I was glad to recently receive a guest post commenting on Caitlin Moran’s new book, ‘How To Be a Woman’. I’m looking forward to reading it myself, particularly as Moran addresses our increasing obsession with princesses – something I’m currently wrestling with. A number of my friends have young daughters and I can’t help but notice the “princess effect” in their lives. This isn’t something that sits comfortably with me.
I was a young girl during the 1970’s and I don’t remember an obsession with pink, sparkles, crystals and princesses while I was growing up – at least not to the same degree as we see today (although a friend tells me she remembers several little girls with Princess Diana haircuts at school…). There were certainly stereotypes for boys and girls when I was growing up, but I honestly think assumptions around how we expect boys and girls to look and behave is far more defined nowadays. Continue reading
