Prince Culture: What On Earth...?

   When I first looked at the syllabus and saw that the reading for this week was over the Princess Culture I got awfully excited for one reason. That reason being that I love the Disney Princesses and I was hoping this was going to be all about them! However throughout the reading I realized that wasn't going to be about how awesome Disney Princesses are, not at all.
   I wasn't surprised with what I read, I was more sad that the "princess phase" is how it is today. When I was little, in my opinion it wasn't so much about the glitz and glamour. Yes, I was spoiled but it was in a different way then children are today. I got to go run around barefoot, go to dance classes, go to tumbling, wear mismatching clothes, wear fancy jewelry only when I went to church, and get a new toy about twice a month. Now, I feel like the "princess phase" consist of children demanding what they want and getting it. At least these are the things people see on television and occasionally at the shopping center. To me, this goes along with the article "Princess culture turning girls into overspending narcissists" by Joanne Laucius.
   In the article Laucius talks about how children are raised, what influences their behavior, and how they end up later in life. In the beginning of the article she quotes a mother who talks about how her daughter is 4 years old and knows the princesses but doesn't know their stories. But she knows what they look like, as far as hair and dresses. When I read this I didn't know what to say. I was shocked. I thought at 4 years old you were starting to be obsessed with at least once Princesses story. Especially in todays world where there is enough merchandise for each princess, you can figure out the story really without ever watching it. This is one of the things I believe is sad. The princesses stories is what is supposed to be important not necessarily their appearance.
   One of the other things that I found interesting in this article the stories of the two women that were "princesses" when they were children. Princess Lee has $25,000 worth of shoes and handbags but she is also in $25,000 worth of debt. Then there's Krista Sim who racked up $57,000 of consumer debt over 4 years. I can't even imagine being the deep in a hole, let alone being that deep in a hole over materialistic things that add up to create a "princess lifestyle". This is just another thing that makes me sad and then look back at how I was raised. Which then takes it back to the parents . The "princess phase" doesn't have to be a time period of overspending and raising bossing children.  A child can still have that princess lifestyle when they are 3,4,5,6, or however old without being a narcissists.