The Myth Of American Girl By Peggy Orenstein

In Peggy Orenstein’s book, she effectively argues that a princess-like society immersed in America's culture is damaging to young girls through her interviews, evidence, personal experience, and humorous tone. Starting towards the beginning of her book, Orenstein exposes to the audience that she too liked Disney. She says that "God knows I was a Disney kid. I still have my bona fide mouse ears" (Orenstein 13). By doing this, Orenstein conveys her knowledge of the two sides of her argument: Disney is damaging to young kids or vice versa. On top of this, Orenstein maintains a steady stream of factual evidence throughout the book. She talks about Disney movies, Barbie doll sale prices, American Girl Doll prices, and research on the actress, Shirley Temple.

This quote comes from her shopping trip to the American Girl store. She reveals the hypocrisy of how the store promotes individualism. The quote builds Orenstein's credibility and effectively argues that American Girl can be potentially damaging young girls. Also, Orenstein presents information from others through her interviews. She interviews "one of the girls, Katie, fourteen, who had been adopted as an infant, told me she had found her birth mother on Facebook" (Orenstein 164). This quote shows that Orenstein conducted interviews with teenagers, as well as adults. She gets an inside view of a teenager's mind through her interview; this boosts her credibility. All of Orenstein's research and interviews effectively argue that a princess-like culture is dangerous to