girls, girls, girls!

So, I read a lot of blogs. And I've been noticing a theme in certain blogs (ones I didn't link up to through the same sources). There is more and more concern about little girls and what they are exposed to. And how utterly pervasive being sexual has become. At younger and younger ages. And you see shows mentioned on Facebook like Toddlers and Tiaras (which I refuse to watch), but it has to get these subjects from somewhere!

My friend Maryanne posted her dilemmas in raising a daughter here and here .

And this woman, a transplanted Brit, talks about some of her reactions to "The Social Network" and how she is concerned about how to keep her daughter's self-image healthy.

I then ran into this post on an Australian site. This was compounded by the fact, as seen in the comments for the previous entry, I'd noticed that Barbie has gotten thinner, when I was shopping for props for the theater.

But it doesn't stop there. There's one site, by an American woman, that I stop into, every now and again... I peeked in and found this post. I don't really think the Power Rangers are necessarily empowering, and I suspect the only way to negate this is by getting away from the media.

But unfortunately, as I've noticed from work, its not much better in the world of children's literature. And I'm not the only one to notice, as seen here. And a lot of the girls books are princesses, and rainbow fairies, and the boys books are dinosaurs... and there seem to be fewer crossover books.

So toys are out, TV is out, books are out... and even clothes. I've read blog posts by people (this was a while back) pointing out the difference in children's decor...

I'm sorry, but to have a daughter, you have to live like the Amish. I do worry. I worry for the future of the American female, because its become such a culture of sexuality and celebrity, for the wrong reasons. Where are the positive toys? Where are the positive books, movies? *sigh*