Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture

By Peggy Orenstein

Book Overview

Peggy
Orenstein, acclaimed author of the groundbreaking New York Times
bestsellers Girls & Sex and Schoolgirls, offers a
radical, timely wake-up call for parents, revealing the dark side of a pretty
and pink culture confronting girls at every turn as they grow into adults.

Sweet
and sassy or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences our
daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more
than who she is. Somewhere between the exhilarating rise of Girl Power in the
1990s and today, the pursuit of physical perfection has been recast
as the source of female empowerment. And commercialization has spread
the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages. But how
dangerous is pink and pretty, anyway? Being a princess is just make-believe;
eventually they grow out of it . . . or do they?

In
search of answers, Peggy Orenstein visited Disneyland, trolled American Girl
Place, and met parents of beauty-pageant preschoolers tricked out like Vegas
showgirls. The stakes turn out to be higher than she ever imagined. From
premature sexualization to the risk of depression to rising rates of
narcissism, the potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is
undeniable--yet armed with awareness and recognition, parents can effectively
counterbalance its influence in their daughters' lives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061711535
• ISBN13: 9780061711534
• Release Date: January 2012
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Cinderella ate my daughter

Orenstein presented many interesting ideas I haven't considered. Her arguments seem to come down too two issues: 1). Parents are trying to find a role model for their young daughters, ie Disney Princess, Mylie Cyrus, or Britney Speers for examples. The parents later discover these heroes only "love" their daughters as long as they remain a source of income. These heros later transform themselves from the role models that the parent had hoped for into young vixens when they have become to old to be the young princess. 2). That marketing, by Disney, Brats, etc has create an appeal by spending money to fulfill, or a short term basis, the girl's innate fears and needs. Renee Descartes said "I think therefore I am", yet marketing has reframed this statement to "i consume, therefore I am'. We are now consumers, not people.