Girlie Girl Culture

According to statistics, “Nearly 43,000 children under eighteen surgically altered their appearance in 2008”, which is more than double the amount in earlier decades (Orenstein 139). According to the book Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein, she attributes this recent spike, and other trends, to the recent popularity of the girlie-girl culture. The girlie-girl culture refers to the recent flood of anything and everything pink, glittery, and aesthetically pleasing. Orenstein uses her book as a medium to tackle a wide spectrum of problems with the popularity of the girlie-girl culture, and even immerses herself in the culture to gain a different perspective by attending a pageant, a Miley Cyrus concert, and shopping at the American

Orenstein further highlights that gender is a social construct by historically looking at the association of the color blue and pink with gender. Initially, both boys and girls wore gender-neutral white gowns and when colors were introduced to the nursery pink was associated with males and blue was associated with females. Pink, being a pastel version of red, symbolized strength and the blue symbolized femininity due to its intimations of the Virgin Mary. The nature of the switch is unclear, but in modern day you will find most girls attracted to pink and most boys attracted to blue because their environment tells them these associations are correct. Since children are so malleable and absorb most of their information from their environment they believe that the gender roles are set in stone, any deviations from the “norm” leads to children being shamed or looked at skeptically. Thus, Society tells young girls that being pretty, wearing pink, and glitter are what girls like may have led to the explosion of the girlie-girl culture. Furthermore, to young children being confused for the opposite sex may seem like the end of the world so these young girls continually participate in the girlie-girl culture, not knowing that their participation can shape their subconscious associations between some of the features of the culture and their femininity. Conclusively, Cinderella Ate My Daughter contributes insights on gender roles and the negative effects that the subconscious associations between certain behaviors and their gender can have on a child. However, I believe that this book offers the idea that external influences like the girlie-girl culture are powerful and currently overwhelming, but a child’s gender role is socially determined and a child’s gender does not, and should not, automatically