Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Scary Article

Today on my MSN homepage, there was a link to Newsweek article with the headline "Divas Before Grade School." The article is basically about how images and messages from the media are forcing young girls to grow up and worry about their looks earlier and earlier. I know that this is not a new idea that we've never heard before, but as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about my ten year old female cousin. She has always been much girlier than I was at her age (although I have never been very girly), but reading this article made me wonder how much of her girliness stems from her personality and how much comes from the media around her. I was amazed at one example in particular that I read. Girls are going in to beauty salons younger than ever. According to the article, there is even a spa in Brooklyn that advertises itself as catering to girls twelve and under. At eighteen years old, I still have never gone to a spa or anything like it, but here are these girls, not even in high school yet, getting facials. It makes me wonder that if they are getting treated to such pampering now, what will they expect once they are old enough to actually need spa days? I feel like most women go to the spa either to reduce stress or to treat actual skin problems. The average twelve year old has neither issue, and therefore has no reason to go to a spa other than to feel grown up. When I was twelve, my friends and I did this by practicing to walk in high heels. I'm sure the article makes this seem like a much bigger epidemic than it actually is, but it scares me nonetheless.

Citation added: Bennett, Jessica. "Generation Diva." Newsweek 30 Mar. 2009. Newsweek. 1 Apr. 2009 .
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3 comments:

  1. niApril 6, 2009 at 9:36 PM

    It scares me too. I have noticed and worried about the same issues. All Disney teen ladies and Taylor Swift, for example, have very colorful faces and wardrobe in addition to their acting and singing talents, which I understand to be very attractive to young, impressionable girls. The mall reminds me of this every time I venture out for a visit. The first time I saw a Libby Lu, I got sad. I have not been able to look directly at it, but I believe there is a lot of pink in the store to attract little girls, and a lot of that pink rubs off on their faces and nails when they come out of it. The first time I walked into an Abercrombie and Fitch, I was slightly overwhelmed by the blaring music and strong perfume. When I saw that the brand was reaching out to kids as I was walking in a mall one day, I literally cried out. The powerful atmosphere, I suppose, can be intoxicating, hypnotizing, to young girls who want to grow up increasingly sooner. A jolt of either shock or horror runs through my system every time I see a little girl barely in sixth grade looking as though she walked out of a teen catalog but miniature sized with baby fat still hanging on to dear life. I imagine that baby fat is still holding on to the remnants of what should be carefree childhood. I could go crazy on this topic. I may be taking this out of proportion, but I have felt this way since I was in middle school. I have little cousins still in grade school that I worry about too.

    Jenny

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  2. RaissaApril 7, 2009 at 10:31 PM

    I totally agree that young girls these days grow up way too fast. When I was in high school I would walk past the middle school and was always surprised at how grown up the middle schoolers looked, and grown up is putting it nicely. And now, whenever I visit home the middle schoolers just seem to be getting worse. What happened to the days when kids still looked like kids? I remember myself in middle school, and high school even, I was a tomboy until I got a grown up body, then I was a closet tomboy. It shocks me that kids are trying to grow up so hard that they may miss out on being kids. Sure, every kid wants to seem or be more grown up, but that usually it doesn't go so far as making girls change into some kind of miniature hooker wannabees. Is it all the media's fault though? I mean, there are some parents that would dress their little girls up like a stereotypical high school cheerleader, or mothers who dress 20 to 30 years younger than they should.

    -Raissa

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  3. RandallApril 8, 2009 at 8:33 AM

    Even coming from a males stand point Ihave noticed a trend of the younger girls trying to look older than they really are. Being 19 I and hating every minute of being this old, only because I love Disneyland and could spend the rest of days running around that park,I cannot imagine why girls want to get "look" older. My biggest question is, at twelve years old who are you trying to impress? the odds are that even if you did impress somebody it wont last long, because the only reason that the little girl drew them in was by her "looks" not her personality. I also feel that make-up and cover up and whatever else goes on girls faces now a days can really hinder the natural beauty that was once there. I am not saying to never wear make-up bujt less is better. Even though after a hard day the quickest way to get a good laugh is to look at a girl and noticed that pund of make-up just could not match the color of her skin and get that "make-up" line right by the cheek bone. It always makes me laugh. :) i guess im coming at this topic from an athletic stand point. Because when your doing sports all the time and constently sweating the need for make-up goes away. I also may have a bias view of girls wanting to look older because I have never wanted to grow up. The point of this was to say that even from a male stand point, and even though i know nothing about make-up or dressing up, it still noticable to me.
    Randall

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