Apparently, brunette little girls in casual attire are harder to handle than princesses.
Ad for Tropicana orange juice's new packaging behind the cut. (Via Sociological Images)
There's so much... wrong here. But basically - business-looking, brunette little girl with kick-butt clothes and a "I'm not going to take your shit" scowl is marketed as a "difficult" object, and white-wearing, virginal looking blonde girl with a coy smile and "come hither" oddly sexualized pose is "easy." And little girls are objects? What?
I mean, it doesn't even make sense that Girl On The Right is "harder" to handle. She has perfectly coiffed princess hair, an easily stained white dress and a mischievous grin! Bitch would demand $200 dresses and con you with a smile! (Facetious, sort of.)
I'm aware some readers may find that I'm over-analyzing such an image, or making too much of it, but... these images are our culture. And what it says about our culture - that these tropes are supposed to be commonly understood and easily accessible - is frankly bothersome.
Honestly, the worst part is knowing how these images, no matter how innocently-made, can really seep into your consciousness over time. And I'd much rather have a child that doesn't take shit from strangers than some little hothouse flower who can't stand up for herself. Even if that makes her "difficult."
I would love to parent a little girl, and will do everything in my power to tell her she can kick butt and doesn't have to take anyone's shit. And I don't doubt she'll listen. But... I still hate this world that she would grow up in. And even seemingly innocuous freakin' orange juice ads have to reinforce a gendered binary that "good girls" smile and are passive, while "bad girls" are confrontational/assertive.
Ugh, why?
There's so much... wrong here. But basically - business-looking, brunette little girl with kick-butt clothes and a "I'm not going to take your shit" scowl is marketed as a "difficult" object, and white-wearing, virginal looking blonde girl with a coy smile and "come hither" oddly sexualized pose is "easy." And little girls are objects? What?
I mean, it doesn't even make sense that Girl On The Right is "harder" to handle. She has perfectly coiffed princess hair, an easily stained white dress and a mischievous grin! Bitch would demand $200 dresses and con you with a smile! (Facetious, sort of.)
I'm aware some readers may find that I'm over-analyzing such an image, or making too much of it, but... these images are our culture. And what it says about our culture - that these tropes are supposed to be commonly understood and easily accessible - is frankly bothersome.
Honestly, the worst part is knowing how these images, no matter how innocently-made, can really seep into your consciousness over time. And I'd much rather have a child that doesn't take shit from strangers than some little hothouse flower who can't stand up for herself. Even if that makes her "difficult."
I would love to parent a little girl, and will do everything in my power to tell her she can kick butt and doesn't have to take anyone's shit. And I don't doubt she'll listen. But... I still hate this world that she would grow up in. And even seemingly innocuous freakin' orange juice ads have to reinforce a gendered binary that "good girls" smile and are passive, while "bad girls" are confrontational/assertive.
Ugh, why?