Sometimes it feels like as if the world is divided into two types of people; aristocrats and the ones who are still not there. Somehow the image of royalty has been propagated as something romantic, so much so, that we still hold that centuries old image dear to our heart to this day. Since people have been constantly bombarded with images of specific gender roles in pop culture, most parents will settle for nothing less other than seeing their son grow up to become prince charming. The same parents will also visualize their daughter as a princess. The impact of this culture on young boys has not been as devastating as it is for the girls, and the race to become the fairest maiden in the West is taking a toll on the wellbeing of little girls. Here we will discuss the reasons why princess culture is unhealthy for young girls with the hope of finding an urgent solution to this problem.

The Fairest of Them All

From as early as the adolescent years girls are quick to learn that physical appearance is more important than how a person is from the inside. Most surveys on this topic clearly suggest that our culture associates great importance to physical beauty which is in turn giving rise to problems associated with negative body image, depression, eating disorders and deviant sexual behavior among girls.

The modern girl culture is an amalgamation of fairy tales (set in Disney princess world) that are retold to every new generation with fresh twists and turns. Other than this, beauty pageants at schools, concerts of teen sensations that include the likes of Miley Cyrus along with Selena Gomez, and social media. With time these things have been converted into a billion dollar industry by shrewd business people. Even so, the main weapon in the arsenal of this huge princess manufacturing industry is not a Barbie doll but the color pink. This color can be seen splattered across any location that is hosting an event for young girls and this is where the whole gender specific propaganda starts taking shape.

Writer and cultural critic Peggy Orenstein is an expert on girl issues since she has spent most of her life studying girls and then writing about it. In her latest book, titled “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture”, Orenstein talks about all the ills that have been introduced into society by a culture that encourages girls to project themselves as beautiful and sexy. Would you want to judge your daughter on an ill-defined gradient of sexiness? I won’t and neither would you.

Learning the First Lessons at Home

The premature sexy behavior witnessed among young girls is a trend mostly associated with the ills of princess culture.

What does the princess culture really do to girls? It exposes them to sexualization through pop culture that not just imposes sexuality on children by presenting them as sexual objects but also dictates to girls that the entire world values their appearance more than anything else. This is the reason why most parents tell their daughters how to become fair and thus beautiful but doesn’t really encourage them to be creative, smart, and strong.

Also, girls would receive all kinds of compliment from male family members when she dresses up nice and looks her best. Gradually the compliments stop coming from the adults and the attention from the girl is diverted towards other things. This is where girls would go the extra mile to exhibit sexiness in order to get the attention of adults.

The princess culture actually moulds the young girls in such a manner that they constantly crave for validation and attention, which they believe comes from physical appearance only.

According to a recent survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and cosmogirl.com, 22 percent of girls falling in the age bracket of 13 to 19 have sent or posted their nude or semi-nude pictures online. This staggering number should greatly concern parents.

Adopting the Best Approach

Most commercial companies are currently spending approximately $17 billion in advertising that target kids. Parents should be aware of the power that this industry exercises over children and understand that they should tell their daughters that there are more beautiful things in life than physical beauty alone. You should also be responsible with your words and actions around your children, especially daughters, to let them enjoy their innocent childhood days away from the influence of materialism and shallowness.