http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/fashion/29tween.html?_r=1
This article discusses several things we've mentioned periodically throughout our course. The first being how tweens and teens are affected by marketing, especially that of cosmetics. The girl mentioned in this article is age 11 and has started wearing more "sophisticated" makeup, to which her mother has reacted by buying her makeup and taking her to get a makeover. The question asked by the author is about the parent's action; is it poor adult judgment or progressive parenting? There's also the idea of whether makeup sexualizes young girls by making them look more like adults. Given our discussions about how younger girls nowadays are already somewhat more mature when it comes to appearance and interests, how can we view their move towards more sophisticated makeup and the role of parents in this stage? Moreover, what do we make of shows such as "Toddlers and Tiaras" in which parents very actively encourage physical makeovers of their toddlers?
Sonam,
ReplyDeleteI am hesitant to say that the recent infatuation with cosmetics at a young age is a result of any type of poor parenting. An effective example that that today’s male college students are reporting greater levels of body dissatisfaction. As a result of this body dissatisfaction, men have recently spent 3 billion dollars on cosmetic products. In my experience, no parent informs their son that they must utilize cosmetic products; however, the above statistics seem to support the idea that men are utilizing cosmetic products at a growing rate. Ultimately, I don't believe that this infatuation with cosmetics at a young age is due to parents; I believe it is due to a societal construct of developing the ideal body.
As for your question about Toddlers and Tiaras, I don't think that shows with very young girls as stars are a new phenomenon. In fact, I think they have existed for some time. In 1932, Shirley Temple appeared in a film at the age of three. Moreover, Shirley Temple was revered for embodying the best female characteristics of the time. That being said, I don't think that shows, such as Toddlers and Tiaras, are responsible for the increased number of makeovers.
I found the statistics I utilized above at the following link: http://www.msoe.edu/life_at_msoe/current_student_resources/student_resources/counseling_services/newsletters_for_mental_health/body_image_dissatisfaction.shtml