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Bringing Up Princess: Turning Girls Into Narcissists
Wall Street Journal ^ | June 12, 2009 | Megan Basham

Posted on 06/13/2009 7:41:59 AM PDT by reaganaut1

The princess industry has been booming in the past few years -- not just the Disney dolls and scratchy toy-store ball gowns that are a rite of passage in most American girlhoods, but a brazen new breed of princess products that target a far wider age range and tap into less seemly attitudes. The hot-pink, leopard-print princess backpacks, T-shirts, purses and bedspreads that girls are now buying (or, rather, their parents are buying for them) have little to do with indulging sweet princess fantasies and everything to do with catering to over-indulged princess egos. [Taste] Sara Schwartz

Take the popular tween retailer Justice. At malls nationwide, it carries multiple "Princess" tops and accessories that look a lot more like Paris Hilton's attire than Snow White's. No surprise that part of its marketing slogan is "Love yourself."

For only $44 at Nordstrom, you can dress your toddler in a tank top that declares her to be a "Juicy Couture Princess" -- that is, someone whose parents can afford to buy designer shirts that will end up stained with ketchup or jelly. And until recently, numerous Saks stores maintained Club Libby Lu, a spa for 5- to 13-year-old girls offering princess makeovers with tube tops and miniskirts that left girls looking more like Real Housewives than Cinderella. The ailing retailer closed the tween operation in May, but it grossed $60 million in 2008.

Call it trickle-down narcissism. Today, even as the economic crisis continues, many middle-class parents aspire to give their daughters the best of everything, "the best" meaning the most expensive. A quick tour around suburbia will show princess-themed bedrooms (the rhinestoned-and-feathered kind, not the cartoon-character kind) and ostentatious birthday parties, as well as pedigreed dogs being toted in designer bags by 10-year-olds.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: girls; marketing; moralabsolutes; narcissism; parenting; princesses; retail
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To: MissDairyGoodnessVT

Don’t remember those, but they sound excruciating. The giant orange juice cans for rollers were no picnic either...lol!


61 posted on 06/13/2009 9:19:00 AM PDT by penelopesire ("The only CHANGE you will get with the Democrats is the CHANGE left in your pocket")
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To: freebilly
Adjust 1960's dollars to 2009 dollars and you'll discover that the parents spent virtually the same amount.

Yeah but then you don't have a catchy headline....

62 posted on 06/13/2009 9:22:12 AM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: reaganaut1

63 posted on 06/13/2009 9:22:57 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: penelopesire

“rags” were popular in the 30&40’s too - it was a clean white sheet no longer usable torn into strips about 6-7 inches long and you rolled your wet hair in the middle and when you reached the top of your head or however long you wanted it you made a knot in the rag- ever see a white “Buckwheat”? well it looks A LOT like that roflmao-— then, as I got older , I graduated to those orange juice cans... my brothers used to give me grief and call me “ my favorite martian”.... lolol just don’t do an oatmeal facial at breakfast!


64 posted on 06/13/2009 9:39:06 AM PDT by MissDairyGoodnessVT (Mac Conchradha - "Skeagh mac en chroe"- Skaghvicencrowe)
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To: MissDairyGoodnessVT

“my brothers used to give me grief and call me “ my favorite martian”.... lolol just don’t do an oatmeal facial at breakfast!”

LOL!


65 posted on 06/13/2009 9:44:31 AM PDT by penelopesire ("The only CHANGE you will get with the Democrats is the CHANGE left in your pocket")
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To: JillValentine
I know many Asian women. They’re definitely NOT a submissive bunch of people.

Ha. No kidding. Every rare once in awhile, the woman was submissive, but generally, they run the show (and at least three "submissive" Asian women I know abuse their white husbands- a couple have thrown knives. Funnily, I have not run into that when they were married to Asian men.) Some of the guys are essentially servants or just the cash cow. One woman spent half the year in her home country, leaving husband home with kids here, while he paid for her upkeep and that of her family. Another got her husband's grown children written out of the will completely. I have many Asian friends, so this isn't an "I hate Asian women" post. My three best friends in the world are either full or half, and they would tell you the same thing. They also are pretty disgusted (as am I) by white men who marry Asian women thinking they are getting some submissive "Suzy Wong" bride.

66 posted on 06/13/2009 9:49:37 AM PDT by conservative cat (America, you have been PWNED!)
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To: reaganaut1

Are any of these princesses being taught by mom how to cook and clean and take care of babies and children? All this “priness” rubbish is predicated upon you having a rich husband and a staff of servants


67 posted on 06/13/2009 9:51:15 AM PDT by dennisw (Weakness is a Crime! Don't be a Criminal - Bernarr MacFadden)
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To: MissDairyGoodnessVT

We made the mistake of treating our daughter like a Princess (as budget permitted).

I thought of good values that I could teach through the “princess theme”, since in fairy tales they have dignity, grace, enjoyment their femininity, cheerfulness, good hygiene, and a big heart. We did her room in lavender “Hello Kitty”.

But mostly our daughter noticed the cool stuff and the self-glorification. She is naturally more narcissistic than others because she shows mild Aspergers tendencies, so entitlement and adulation just fit right into her very condensed, focused world-view. A lot of the “values training” I was trying for has gone in one ear and out the other, over the years. It will be a long fight to get my daughter to think of others and develop empathy. And we had to make very concrete rules and consequences about how to treat others and try to enforce them every day. It does work, slowly, and she is becoming a bit more aware of her conduct. At 10, she has less emotional IQ (intuition and empathy) than a lot of four year-olds. On the other hand, someone who is focused so much on herself has less interest in being catty about others. She doesn’t participate in the school Queen Bee pecking order.

It’s a 24/7 job to keep bringing kids back to what is right. We just keep helping them interpret the real world, using the wisdom of our faith and common sense, and hope they know deep down that we are right, and will trust us.

My son, who is 7, seems to really get it, and I agree with some posters who said that boys could be turning out better than the girls these days, if not too sheltered. I’ve told my daughter it might be a good idea to have some friends who are boys, because it takes the pressure of having to be as cool as the other girls, and she might actually do more fun activities.


68 posted on 06/13/2009 9:52:24 AM PDT by married21
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To: reaganaut1
I see this a lot, particularly with parents who only have one daughter.

The number of parents who have only one child seems to be increasing.

69 posted on 06/13/2009 9:58:14 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: reaganaut1

I have three girls, and yes, they have all been exposed to princesses at various points. They have even had a couple of princess shirts (but not expensive or slutty). They have each decided which princesses they are by who they identify with based on looks or personality.

The oldest, at 11, is mostly past the stage, and she refuses to wear girly clothes now. The middle is a ball of masculine energy. She likes to dress up, but I don’t think she could tell you what exactly a princess traditionally does. The youngest is a bit of a princess, but more of a baby, because she is the baby and the youngest of four. We are working on breaking her of the attitude (but at three, that’s hard.)

My husband wrestles with the girls and likes to take them to the park to play. The girls have gone to a Christian school, and they are not too spoiled (with four kids, it makes it a bit harder to happen, especially if you are girl #3, getting hand-me-down everything.) We are not believers in spoiling kids! So, I think girls can have their princess stuff, but the trick is not giving them the princess attitude!! It’s not just the parents to blame. The self-esteem movement in schools has been around for awhile, and a lot of parents are from the first of that movement and are scared to hurt their kids’ self-esteem by saying no or telling them they aren’t perfect.


70 posted on 06/13/2009 10:03:20 AM PDT by conservative cat (America, you have been PWNED!)
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To: rintense

“Think real hard as to why they really married Chinese women.”

I believe you and I are on the same wavelength.


71 posted on 06/13/2009 10:03:30 AM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: reaganaut1

Q: What is a young witch called ?

A: “Princess.”


72 posted on 06/13/2009 10:11:59 AM PDT by PLMerite ("Unarmed, one can only flee from Evil. But Evil isn't overcome by fleeing from it." Jeff Cooper)
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To: rintense
Imagine if conservative women went overseas for male order husbands.

Paging Dr. Freud, paging Dr. Freud... ;-P

73 posted on 06/13/2009 10:13:42 AM PDT by MortMan (Power without responsibility-the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages. - Rudyard Kipling)
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To: dbwz
I may have been “princess” to my Dad (and yes, that was one of the nicknames I had up till the day he died), but I was reminded regularly that 1) the sun did not rise and set on my ass, and 2) there is not a giant *sshole in the sky that sh*ts money.

Dad was all about balance. :-)

GREAT post!!!

74 posted on 06/13/2009 10:25:59 AM PDT by Finny ("Raise hell. Vote smart." -- Ted Nugent.)
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To: BenLurkin
I've gone into many a store to purchase clothing for my granddaughters and come out shaking my head wondering who would purchase clothing for children with the wording and bling that was displayed.

There is a Swedish(?) company that sells wholesome, age appropriate clothing that I try to frequent when I am nearby.

75 posted on 06/13/2009 10:26:38 AM PDT by grame (To God be the Glory!)
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To: Morgana
I believe that (despite decades of competition since) that particular Toni ad campaign is still the absolute dumbest ever. I mean, if they're identical twins they'd have the same genes for hair appearance, so either BOTH would have naturally curly hair, or BOTH would have a Toni.

Gawd, there are still pictures of me after getting home perms from my mom. I had shoulder length hair in a flip, either ends flipped out (a la Marlo Thomas on That Girl) or ends curled under, for variety. Either way was horrid on a 9 year old girl in the year of our Lord 1977 (WELL past the day when That Girl was a hit.)

76 posted on 06/13/2009 10:26:43 AM PDT by kaylar
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To: rintense
"Think real hard as to why they really married Chinese women."

Nah. I've already spent more time on this subject than I intended.

77 posted on 06/13/2009 10:27:22 AM PDT by blam
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To: SnakeDoctor
I discussed this with one of my sons when he was about 4th or 5th grade. He wanted to know if he would get in trouble for fighting at school. I told him that I didn't want him fighting at school. But I also told him not to stand there and let someone slap him around. I told him if someone tried that, to kick his ass. I asked him if he understood and he did.
78 posted on 06/13/2009 10:28:04 AM PDT by Enterprise (When they come for your guns and ammo, give them the ammo first.)
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To: blam

Sad to say, but most Chinese women I’ve met in New York are extremely materialistic, as are most Korean women. I guess it depends alot on social class, however.


79 posted on 06/13/2009 10:32:14 AM PDT by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
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To: JillValentine
Tomboys tend to become conservative women.

Where I'm from, they tend to become Dykes.

80 posted on 06/13/2009 10:34:49 AM PDT by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
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