Today, I would like to draw your attention to a very interesting post from Julie @ Joy's Hope from last week. For the record, Julie is a blogger I have tremendous respect for, and she seems to be a really smart Mama with awesome values!
I was very engaged when I read it, as I have honestly never truly given much though to this perspective. It's a wonderful piece of social media- enough to raise a few eyebrows, really make you think, you know?
Take a minute to read some of the comments left for Julie. Interesting. Very interesting.
I definitely thought about posting about this as soon as I read it. But, I had to take some time to reflect on my own opinions first.
Then, Julie posted this today. I agree with a lot of what she said...
Thoughts?
September 2, 2010
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4 sweet tweets:
Okay, Heather... so I could write a whole dissertation on messages girls receive at a young age vs. messages boys receive and how pretty f'ed up many of them are... on both sides. One of the core concepts I teach in my women's studies classes is gender socialization, and how it starts at an early age and how oblivious most of us are to it until we really stop to think about it. And I could go on, and on, and on...
That being said, I don't believe that the Disney princesses are the devil. Do I hope that Disney continues to evolve with introducing female heroines that may aren't quite to perfect? Yes. Do I constantly seek out other books, movies, media that helps me teach my children the values and beliefs I would like them to encompass and that aren't necessarily gender specific? Yes. And do I hope that someday we can live in a world where people are seen as people, regardless of their skin color, gender, sexual preference, etc, etc. YES! Until then, I try to navigate around the best I can, and hope to help my children do the same...
Have boys. Don't care.
Wow, thanks for the link, Heather!
Her post was a prime example of the ongoing challenge of having a semblance of balance in life, especially parenting.
I want my daughter (and son, if so desired) to feel like a princess, powerful and beautiful. But I want her to know that princesses need not long locks, big boobs or a man to get what they want from life. And that part's up to me to teach :)
I'd like to just say an "Amen" to Renee's comment. :)
I've thought about those messages before and I feel uneasy with many of them. BUT, I also think that our girls can learn an important lesson about understanding the influence of society and how to separate our identity from what we're told we should be and do just by virtue of talking about it and recognizing that there are flawed messages out there.
In a way, I think the princesses can be a useful tool to start teaching them how to identify what are characteristics to admire and what are unhelpful messages. All in an age-appropriate manner, of course. :)
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