To princess or not to princess isn’t the question. It is whether to push princesses on little girls that is really the question for me.
In January, my daughter went to a princess birthday party. Before that she was not particularly interested in princesses. Sure, she owned frilly dresses. She would occasionally declare that she was a princess, but I don’t know that she really understood what that entailed, aside from a dress.
After the party, she became moderately interested in princesses. That meant that she wore the frilly dresses more often and declared more frequently that she was a princess. She would also choose a princess cup over a plain cup if given the choice. Still not a princess fanatic.
However, everyone seems to be focused on pushing princesses on her, and it’s driving me somewhat batty. A bit of context: I was a little girl who loved to run around with the boys. At the moment, I hold bugs, explore creeks, and dig in the dirt for a living. I am not a princess person, although I do remember playing princess as a child upon occasion.
So when people come up to my daughter when she is holding a princess cup and gush, it drives me crazy. I don’t want her to feel like princesses are the only option. She likes cars and balls and her pet rats and her baby dolls and purses and princess dresses. Princess is not the only option there. But do people gush when she puts on a Cars bandaid? No. They’re more likely to offer her a princess one instead.
What do I have against princesses, exactly? Am I just threatened by them because they’re into beauty and being rescued? Perhaps. In general, though, I think that I simply resist the pushing of any particular item on a child because of that child’s gender. I know that gender roles and stereotypes exist and that my daughter follows some of them. But I don’t see the need to encourage something because it’s a cute girl thing.
Am I wrong?