I have a girl

Before I ever had kids, I wanted all boys. But now I have a girl. And now I need to compete with society to help her grow up right.

Note: I will be posting a lot of links in this blog. I really encourage you to at least glance at them.

I saw this link on my facebook news feed today--

Barbie Makes the Cover of SI

Barbie, a toy for young girls, is on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Are you serious? What are they trying to teach kids? I already have a problem with Barbie and her unrealistic perfectionism. But now they're putting a doll on the cover, a normal person wasn't good enough? Just seeing that link today got me all in a frenzy.

I have such a problem with this "princess society" we are raising our daughters in. I've tried really hard to keep Everlyn's toys neutral. She has the same number of dump trucks, and cars as she does dolls. Whenever I have a choice between getting the pink girls version of a toy or the boys neutral colors, I buy the "boys toys" over the girls because I don't want her whole life to be pink from the get-go. Raising our daughters to be princesses isn't really working out. I found this website today; it is a website and a cause developed entirely to redefine what being a princess is. Being a princess shouldn't mean being spoiled, materialistic, beautiful, and selfish, it should mean putting others first and being beautiful from the inside.

The Princess Generation

Why not make movies and TV shows about actual women in history who made a difference? Why not make a princess who isn't stereotypically beautiful? Here's a link that you have to look at. This artist made real life women in history and disneyfied them into princesses. While he did this as a joke, why not use these women as role models? Turn their lives and achievements into a cartoon series for young girls to understand and look up to. Something is better than nothing.

Artist Turns Female Role Models into Disney Princesses


There are a lot of people, like myself who are concerned with these issues. What are we teaching our daughters? There is a company called Goldie Blox that is entirely dedicated to making toys for girls that teach engineering and innovation. Just go to the store and walk through the girl isle and the boy isle. Look at the toys offered for girls. Dolls, kitchen sets, cleaning sets, princess costumes... Did the feminist movement never happen? But in the boy isle they have superhero toys and costumes, building toys, inventing toys, cars, trucks, sports toys. And why don't parents just buy toys in another isle? They think they will confuse their child by mixing gender roles. Let me roll my eyes one more time for you.

Goldie Blox

I have high hopes for my daughter. I don't want her to turn into some spoiled little princess who ends up not knowing how to take care of herself. There are too many women like that out there. I think we need to change the way we raise our daughters if we want to have strong, capable women in our future. Let them get dirty and messy, let them play with the boys and get them involved in sports, don't only buy toys in the pink isle. Teach your daughter everything you would teach a son, and more. Teach them how lucky they are, teach them to help others, teach them how stupid boys are, teach them that the most beautiful part of themselves is on the inside.