Indeed.
But I have, perhaps righteously, perhaps judgmentally, definitely relievedly, been glad that her pink obsession does not include The Princesses. You know the ones; you must--there are actually 26,000 Princess items (and those are just the official Disney ones) on the market. They're everywhere.
That's my problem. I don't really believe liking pink or princesses, even those princesses, is bad. I don't really think it will harm her self esteem or self-image, limit her academic possibilities, or engulf her in artificial, superficial, detrimental gender stereotypes. I don't think she's "better" than the princesses per se, or the girls who like princesses and pink. I just don't want her to buy into it, emphasis on the "buy." I understand the developmental stage that Peggy Orenstein writes about in Cinderella Ate My Daughter (which I haven't read; I have read the original article, the book review, and the Motherlode post, among other things), in which gender rules are inflexible because gender itself seems so fluid to young children. But I abhor supporting the marketers making a quick buck (or billion bucks) by exploiting that.
I liked pink. I loved Princess Leia and Snow White and Belle. I was Tinkerbell, a princess, and a fairy for various Halloweens. I had Barbies, which I dressed in pink tutus. I liked to pretend I was Queen Guinevere. Mama had similar experiences (even if she was more interested in building a Lego garage for her Barbie's car!). But we couldn't overdose on princesses and pink the way girls can today; it just wasn't possible. Which meant we played with other things--Star Wars, Legos, coloring books, generic dolls and stuffed critters, board games, and such. We're both pretty confident and successful feminist women not beholden to antiquated societal definitions of "female" (well, I say that, as a SAHM giving up career for kids and making cookies and crafts at home. But it's my choice, one I'm fortunate to have the luxury to make. And I didn't do it because of princesses.). Princesses, pink, Barbies, whatever are fine in moderation, like most things (even Star Wars and Legos!). Which is why we painted our fingernails last week--you guessed it--pink! If Sis wants to be a princess, let's go for it. And while we're at it, let Bud explore gender rules and fluidity too . . . and so to be fair, Bud painted his, too, but blue--his choice--and then he painted my toes, one foot blue and one foot pink. I see it as a normal expression of her age's obsession with super heroes (in addition to their obsession with gender roles)--because who are the female superheroes in our culture? You guessed it.
Except, usually, those movie princesses aren't enticing enough. Sis likes her superhero models male--Luke, Harry Potter, Simba--maybe because they do more than dance around singing with animals (okay, except that last one!) while waiting for their prince. So, let's not reject princesses.
Let's just encourage more interesting ones.
Which is why I liked Motherlode's list of books about non-traditional, non-Disney princesses.
