Princess Culture

After today’s lecture I have a different opinion on princess culture.  I knew (to a degree) what princess culture was before the assigned readings for today, but I did not know the consequences of this culture.  I was unaware of how it came to be, or as the article “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink” addressed, that color specific clothing was socially constructed.  

If you shop for anything from young girls clothing to toys, you will see products saying “I’m daddy’s little princess,” and “I’m in charge.” Girls who are given these products and continually treated like a “princess” from a young age are at risk of becoming narcissistic. Peggy Orienstein’s book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter” discusses princess culture and its negative implications.  “It’s a $4 billion dollar industry aimed at little girls, telling them not just to play princess, but to be a princess everyday all the time.”  

This is obviously a concerning issues, but while reading the articles I couldn’t help but think that there are worse things than to live in a society such as ours where we have the opportunity to think highly of ourselves, have nice things, and even pretend we are princesses from time to time.  It wasn’t until I went to lecture and later did some more reading from Orensteins book that I opinion changed on princess culture. 

While I still think that it is a blessing that we live in a society with as many opportunities and freedoms as we are offered in America, I now see the dangers of this capitalistic society as well. 

Princesses are known for beauty, submissiveness, and consumerism.  The messages these princesses send are that being nice, and being pretty are the most important things in being a girl, rather than messages of intelligence, assertiveness, or strength.  Princess culture promotes over indulgence, self-centeredness, and entitlement.  Even worse, all of these products are pushed on girls at a young age.  The products teach them that it is important to focus on appearance.  When girls get overly focused on appearance we see things like distorted body images, eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem.  

Reading these articles and listening to lecture today has really opened my eyes to what princess culture is.  I’m not sure how to prevent this culture from taking hold of my younger sisters and other young relatives and I am well aware that this culture is not something that is going to go away.  However, I know that knowledge is power and with this knowledge I can better try to teach the young girls in my life that I know that they are not in fact princesses, though they do have potential to achieve their goals through education and hard work…not by meeting a prince.