Little girls and Princesses


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Alastair_r

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Princess Myth

Why do little girls wan't to be princesses ? Why are Princesses the new trend with all the toys and tiaras ? Has anyone studied why a lot of kids play at being royal ?
 
Why do little girls wan't to be princesses ? Why are Princesses the new trend with all the toys and tiaras ? Has anyone studied why a lot of kids play at being royal ?


It isn't something 'new' at all.

Stories of ordinary girls becoming princesses are as old as the hills and therefore the idea something with which girls grow up.

Think about the fairy tales like Cinderella.
 
This is an interesting question. I have two young neices (7 and 5) and they have both gone through the "wanting to be a princess" stage. I dread, though, the day when they want to be Jordan or Victoria Beckham and I shall do all I can to remind them that real princesses do exist and are much better than A List stars!
There have always been many fairytales and stories about princesses (such as Cinderella) and these magical stories have always been told to girls and been extremely popular with them. Parents generally want the best for their children and want their children to be the best and so they tell their girl she's a pretty princess, which will have lead to someone realising the marketable value of the "princess" brand, which then turned into a rather tiresome commodity. Don't forget that as soon as one child has a plastic pink tiara to make them look cool, they all want the same - it's just fashionable (like ponies and horses used to be). It is similar to the fact that most items for girls such as clothes, hair-bands and pencil cases can only be found in various (and rather disagreeable) shades of pink. It's cheaper to limit colour choice and make everything one colour.
 
This princess thing has me perplexed... of course, I did it and almost every little girl I know has done it.

But it unnerves me that we might be training little girls to wait for men to rescue them. It just doesn't seem empowering.
 
I was enamored of the princess idea when I was younger, but only from the jewel and dress-perspective. I had no interest whatsoever in the idea of a prince rescuing me, or even being married to a prince (or anyone for that matter). I was only interested in the fairytale gowns and tiaras (still am to some degree). I also wanted a unicorn and a wand with a star on the end, so that should tell you something. I think that it has to do with using your imagination and dreaming of make-believe places, something that all children tend to do. Whether it involves the princess fantasy or not solely depends on the child.
 
Fortunately it only lasted in our household for a very short time. My daughter only had an interest in princesses from 2-4 years. After that she moved onto other interests: soccer, fairies, etc...The worst was the 6 months "Bratz" phase.
 
But it's very different now. I don't remember the princess thing being marketed before. The films that used to come out were fairytale ones and there was a gap inbetween them. Know the films focus on " real " princesses and akll came out in a few moths of eachother.
 
Why do little girls like Princesses ? Who on here wanted to be a princess when they were younger ? Why not instead of fairytale style princesses the toy and book people try and market real princesses ?
 
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