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girls as consumers
Aug. 24th, 2006 10:09 amThere's an interesting article up on Feministe about Kids (girls) and designer clothes in specific and beauty consumerism in general.
Articles like the one Feministe references always sorta bother me. You get people talking about how kids live, and so many of us become stupid.
I disagree with a lot of the comments people make about kids trying to act adult (like Oh, noes, they have Sidekicks and I never had such things and Aieee, the clothes are too sexxay) - those kinds of comments seem upset that kids are different from us-as-kids; they almost seem jealous, you know? They're not growing up too fast so much as they're growing up differently. Kids have always modeled adults, and I'd much rather see an eight year old having conversations just like mom's on her phone than watch her be "just like mom" making dinner and taking care of kids. I think feminism is directly and positively contributing to that change.
Not that Feministe doesn't have a point about introducing consumerism to kids early - I think that's a sign of how much most popular media are driven by the market, though. Kids want to buy stuff cause that's what we think adults want, too. I don't think it's any more appalling coming from a 4 year old than it is coming from me (and yes, I am appallingly stuff-driven at times); the problem isn't specific to kids - they're just imitating what they think adults do.
And of course people reporting on these changes in kids' behavior aren't saying "hey, check out the advances of feminism!" or questioning why we as a culture value stuff acquisition over, say, critical thought - no, they want to show either a) how cute or b) how spoilt kids are. They're neglecting to see children as individuals or even a force/trend/whatever.
Articles like the one Feministe references always sorta bother me. You get people talking about how kids live, and so many of us become stupid.
I disagree with a lot of the comments people make about kids trying to act adult (like Oh, noes, they have Sidekicks and I never had such things and Aieee, the clothes are too sexxay) - those kinds of comments seem upset that kids are different from us-as-kids; they almost seem jealous, you know? They're not growing up too fast so much as they're growing up differently. Kids have always modeled adults, and I'd much rather see an eight year old having conversations just like mom's on her phone than watch her be "just like mom" making dinner and taking care of kids. I think feminism is directly and positively contributing to that change.
Not that Feministe doesn't have a point about introducing consumerism to kids early - I think that's a sign of how much most popular media are driven by the market, though. Kids want to buy stuff cause that's what we think adults want, too. I don't think it's any more appalling coming from a 4 year old than it is coming from me (and yes, I am appallingly stuff-driven at times); the problem isn't specific to kids - they're just imitating what they think adults do.
And of course people reporting on these changes in kids' behavior aren't saying "hey, check out the advances of feminism!" or questioning why we as a culture value stuff acquisition over, say, critical thought - no, they want to show either a) how cute or b) how spoilt kids are. They're neglecting to see children as individuals or even a force/trend/whatever.