about girls waiting around for Prince Charming… I grew up to be a feminist, and one of the first females working in my field, so princess-love is not necessarily permanent.

LikeLike

By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:37:47 +0000

I agree – and it starts so early in life as our children are bombarded with marketing messages! “I want, I want, I want…” becomes the mantra of the tiniest child. And industry is specifically targeting this demographic – even through seemingly innocent fairytale characters!

LikeLike

By: Dr. Jose Hernandez

Dr. Jose Hernandez — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:29:54 +0000

I did not think I was going to enjoy reading this piece, but I was converted while reading; specially the last paragraph.

The point that our society puts too much emphasis on possessions, not just for girls, should be a concern to all of us. I am a staunch believer of free-markets but the marketing that inevitably accompanies such economic practice often erodes traditional values important to me. As Orenstein writes, we may end up with a legion of stepsisters; in my opinion, an outcome that will debase much of the family values: a true calamity.

LikeLike