Combatting the Princess/Diva Syndrome, Part 4...

For previous insights as to why I will never call my Bug "Princess", check out my posts with the "mirror, mirror..." label.

Every now and then, someone will try to call our Bug a princess, justifying it with, "Well, she's God's little princess since she's a child of the King." Technically, yes, that's true, I suppose. But it's that whole connotation of a princess being spoiled and coddled that I have a problem with.

For some truly insightful words on this topic, check out this post from Toddled Dredge.

Moms for Modesty

So if you've read this post (or this one or this one), then you probably already know that how I dress my daughter is a big issue for me. Being that she's only 2, I don't usually have to worry about her clothing being too revealing (yet), but I do take issue with all the "Princess" and other self-important slogans that seem to be everywhere on kids' t-shirts these days, especially on toddler girls' tees. Given this, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Moms for Modesty Mission Statement today. Here it is:

Moms for Modesty Mission Statement

• As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.
• I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.
• I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.
• I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.
• I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls' and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

I plan on heading over to sign it as soon as I post this. How about you? And if you have any great retailers who match Statement 5, I'd love to hear about them. So far my approach has been to frequent the usual retailers and just be very choosy about what I buy, but if there are retailers who have made this their specific mission, I'd love to support them with my dollars.

Combatting the Princess/Diva Syndrome... Part 3

OK, I promise that this is not going to be a one-issue blog and that someday I will put up the post that I had scribbled notes for on Monday morning, but I saw an entry on this same issue on Goody Blog today, which started off with the phrase, "If you’re perturbed by the whole “princess culture” trend..." and I just had to add Part 3. (How's that for a run-on sentence for ya?) Anyways, you gotta click through on the "princess culture" link to find out that even though it's a lengthy article, it's worth the read.

It's not princesses specifically that I have a problem with, but the being- submerged- in- all- things- princess- to- the- exclusion- of- everything- else. I'm one of those moms who never buys pink for my daughter because (a) I figure plenty of others will and (b) why limit her color palette until she chooses to do so herself?

Princesses (and pink) can be all innocent and fun, but I really don't like the idea of my Bug being immersed in a world of role models who teach lessons like it's OK to sit around and wait for a guy to rescue you or to tell others they should wait on you hand and foot. It's that second lesson that leads all too quickly into entitlement and divadom, and I for one, would hope that my daughter never falls into such a self-centered view of the world.

Combatting the Princess/Diva Syndrome... Part 2

OK, so this wasn't what I was planning on writing about this morning, but less than 24 hours after my Part 1 post, I found the following 2 tidbits while cruising the blogosphere:

• Over on The Not-Quite-Crunchy Parent, I found "Beyond Princess Play: Why Girls Won't Mind" where, in discussing toys being marketed for girls vs. boys, MC states, "Boys will be boys; girls will be either." I hadn't thought about this too much as my boy (age 4.5) and girl (age 2) are still young enough that they enjoy playing just about anything together. I do know, however, that I am very conscious of how my daughter plays with her dolls and toy kitchen, and I am pretty anti-Barbie and anti-Disney princess. Perhaps a Step One in my battle against raising a diva...
• And on Sorta Crunchy (a new blog I just found today through the Big Bloggy Move), I found an earlier post from Megan in which she challenged herself to buy gently used clothing for her kids. Besides the crunchy reason to buy used clothes ("There really is no reason I have to keep feeding into this broken consumerist system by buying brand new clothing for the girls when I can buy clothing someone else's little girl has already broken in..."), she also linked to a study that points out that materialism is a cause of self-esteem problems. Hey, if I can fight the Diva Syndrome and Materialism at the same time, I'm thrilled!
  

If you've got any other links, feel free to post them! And please, any suggestions are welcome.

Combatting the Princess/Diva Syndrome...

Hello all (or all one or two of you!),

Maybe future readers will come back and comment on this post since I know there aren't many of you right now, being that this little blog is a newborn!

Anyways, the question on my mind today is how do I keep my precious little 2 year old from turning into a Princess/Diva? I knew this would be a struggle in South Orange County as it seems like every other little girl in the supermarket is prancing around in what I would have considered dress-up clothes, but I really want to know! Right now, her favorite colors are purple and brown, but she did pick out her first 2 pink shirts at Old Navy today. (She hasn't been picking out clothes very long, so she isn't totally deprived, but yes, I do tend to buy any color but pink!) She also is currently playing on the patio in a hat and sunglasses, but she's been wearing them inside all day as well!

Have we started down a slippery slope? Is she going to be asking for jewelry or a feather boa next week? I was such a happy tomboy as a kid and I would love for her to be one, too. Looks aren't everything, so I want her to like herself for who she is, not which outfit she's wearing!

I'd love to hear what you cruisers of the World Wide Web have to say...