Girl Power

As a 44 year old get of a 16 month teen lady, I did not know how club plotted on giving my fe manly child a sense datum of femininity. I ment aloney hustling myself to be a Daddy and admit my fille Isabel both the support and educations I thought I was capable of. I knew that it was going to be a frighten away task a single convey to a daughter to give her a sense of girl power. I was strike to find out the toy and media industries were not onboard with giving my daughter a sense of what it was to be a strong, powerful, and everything is possible fiddling girl in todays society.Ive noticed that the toy industry and media feed to develop and promote their products toward sons. I complete that the two industries felt that girls would learn on their own what it was to be feminine and that the toys, telly shows, and movies that argon predominately marketed for boys wouldnt affect that process. Poet, critic, and editorialist Katha Pollitt who is best known for her Subjec t to weigh column in The Nation cartridge describes her own experiences as a perplex of a 3-year-old daughter and asking the questions of why the media is selling the stories they be to girls and boys.In the essay The Smurfette Principle, she asks the knotted questions of why the she finds the high ration of anthropoid to fe manful characters in most childrens books, goggle box shows, and movies. Pollitt points out that, many male characters be most often rate as active and outgoing and that effeminate person characters argon most often classify as quiet, hair bow-wearing sidekicks, helpers, or undersized sisters to the boys plane when the characters ar friendly, fuzzy monsters (544). It should be the parents, producers, writers and toy manufacturers utter(a) responsibility to empower young girls.Pollitt states that, modern-day shows are either essentially all-male, want Garfield, or are organized on what I call the Smurfette principle a group of male buddies will be accented by a lonely(prenominal) womanly, stereotypically defined. Many parents dont ever think intimately the characters in a movie or television show and they those characters may impact are children. Growing up watching practically(prenominal) childrens shows oft(prenominal) as the elf handle Rascals confirms what Pollitt in expressing in the Smurfette Principle. It was a bunch of boys having fun and Darla was always tagging along.Darla was visualized as a tough smaller girl you didnt want to bollocks with. The show always had her in a dress, but if you messed with her she would give you a smutty eye. There was no semblance of any femininity what so ever about Darla. Producers and parents may not say how much of an impact this character and many handle it provoke an impact on our children. My daughter Isabel understands way more than I ab initio gave her credit for and she picks up on things same a sponge. Shows like the Little Rascals are giving her a false de tection of what it is like to be a girl in todays society.Cartoons duck soup such a major post in the development of our children these days. Television, movies and toys hunt such a huge role in teaching are children to read, count, socialize and understand there place in society based on their sexual urge. Much of what we describe and read to our children teaches them that boys are more all-important(a) than girls. Pollitt states, The female is usually a little-sister type, a bunny in a intercept dress and hair-ribbons who tags along with the adventurous bears and badgers (345).This is delinquent to the fact that most producers, writers and animators are of the male persuasion. Boys define the group, its story, and its code of values (345). Pollitt understands how these flock are influencing the way our little girls are perceiving the founding and themselves based on what they are watching. Girls exist only in coincidence to boys (345). The toy industry is one of the big gest get rid ofenders when it comes to characterisation what a girl should want in a toy and how it fits her gender.One of the biggest offenders when it comes to commercialism of their license products is Sesame channel. For all the good they do promoting learning and gender equality they leave out the determination to produce toys that little girls would mention with. The Muppets which are the important ones of Sesame Street are the personalities that kids identify with. All these characters which are turned into toys and pushed through commercials and ads are all male. Pollitt knew one little girl that was so upset when she found out that even Big Bird was a boy she stopped watching the show all together.The toy industry is not teaching are young girls that it is okay to like toy cars, tractors, blocks, Transformers and many more continue gender toys. The industry is changing, companies such as Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Warner Brothers are making cartoons th at reach very strong female characters. Animaniacs, The stretch forth Airbender, Scooby Doo, Kim Impossible, and Gargoyles all have strong female characters that show our young girls that they can play a major role, do anything, and be just now as important as any male in society.I my daughter is finding herself even at this young age and I know she and I dont have much time to reinforce her idea of gender equality. Pollitt ends her essay with, it sure would help if the bunnies took off their hair ribbons, and if half of the monsters were fuzzy, blue and female (547). I know I have my work cut out for me just like Pollitt does, but it is a assembly line a truly am glad to have. Isabel will know where she stands in the world and that she is just as important as any little boy.