I haven't laid hands on the Peep's LEGO yet, but the Little Miss has her pink "princess" bicycle safely laid away in the basement waiting for Santa to assemble it on Christmas Eve.
What is it that makes little girls crave pink, fluffy things? I swear we have raised the girl on climbing and running; she told me just today that if some scary monster tried to frighten her that she would "kick him in the goolies and then throw him in the garbage." Tomorrow I will have to post the pictures of her - literally - climbing the walls. She's a tough girl I have no fears of growing up to become some frilly helpless little thing being walked on by her inamorata.
But from whence, then, this delight in all things pink and princessy?
There are more things in this world, Walt Disney, than are dreamed of in your philosophy. But you wouldn't know it from my daughter.
3 comments:
Some archetypes die hard ...
While I don't know that I had an affinity for pink, I definitely liked soft and fluffy pastel green and yellow things.
Apropos of nothing, last night I was surprised by a jeweler's commercial: A girl is walking, wide-eyed with wonderment in front of a glass case of fine chocolates; she then morphs into a young woman walking with her presumed fiancee by glass cases of diamond rings, with kind of the same look.
Talk about brainwashing. [I am still delighted by the chocolatier :) ]
Lisa: I have to admit that those jewelry commercials are really getting up my wick.
The whole "every kiss begins with Kay" thing presupposes that you XX-types are eager to reward our largesse with...ummm...your "largesse", shall we say? That diamonds aren't just a girl's best friend, but the best way to get your "kiss", since the mercenary little wenches are anticipated to fall back salivating and panting at the mere sight of that rock.
Brainwashing, sure, but for me it's worse than that. It's right up there with the commecials for kid food that hammer home the message that junk food = love. They're taking the wonder and delight that is the combination of thought, emotion, and carnal desire that is the bond between lovers and equating it with greed for bling.
Nasty.
As for Little Girl, the thing is that there's nobody here modelling the girly/princessy archtype for her, and she's such a tough little muffin that I thought when she was 3 that she was a prime suspect for bypassing the princess phase. Nope; there seems to be a component of nature as well as nurture in the little-girls-like-pink.
Interestingly, our little guy was more like you; he's a real sweetie and loves all things cuddly, soft and fluffy. Pink? Not so much. But pastels, definately.
"They're taking the wonder and delight that is the combination of thought, emotion, and carnal desire that is the bond between lovers and equating it with greed for bling" --
So well-put. Gifts (thoughtfulness of any kind) are ever so lovely, but that compulsory aspect or giving certain circumscribed items is what is so killing to honest enthusiasm.
I think it is good that your boy likes soft things. So many parents mistakenly scare this affinity our of boys.
As I reminisce, I confess I loved rhinestone tiaras and all manner of satin, shiny and beaded dresses. It is my mother, staunch bridge feminist that she was (is) who talked me out of pink -- too "girly". I had to have the more androgynous yellow and green.
Who knows how it might've gone had I had my druthers :) Jackie Collins? Barbara Cartland?
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