But I'm a pretty, pretty princess
According to an article I read on MSNBC, princess fever is sweeping the little-girl demographic in the US. According to the article, media saturation of princess themes and images in programs and stories aimed at little girls is encouraging narcissistic tendencies at an early age. The article noted that parents can get caught up in the princess mentality, placing their little princesses on little princessy pedestals and bowing to their tender whims - an attitude that is distinctly out of line with the frugality that is becoming the new (I think temporary) prevailing mindset in the US.
Many parents feel that princess obsession is just a stage that little girls naturally enter when they learn to recognize their individuality and sense of self, eventually growing out of it. Other parents fear that an overindulgence in princessdom will encourage nascent entitlement tendencies that could morph into full-blown adult greed and selfishness, so they cope by either putting time boundaries around playing princess or by stopping princess play when undesirable behavior starts to erupt. Still others have adapted princess-world concepts into their parenting as a way to motivate cooperation or positive attitudes.
I remember having a very active imaginary life when I was little, although I think it relied more heavily on ducks than anything else. (What can I say? I liked ducks.) I don't think playing duck with imaginary duck friends left me with any lasting negative behavior or attitude issues. Of course, I realize that ducks don't have defined ideal qualities like compassion or kindness, and they also don't have any built-in expectations that are reinforced by media imagery, like beauty or wealth. It seems to me, though, that kids' play is simply kids' play, until it's not - and it reaches the point of not being kids' play when parents fall into the extreme of letting kids' play dictate how and with what level of authority they interact with their children. That's where I think the possibility of developing spoiled, entitled children becomes a risk.
What do you think of princess fever? Is it shaping the younger generation's expectations, behavior, and/or view of the world in either a positive or negative way? How?
5 retorts:
Is princess fever new? I remember that when we were allowed to attend primary school in costume for Shrove Tuesday, all girls in the class came as princesses, and they all looked like they had been born into the role. ;-) So I suspect modern day princess fever is more of a toy industry marketing thing.
The way I remember it, my friends' mothers gently pointed out to their daughters that while being a princess every once in a while is fun, it really is a terribly limiting role because you have to observe decorum all the time. That was usually enough to snap them out of it. But those were the 70s, when "girls can do everything" was the new and exciting mantra of the day.
Other than that, I think kids are smarter than they parents give them credit for. I remember endless discussions with my mother over a plastic toy rifle to play cowboy with, which she objected to on the basis that she didn't wish me to play with anything resembling a weapon. My pleas that I knew full well that this plastic thingie was a fake fell on deaf ears. To this day, I think she was overly concerned in this matter.
That's my take on it, anyway.
I do not know about the princess fever but I am truly sick of little girls' (and possibly their mothers') obsession with "pink".
I see little girls with pink outfits, pink shoes, pink socks, pink hair accessories, pink bags... Yuck! It makes me feel I am gonna throw up. May be this pink thing is also associated with the princess fever?
I am the mother of a five year old girl. Since before she was born I’ve struggled to find things for her that are NOT all pink, overly embellished, stupidly decorated, and inappropriately “sexy”. It is truly horrendous what is in the stores for little girls. One has to make a concerted effort to NOT dress, accessorize, and surround their child in crap. I have stood in the girls’ clothing department on more than one occasion audibly moaning about the selections and have been joined by other adults doing the same thing.
Only by not letting her watch commercial TV, which is where the worst of it comes from, keeps my kid in a relatively sane state. But at her preschool I see all kinds of nasty Disney and Bratz stuff, and I know she does, too. And little kids are like magpies; they are attracted to shiny.
She has a costume box full of fun stuff, but we do not have a room-size princess castle, a pony, or a burning desire to be Cinderella. Goldsmith is right – little girls like to play – but the marketing of this crap is unbelievable and insidious and overwhelming. I am just trying to live through it, frankly.
Goldsmith - I don't know how new princess fever is. I was a tomboy who rejected dolls, so I don't remember it taking up much of my brain space as a little kid. I think you're right that kids generally are pretty smart, though. Who knows, maybe what looks like falling under the influence of marketing is partly just pushing Mom and Dad's buttons. Parents, what say you?
Anon - Too funny! I think in the US, pink has had a long-standing role as the universal girly color, and that goes way beyond princess fever. I don't mind pink generally, but I do get annoyed at times because women's athletic events, even the serious ones, ALWAYS feature pink. It's tiresome.
MtnMama - Your little girl's photo in your avatar is adorable. I smile every time I see it. I've certainly heard about (and seen) the utter inappropriateness of much of the clothing that's available for girls. It sounds like you're staying on top of it, but that staying on top of it is a job and a half. I admire that and I suspect your daughter will be better for it.
I think the princess craze was reborn with the Barbie Princess movie series. I don't have kids, but the majority of my friends do, and I was a nanny in grad school.
I keep wondering what happened to "The Little Princess" type of princess. She played princess by doing without and giving. Is it too pointed if I give copies to my friends' daughters?
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