Hello!
I hope your Christmas/Thanksgiving was awesome!! Mine was fairly uneventful, despite it being Carter's first.
As of late however, I have been browsing the "OMG 2011 is over we all feel the need to recap what happened!!" statuses.
However there was one article that caught my eye.
Kid Trends we hope not to see in 2011
I hope your Christmas/Thanksgiving was awesome!! Mine was fairly uneventful, despite it being Carter's first.
As of late however, I have been browsing the "OMG 2011 is over we all feel the need to recap what happened!!" statuses.
However there was one article that caught my eye.
Kid Trends we hope not to see in 2011
This article is all about bad teen trends that some moms around the country feel are inappropriate for their child. Such examples include low rise jeans, ugg boots and printed tee shirts.
Of course those are just the examples I expected to see. However, some I found were surprising. Not necessarily simply that they made the list, but that they exist.
For example, push-up training bras? As a girl who had to wear a bra by third grade, all the women in my family are rather blessed- or cursed depending who you ask- I can understand that some young girls need to start wearing training bras earlier than some others. HOWEVER, the fact that any mother would encourage her impressionable young daughter to wear something that distorts her body image, ESPECIALLY at that young of an age, is appalling. What happened to moms who told their daughters "All flowers bloom in their own time?" What happened to you are beautiful and you don't need to look like everyone else?
In the same state of mind, who buys their child a tee shirt that says "I'm too pretty for algebra?" Coincidentally, I am currently in search of a book that is about images like these shirts and other images like Princess memorabilia. The book is called Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orstein. (Click for the NYTimes book review) and from what I have heard, it gives a fresh look to the images that we subject our girls too. Such as the influx of Princess memorabilia. Now don't get me wrong, Chloe's room looks like we won the Disney Princess lottery. Seriously, my little girl keeps Disney in business. However, I try to teach her that she should be strong and independent. She doesn't need a prince to rescue her. Still, I wonder, what does my own gender-bias mind say to her? I associate pink and fluffy with girly and so does she. What does that say about us as women?
Now then there was that thing, which I could not even CONCEIVE why it is on the list. Monster
Of course those are just the examples I expected to see. However, some I found were surprising. Not necessarily simply that they made the list, but that they exist.
For example, push-up training bras? As a girl who had to wear a bra by third grade, all the women in my family are rather blessed- or cursed depending who you ask- I can understand that some young girls need to start wearing training bras earlier than some others. HOWEVER, the fact that any mother would encourage her impressionable young daughter to wear something that distorts her body image, ESPECIALLY at that young of an age, is appalling. What happened to moms who told their daughters "All flowers bloom in their own time?" What happened to you are beautiful and you don't need to look like everyone else?
In the same state of mind, who buys their child a tee shirt that says "I'm too pretty for algebra?" Coincidentally, I am currently in search of a book that is about images like these shirts and other images like Princess memorabilia. The book is called Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orstein. (Click for the NYTimes book review) and from what I have heard, it gives a fresh look to the images that we subject our girls too. Such as the influx of Princess memorabilia. Now don't get me wrong, Chloe's room looks like we won the Disney Princess lottery. Seriously, my little girl keeps Disney in business. However, I try to teach her that she should be strong and independent. She doesn't need a prince to rescue her. Still, I wonder, what does my own gender-bias mind say to her? I associate pink and fluffy with girly and so does she. What does that say about us as women?
Now then there was that thing, which I could not even CONCEIVE why it is on the list. Monster
High Dolls! Why on earth would you be against these little dolls? Barbie and her skimpy skirts and double d's has been on the shelves since 1959. The company which has infiltrated every little girl's room with the image of the perfect woman and had such horrible failed designs such as "New Ken" Later deemed as "Gay Ken" because of his new earring and mesh shirt. Likewise, there is "Happy Family,Midge" Barbie's pregnant friend. 
However, set up little girl's these days with a doll that has the exact same body type, but whose clothes aren't pink and frilly and the world ends. Personally, I love the idea of these dolls! I think they give girls a new perspective. They still aren't perfect, I think companies need to make some dolls with wide hips and a chubby face or something, but still they get the much needed toe in the door.
What do you think, what aren't your girls or boys, allowed to wear? What has caught your eye and made you think, what were they thinking?!
However, set up little girl's these days with a doll that has the exact same body type, but whose clothes aren't pink and frilly and the world ends. Personally, I love the idea of these dolls! I think they give girls a new perspective. They still aren't perfect, I think companies need to make some dolls with wide hips and a chubby face or something, but still they get the much needed toe in the door.What do you think, what aren't your girls or boys, allowed to wear? What has caught your eye and made you think, what were they thinking?!
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ReplyDeleteThe things I avoid for the kids are mostly skater-related. It's a personal, more than morality-based, choice. I don't like skulls or those over-designed designs. I admit an annoyance with skater culture's slacker/anti-academic and -authority themes. I'm pretty sure that part is waaaay over their heads. I mean, they aren't going to refuse to do their schoolwork because they're wearing a bowling shirt with a skull on it. It's a culture thing they would have to experience, so my objection is primarily aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there's the "I'm to pretty to do homework" shirt. I don't think a message gets more harmful than that. (Well, I suppose there could be a "Drugs are delicious" shirt or a "Sex is wonderful and without consequences" shirt. Be glad for small mercies, I suppose.) Eric and I were watching the news together when the story about the terrible trends came on, and I turned around ready to discuss the shirt. (And by discuss, I mean loudly monolouge about misogyny. :) He put his hand up and said "Stop. I already agree," then changed the channel before I could see the rest of the crap with which retailers insult us.
Gotta go google Monster High.
ETA: So. many. misspellings. in the original. Blogger should seriously consider an editing option for comments, for those of us whom stay up at night worrying about such things.