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Strollerderby
Thank Heaven for Little Girls.
The images are all over the feminist blogosphere: Jezebel has the full spread of little girls in grown-up poses modelling for French Vogue. Feministing is disgusted, Feministe cried “yuck.” What more is there to say really? Well, this:
I’ve long mocked the fashion industrial complex in my stand-up, which is easy for me to do because I don’t fit into anything they produce. As an outsider with no hopes of ever trying to look cute in gobs of green eyeshadow and a dress made out of newspaper clippings – or teddy bear eyeballs and credit cards – I’ve always felt that I can see fashion’s ridiculous exploitation of women for exactly what it is. Why anyone would be interested in wearing shoes modeled on a woman meant to look like a dead body hanging out of the trunk of a car is beyond me. I mean, people are up in arms about a Swiffer campaign that portrays women playing “dirt” and “mud” as desperate for love, but no one cares that Kanye West has women hanging from nooses in his recent Monster video? (You see, the difference is, Kanye is a genius, and Swiffer – well, they suck. But only if you buy the Swiffer SweeperVac!) Continue reading »
Little Mean Girl?
The archetype of the mean little girl has been a staple on children’s television for years, from Little House on the Prairie‘s Nellie Oleson to Peanuts bully Lucy to wealthy brat Muffy Crosswire on Arthur. In keeping with that tradition, comedian Jack Black is developing a new animated series to air on Fox called Tiny Monsters, being billed as “South Park for 12-year-old girls.”
The New York Post recently explored the idea that little girls are getting meaner every day, and a reader poll confirms their theory. 88% of people think today’s kids are getting meaner. According to the Post, “Theories abound as to what’s causing the cattiness, from early onset puberty to anonymous Internet cruelty to societal narcissism to the witty mean banter on Disney shows. But one thing is for sure: It’s happening younger and more viciously — and many parents are left shellshocked by the schoolyard tales.” Continue reading »
The bumping, grinding little girls in the now infamous “Single Ladies” dance recital routine caught our attention with their slutty costumes and very adult dance moves, but they weren’t doing (or wearing) anything their Bratz dolls don’t do every day.
Our kids are surrounded by a hyper-sexual culture all the time. Little girls in particular are being trained to be not only pretty but hot as soon as they learn to dress themselves. Just try finding a plain t-shirt and comfortable jeans for your 5-year-old; one that hasn’t been attacked by a Bedazzler before being offered up for sale.
In a thoughtful piece in this weekend’s New York Times, Peggy Orenstein explores this phenomenon from an interesting perspective: what does marketing “sexiness” to little girls do to their developing sexuality when they grow up?
Little girls dolled up with fake eyelashes, caked on makeup, fake teeth, spray-on tans and synthetic hair extensions may be inappropriate, but is it child abuse?
Some critics say TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” is exploitative and that the contestants’ parents are verging on abusive.
Personally, I can’t bear to watch the reality show, which just launched its third season, because I find the whole kiddie beauty pageant thing disturbing. I wouldn’t want my young daughters to be judged on their appearances and to be sexualized at such an early age. But, then again, I can’t stand bikinis on babies and hesitated before letting my girls playing with makeup, so I’m probably not the demographic for the show.
Based on the ratings, clearly, someone is tuning in to watch — the second season of “Toddlers and Tiaras” averaged 1.3 million viewers each week. Continue reading »
Get ready to have your mind explode. If you think watching Lady Gaga strut around half-naked in prison gear and covered in chains is crazy, wait until you see the video re-enacted by toddlers! Funny, sure. But appropriate? You be the judge. I’ve used my daughter in comedy videos before, but never with handcuffs around her neck. Continue reading »
Two days ago, my 5-year-old stood in the living room with one hand on her cocked hip and said, “Those princesses, that’s not really what I’m going for right now. Princess are, like, old-fashioned. They’re really not my style.”
Apparently, Disney really does have marketing reps spying on every house in America, because they’ve just announced that they’re changing the name of their upcoming animated version of Rapunzel to “Tangled” so that people won’t think it’s a fairy-tale flick. Which it totally is.
While I applaud any move away from the princess obsession, Salon’s Broadsheet points out that this isn’t exactly good news for girls.
We have a new winner in the really crappy parenting category: a jobs examiner blogger found this piece of work on Craigslist. A dad is advertising for an actor to take their dog for a walk, then come back and tell the kids the dog took a hike. Continue reading »
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