Any parents of daughters out there who have agonized over the “princess culture” our daughters are immersed in? Have you wondered if it’s possible to counteract the negative messages out there about women in general? A friend recently recommended the book, Growing a Girl : Seven Strategies for Raising a Strong, Spirited Daughter by Dr. Barbara Mackoff. I’m not quite half way done at this point… but I think it is wonderful for making you think more critically about parenting a young girl in society today, and thus far, would recommend it. If you pick it up and read it, or have already… let me know what you think here! I’d love to have other great recommendations listed here as well (If I get a few, I’ll create a “bookroll”… for girls, boys, siblings, etc… So list anything you’ve liked for any age child).
September 21, 2008
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This is something my wife and I struggle with as well. Luckily, our daughters (aged six and four) aren’t particularly in to Disney Princesses, but the images are ubiquitous. Part of what bothers me is that I’m one of those Jungian types who believes that Fairy Tales are repositories of valuable cultural and spiritual wisdom and so I want to preserve that archtpyal material for my daughters (and for me!). To that end, I purchased “The Feminine in Fairy Tales” by Marie-Luise Von Franz. It can be a little bit dense, but it has helped me to read fairy tales in a woman-positive way, so that they’re not about helpless damsels being saved by dashing princes, but about becoming whole by giving full expression to the inner masculine as well as the inner feminine, which means that the child who reads the stories properly will be encouraged not to put on a fluffy ball gown but to play soccer as much as she plays house.
Ben
Comment by Ben Daniel — September 23, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
Thanks Ben. It sounds terrific and I’ll definitely check it out. I also hate to lose some of the spiritual/cultural wisdom from the tales, and find that some of them have provided an entry discussion into the scary topics of life that are a reality, but hard to discuss. In addition, they are part of our cultural cannon, and to skip them entirely would partially deny your child the ability to comprehend literature fully at a more advanced stage. I appreciate your commenting.
Comment by saracallow — September 23, 2008 @ 4:32 pm