What’s wrong with three- and four-year-old girls prancing around in sparkly dresses and tiaras and dreaming the night away hugging a Disney princess doll in a real princess canopy bed? The problem, according to Rebecca Hains, PhD (author of The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls Through the Princess-Obsessed Years), is the way the “princess culture” suggests to girls that “most of their value comes from their appearance, while also feeding them stereotypes about race, gender, and beauty that they’re really not equipped to handle at such a young age.” Annie talks with Rebecca about how to raise an empowered girl in a princess world.
About Rebecca Hains (@RCHains)
Dr. Rebecca Hains is a children’s media culture expert. She is a professor of advertising and media studies at Salem State University, where she is the assistant director of the Center for Childhood and Youth Studies. Her research focuses on girls, women, and media. Rebecca’s books include The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls through the Princess-Obsessed Years and Growing Up With Girl Power: Girlhood On Screen and in Everyday Life. Learn more at RebeccaHains.com
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