Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

[snarksnarklaugh]

By Stephanie Hanes, / Correspondent

Comments

[tiddlywinks103]

Given this backdrop, many child development experts say the best way to handle the media onslaught for younger girls is for parents to simply opt out.

The crux of the matter, imo. Also, tho, watching a Disney movie or being on Facebook won't sexualize and mentally fuck up your daughter. Failing to to sit her down and talk about the potential problems with these things and most media outlets will. Not talking openly about sexism, racism, homo/transphobia, etc, will just allow these tools of entertainment to be the only way she can decipher the world and her worth in it.

There are plenty of smart, intelligent places on the web for people to be, just there's equally disgusting ignorant and offensive places.

[porcelain72]

Yes, thank you, that's where this article rubs me the wrong way. This "the all-powerful media is the Satan that controls our children's minds and turns them into sex fiends" shit is so old. 12 year-old girls are going out and buying thongs? Where are they getting the money from? Who's taking them to the mall? If little girls are developing body image issues, it's probably more likely because they hear their own mothers complaining about their bodies, or worse, making comments about a fat person. My generation (Generation X) is so unwilling to take responsibility for anything, it's absurd and embarrassing. It's always someone else's fault.

[squeeful]

Heh. My mother is incapable of realizing that I never had a body image issue until she started trying to make me feel better about the way I look.

[firerosearien]

My mom once gave me a two hour lecture on why I should get a nose job.

And I was like, uh, fuck no.

[homasse]

And also, they were talking about padded bras for five-year-olds. Guess what, those five-year-olds AREN'T the ones buying them - their parents are.

[fatpie42]

This.

[roseofjuly]

And 8-12 year olds wearing mascara? My dad would've killed me if I left the house with a speck of makeup on my face at age 12. A SPECK.

[tiddlywinks103]

ita. This idea that things we created are, in and of themselves, responsible for our kids is laughable. And yeah, I don't know many pre-teens paying for their own clothes or internet access, so there has to be an adult around allowing this.

[jiaren_shadow]

ITA. Though I don't think "opting out" is the best option; you can't shut your child off from the world, but you can have an open dialogue about what your child is watching, what ze wants to buy, what websites ze goes to, what ze and hir friends think about certain issues, etc. Watch the Disney princess movies with your kid and talk about what makes the princesses good role models or bad role models, or how what happens in the movie isn't like real life. If your kid asks you for thongs/padded bras/heels, talk about why ze wants those things. Kids are capable of critical thinking; they just need to have it nourished by open dialogue and being prompted to think.

[roseofjuly]

And the thing is, if you pretend it doesn't exist they're only going to hear about it at school, or at a friend's house, or out where you can't control their exposure. Talking to girls about it is much better.

[xforge]

At least two or three times a day my eight-year-old granddaughter hears from me the words "Kid, you watch too much TV" and she correctly interprets that as me saying, we don't act like they do on TV here in the real world. It seems to be working.