Cinderella Ate My Daughter (27 page)

online sites aimed at, 161–62, 164

premature sexualization of, 75, 78, 79, 91, 123, 125, 183

see also
preschool girls; “tween” girls

Prince, Phoebe, 169, 172–73

Princess and the Frog, The,
179, 180–82, 189–90

princess culture, 3–6, 8, 13–16, 18–21, 22–25, 26, 41, 58, 64, 75, 83, 96, 99, 101, 115, 124, 138, 143–44, 150, 153, 155, 186, 187–92

Disney’s marketing of, 13–15, 16, 23, 24, 26, 36, 104, 116, 125, 182, 189–90

first mainstream African-American character in, 15, 179–82, 189–90

materialistic values in, 16, 23

mothers’ perspectives on, 19–21, 22–23, 24

movies in, 104, 107, 179–82, 187–90

as protecting girls’ innocence, 6, 24, 25, 32, 49, 81, 114, 119, 125

rescue fantasies and landing Prince Charming emphasized in, 4, 6, 12, 14, 16, 20, 23, 111, 144, 180, 182

toys and merchandise of, 15–16, 26, 33–34, 35, 48, 61–62, 85, 182, 186, 190

see also
fairy tales

Princess Smartypants
(Cole), 101

Psychology of Sex Differences, The
(Maccoby and Jacklin), 206

Pussycat Dolls, 83, 119

Ramona and Beezus,
128

Ramsey, JonBenét, 72, 90

Rapunzel, 102

“Rapunzel” (Brothers Grimm), 190–92

Reimer, David, 57, 65

Riot Grrrl movement, 153, 154, 155, 218
n

“Robber Bridegroom, The” (Brothers Grimm), 108

Rolling Stone,
122

Roosevelt, Franklin, 25

Roosevelt, Theodore, 45

Rowland, Pleasant, 28, 32

“Rumpelstiltskin” (Brothers Grimm), 105–6

Saks Fifth Avenue, 27, 32, 83

Salon,
111

same-sex play, 67–69

Sanford Harmony Program, 66–67, 71–72, 158

Sax, Leonard, 70, 71

Scholastic, 156

Schoolgirls
(Orenstein), 140–41

Scrabble, 7, 152

self-esteem, 6, 16, 22, 76, 137, 138, 175, 215
n

Sesame Street,
39–41

Sesame Workshop, 40–41

“sexting,” 170, 172

sexuality, female, 7, 8, 85, 112, 121–24, 129–31, 167

detachment in, 6–7, 16, 85, 121, 123–24, 171–72

objectification and performance in, 6–7, 8, 76, 85, 123–124, 129–130, 167, 171–172, 183, 195
n,
221
n
;
see also
sexualization, female

in toys marketed to children, 47, 48–49, 84, 85–88, 91

sexualization, female, 8, 75, 76, 121–22, 129, 167, 195
n
–96
n

femininity equated with, 112, 125, 130, 134, 167, 183

mental health and, 6, 16, 76, 85, 137, 138, 196
n

of superheroines, 144–45

of women in power, 149

of young female celebrities, 113–15, 120–24, 125, 126–28, 129–31, 221
n

sexualization, premature, 75, 76, 84–86, 91, 171, 184, 215
n

detached sexuality as result of, 6–7, 16, 85, 123–24, 129–30, 171–72

digital media and, 167–68, 170–71, 172

fashion and, 86, 91, 123, 125

female celebrities and, 113–15, 123, 124–25, 221
n

mainstream media’s role in, 86, 113–14, 123, 124, 125, 167, 183, 184

princess and pink culture in protecting from, 6, 24–25, 32, 52, 81

sibling effect, 64–65

“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” 86

“Six Swans, The” (Brothers Grimm), 108–9

Sleeping Beauty, 5, 14, 23, 24, 36, 62, 102, 115, 144, 162

Sleeping Beauty,
190

Snow Queen, The
(Andersen), 190

Snow White, 3, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 115, 120

“Snow White” (Brothers Grimm), 100

social networking sites, 159, 161, 163, 164–70, 182

cyberbullying on, 168–70, 172–73, 174, 175, 177

for “tweens,” 174–78

Sonny with a Chance,
128

Sophie (ten-year-old girl), 27, 31–32

Spears, Britney, 115, 121–23, 127, 129, 130, 153

Spears, Jamie Lynn, 127

Spice Girls, 153–55

Spider-Woman,
144

Spinning Straw into Gold
(Gould), 105

Steiner-Adair, Catherine, 142

stereotypes, gender, 63–64, 97, 146–47, 198
n

in mainstream media, 16–17, 91, 147–48, 150, 155, 202
n
–3
n

Steven (author’s husband), 2, 15, 88, 97, 99

Stewart, Kristen, 112

suicide, 18, 169, 172–73

Supergirl, 144–45

superheroines, 144–46, 148, 150, 158

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,
46

Talking Elmo, 51

Tangled,
190

Target, 42, 88

teenage girls, 122, 137–41, 166, 167, 183, 192, 215
n

body image issues and self-loathing in, 6, 18, 137, 139, 141

cyberbullying of, 168–70, 172–73, 174, 219
n
–20
n

depression in, 16, 18, 172

detached sexuality in, 6–7, 16, 123, 171–72

Internet use of, 162–71, 172–73, 219
n
–20
n

premature sexualization of, 6–7, 16, 113–15, 123–24, 130, 167–68, 170–72, 183, 215
n,
221
n

suicide and, 18, 169, 172–73

Teen Choice Awards, 127

television, 50, 91, 100, 144, 186, 187

commercials on, 27, 98, 202
n
–3
n,
221
n

for tweens and pretweens, 116–20, 127, 128–29, 130

Temple, Shirley, 25–26, 79, 119–20

text messaging, 161, 169

sexually suggestive, 170–71, 172

That’s So Raven,
117

Thelma & Louise,
101

Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary
(Moore), 148, 217
n

Tiana (char.), 15, 180–81, 190

Tinker Bell, 14, 144

TinkerToys, 7, 38, 45

toddlers, 5, 36–37, 38, 39, 95, 116, 192

Toddlers & Tiaras,
75, 77, 89

Tolman, Deborah, 6–7, 171–72

“tomboys,” 66–67

Tonka, 38, 57, 202
n

Toy Fair (Jacob Javits Center), 33–35, 51, 53

toys and merchandise, 13, 15–16, 20, 26–32, 45–52, 57, 95–96, 144, 155, 180, 184, 185

Barbie line of, 7, 15, 28, 39, 42, 44, 45–48, 49, 50, 63, 84, 88, 97

board games, 7, 34, 49–50, 152

Bratz line of, 48–49, 50, 51, 84, 86, 91, 153, 155

of fake guns, 96–98, 99, 102

gender and inborn preferences in, 57, 62–64, 68

gender color coding of, 7, 21, 35, 38–39, 43, 50, 51, 63, 152

as gender role propaganda, 44–45, 52

gender segmentation of, 3, 7, 21–22, 38–39, 43, 45, 50, 51–52, 63, 70, 97, 98–99, 198
n

materialistic and narcissistic values in, 32, 42, 46, 48, 48–51, 88, 155

pink-and-pretty trend in, 33–35, 38–39, 40–43, 44, 47–48, 49–50, 51, 152

for preschool girls, 3, 34, 38, 51, 86–88

princess culture of, 15, 26, 33–34, 35, 48, 61–62, 182, 186, 190

“sexiness” and “cool” marketed in, 47, 48–49, 50, 52, 85–88, 91

Ty Girlz line of, 86–88, 155, 161, 182

Toys “R” Us, 8, 39, 118

Toy Story,
39, 189

Triple Bind, The
(Hinshaw), 84–85

“tween” girls, 5, 135, 183

beauty products marketed to, 29, 37, 42, 82, 83, 156

celebrity role-models marketed to, 113–31

clothing marketed to, 82, 91, 125

elastic age span in categorization of, 37, 42

materialistic values marketed to, 30, 49–50, 83, 117, 155, 156

premature sexualization of, 6, 7, 84–86, 91, 123, 125

social networking site for, 174–78

see also
“pre-tween” girls

Twenge, Jean, 215
n

Twilight
series (Meyer), 6, 109–12, 182, 211
n

Twitter, 24, 166

Ty Girlz, 86–88, 155, 161, 182

Universal Royalty Texas State Beauty Pageant, 73–75, 76–78, 79–80, 89–91, 92–94

Up,
189

Uses of Enchantment, The
(Bettelheim), 100

Vanity Fair,
114, 115, 121, 127, 130

Verna (African-American mother), 180

Viacom, 15

violence:

in fairy tales, 100, 102–3, 105, 106–9, 191–92

in media, 98, 186

in play, 96–98, 99–100

Vogue,
149

Wall Street Journal, The,
129

Walmart, 86, 119, 124

Walters, Barbara, 127

War Play Dilemma, The
(Levin), 98

Washington Post, The,
148

Webkinz.com, 173

What Kids Buy and Why
(Acuff and Reiher), 37

“What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” (Orenstein), 4–5

Why Gender Matters
(Sax), 70

Whyville, 159–60, 176

Winfrey, Oprah, 126, 181

Wizard of Oz, The,
120

Wizards of Waverly Place,
128–29

Wolkstein, Diane, 109

Wonder Woman, 144, 145–46, 148, 150, 158

Wonder World Tour, 124, 125–26, 130–31

Wood, Eden, 78, 79, 89, 90, 92

Wood, Mickie, 78, 90

World War II, 100

“X: A Fabulous Child’s Story,” 55–56

Yeh-Shen, 103

YouTube, 46, 144, 161, 169

Zoe (Muppet), 40

About the Author

Peggy Orenstein is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling memoir
Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother
;
Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap
; and
Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids and Life in a Half-Changed World
. She is a contributing writer to
The
New York Times Magazine
. Her work has also appeared in the
Los Angeles Times
,
USA Today
,
Vogue
,
Elle
,
Parenting
,
O: The Oprah Magazine
,
More
,
Discover
,
Salon
, and
The
New Yorker
, and she contributes commentaries to NPR’s
All Things Considered
. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their daughter, Daisy. Visit her Web site at www.peggyorenstein.com; you can follow her on Twitter @peggyorenstein.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Also by Peggy Orenstein

Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother

Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, and Life in a Half-Changed World

Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap

Copyright

CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER.
Copyright © 2011 by Peggy Orenstein. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Orenstein, Peggy.

Cinderella ate my daughter : dispatches from the front lines of the new girlie-girl culture / Peggy Orenstein. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-06-171152-7

EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780062041630

1. Girls—Psychology. 2. Femininity. 3. Mothers and daughters. I. Title.

HQ777.O74 2011

305.23082—dc22

2010028724

11 12 13 14 15
ID/RRD
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1