Little girls or little women?

[Persia]

In today's highly sexualized environment – where 5-year-olds wear padded bras – some see the toddlers-and-tiaras Disney princess craze leading to the pre-teen pursuit of "hot" looks. Do little girls become little women too soon?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0924/Little-girls-or-little-women-The-Disney-princess-effect?google_editors_picks=true

[_Only]

Yes.

But this quote from the start of the article was ridiculous rhetoric.

A few years ago, Mary Finucane started noticing changes in the way her 3-year-old daughter played. The toddler had stopped running and jumping, and insisted on wearing only dresses. She sat on the front step quietly – waiting, she said, for her prince. She seemed less imaginative, less spunky, less interested in the world.

I'm sure she will never run and jump again. Lonely life waiting on that step all day!

[Ashotep]

I think so and you can blame most of it on the media. Parents should teach their little girls there is no prince charming and its more important to get an education than get a man. Then there's the pageant parents that have their little girls dress like sexy little women, a pedophiles dream.

[portraitartist]

I agree with Jerry and Hilander and also want to say something about the parents of these children. IMO they want to win at any cost, going to great and disturbing lengths (that I think border on abuse) to do so. They are using their children to fullfill their own desires and basically they are pimps, selling their own childrens innocence and vulnerability.

[rashore]

lol, little girls should be handed a copy of the real grimms and parents should get the snot smacked out of them for viewing their own toddlers as sexual objects.

It's disgusting how children, male too but females get it more, are led to believe by their parents and society in general that they aren't good enough right off the bat based purely off their meatsuit and their ability to use it as a clothes rack and bait.

I suppose it never even occurs to those people that maybe their kid could suffer a tragedy or medical condition that would mar their appearance yet leave their brain functioning perfectly well. Or that there are only so many wealthy folks that want a trophy on their arm. Or that, gasp, yes, those kids someday will lose the beauty of their youth and have to rely on something other than PoP to get by.

[grendille]

I just wonder if the blame for this issue falls anywhere but outside the home. I mean sexualization of female characters is nothing new the article even cites miss piggy's cleavage and that has been around since the 70's. There have been sexualized female characters since the sexual revolution i just have to stop and ask myself, "Is this truly a media issue, or is this a parenting failure?" It seems to me that if little girls had a positive image of gender roles established by their mothers then the grip of the "princess" would be loosened.

[soldier4death]

I agree. This is a parenting fault. Not societies. Parents are too cool and hip to do any real parenting.

[Soul Kitchen]

But remember, people, that the tiara toddlers don't reflect the majority of girls their age in America. It's an isolated thing that pretty much everyone is disgusted with.

[rashore]

Apparently Toddlers and Tiaras isn't a minor thing isolated to a small segment of the public, otherwise there wouldn't be a regular popular weekly show on the boob tube about it.

That's a place where it makes the jump from meh, just bad parents to society at large encouraging the behavior..

[Michelle]

I think people are making far too much of this. From the time I was three, in the 60's, I took ballet, modern dance, and acrobatic classes and we had a recital once a year. The costumes we wore weren't very different than the ones that are worn today. It was the one time that an otherwise tomboyish girl got to play dress up and it was fun.

Of course these TV shows are going to focus on the most dramatic of encounters. If I showed you the 8MM films from when I was a kid getting ready for one of those things you would be bored to tears.

[_Only]

Apparently Toddlers and Tiaras isn't a minor thing isolated to a small segment of the public, otherwise there wouldn't be a regular popular weekly show on the boob tube about it.

That's a place where it makes the jump from meh, just bad parents to society at large encouraging the behavior..

That's just TV running out of ideas and attempting to exploit every "reality" aspect of life for you. Did you mean the mini beauty queen contests happens more places than we think because they mad a show about it? Or that more of the public is being exposed to it through the show? Just because there is a "reality" show made about a topic, doesn't mean it's not isolated to a small segment of the public.

Just that the producers thought it was interesting enough to entertain viewers. If a show being made about a subject was any sign of an aspect of life spreading across the public, there'd have to be a hellofa lot more ice road truckers around.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Jerry Only

[Clarakore]

Attractive children usually grow up into attractive adults and attractive people have advantages in many situations. The rest of us just need to try harder.

Can't blame a parent for wanting another advantage for their children. There are some excesses where parents push their children too hard. These shows exemplify this in many instances. For the most part the girls are just cute. It is just an elaborate way to play dress up and pageantry has never killed anyone.

It is also a parents business in how they want to raise their children not busybodies or social dictators.

Edited September 26, 2011 by ChristianWitch

[_Only]

Attractive children usually grow up into attractive adults and attractive people have advantages in many situations. The rest of us just need to try harder.

[TheBanana]

i think kids are growing up faster nowadays-but most really little girls i have met (i come from a really large family and did a childcare course, where i worked with loads of kids under 5), usually are into pink and princesses and running round and playing, so i think the kid who sits around all day waiting for her prince doesnt seem to be common.

the child beauty pageants are kinda disturbing though, the kids look creepy, like little dolls, it freaks me out. its the way the mothers seem more into it than the kids, or how the kids are given fake tans, make up, and things that are for adults, instead of valuing a more natural look (i can understand a little girl enjoying wearing a pretty dress, but a lot dont seem to like all the other beauty stuff) and some parents take it too far with fake breasts, suggestive dance routines, but thankfully the mother who gave her kid botox and bikini waxing so she would not grow pubic hair was fake.

ive also noticed that there are clothes for children which arent childlike-short skirts, bikinis, tshirts with innapropriate things on...and thats wrong, kids are kids and should be wearing childlike clothes. ive also noticed a lot of parents round here refer to their small daughters as being "sexy", but thats not right, they sure are cute, or beautiful, but not sexy because babies cant be sexy.

my little sis is three, and shes a little pink and sparkly princess who enjoys trying on my lipgloss (i think she likes the way it smells, but she always tries eating it) and asking me to paint her nails (shes fascinated with how i have a different colour each week)...but i think thats cause she likes getting herself messy-just before school photo day she found a pen that someone left in her reach and coloured in every inch of her body that she could reach, and its only a matter of time when she has pens, before she starts drawing on her hands and arms. she plays with dolls, pretends to be a princess, and enjoys watching girly tv shows and movies. shes very active and runs round though, it hasnt affected her in any way-she still plays active games with her brothers, collects bugs (i feel really sorry for the poor spiders she likes picking up-they always end up kinda squished), and makes a mess. maybe she should encourage her daughter to play other things, try playing with her when shes just sitting there for a long time, doing other non princess related things.

[asc.rudeboy]

since my daughter was born ppl have pushed me into putting her in pageants and ive fought it tooth and nail..i never wanted her self worth measured on her looks..i didnt want to warp her perspective if she won and i didnt want to explain why she might have lost.. plus its crazy expensive. and to be fair and honest ive had more then one family member enter their kids in pageants,the parents on the tv show are the extreme not the norm,they all ready are grooming there kids for miss america.

my daughter is 10 she just now wearing more girly clothes and fixing her hair in something other then pony tails, she is a fast pitch softball player.she plays catcher,a tough position not for the weak of heart (the pitching machine pitches at 40mph next year will be live pitch)..but she is still girly her gear is pink and black..ive also been teaching her how to shoot (with her pink 22 rifle)..i think with sports she is learning the value of hard work and being part of a team. a part of a sisterhood, not standing alone on a stage demanding attention..she is tomboy enough to get dirty but girly enough to wear pink sparkles when she does it,,to me thats a healthy mixture.

and the sexing up of kids does not stop at movies or pageants,,have you seen the halloween costumes the last couple years?? not the ones for the teenagers but the ones for girls 8 to 15,its ridicules..ive seen street walkers dressed more conservative..i dont care the situation no kid under the age of 17/18 should be wearing short skirts/shorts and thigh highs for any reason.. just a fathers 2 cents.

and before i get flamed for trying to make my daughter a tomboy,my wife spends just as much time teaching her how to act like a young lady and being a positive female role model for her,,hopefully we are giving her a healthy balance..for example its ok to spit on the softball field but a lady does not spit in public..and we are both very strict on manners,please and thank you and if you talking to a adult you better put a handle on it,,yes mam,no mam yes sir,no sir mr,and ms.. to us these are just as important as anything else she will learn..the trick is teaching her to be independent enough to stand on her own but not so independent that no man would want to marry her.

[rashore]

I think yer good asc.

I've been dismayed sometimes at little girl halloween costumes too. I've seen go-go girl, bar wench, french maid, can can dancer, lil devil complete with skin tight pants and short cropped top, geisha of the short kimono with keyhole cleavage type.. A whole handful of lolita-esque stuff that are the kind that I'm sometimes astonished to see even on adults...

I've also seen cheerleading outfits on pre high school girls that look like something the professional football cheerleaders wear.

It's not just costumes, or just beauty pageants.

Back to questionable parenting... I used to work at a derm clinic in a wealthy neighborhood, and parents were popping their pre-teens on a regular basis for things like dermal abrasions- just to start taking care of that skin early before they get wrinkles, or making them get laser treatments for spots when the teenager didn't want it, but just went with the program to make their parent stop nagging them. One gal was still under drinking age, and had been getting botox for four years already. I overheard a mom and late teens daughter one day where the girl was expressing concern over the icky involved in implants, and the mom told her that she wouldn't wear clothes well as flat as she was, so she was getting implants to make her clothes look good.

I'm thankful to my mom every day for the way she raised us kids. We are all quite attractive, but she didn't let us get away with squat based on our looks. She taught us that the meatsuit does not make a difference, because that can change. Including what society tastes in a great meatsuit is. Doesn't hurt- but the mind that drives the meatsuit is what counts because at the end of the day that might be all you have to get by. You can have the most beautiful meatsuit on the planet, but that does not help much if you are to stupid too function, or such a jacknape that everyone wants you too just shut up and stand around like a glossy photo. Or just use you for your meatsuit without regard for your feelings or mentality.

That probably stemmed from her experience- she is lovely, but she used her brains to go nuggets up against the big boys in what was at the time and almost exclusive male field- and she stomped them all with her brains, refusing any deferral based on her sex or looks.

[Tari]

me thinking that its our fault-

throughout ages humans have worshiped female beautie, whatever the look was at the time.

Seems 2 me that the "sexy" of our time is raw and direct "hot" other then feminin.

An "ideal beauty" is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture, for perfection.

Little girls have always emulated the adult ladys of their culture, change the "standard" for beauty - change the trend*?*

Princess Cinderella never made anyone dress/act like a tramp x)