Peggy Orenstein originally thought that tomboy cartoon character Dora the Explorer was a different kind of role model for girls. Dora didn't wear pink. Or dresses. Or obsess over clothes or boys or looks. But then, in later episodes of her show, Dora became a princess anyway and started saying things like "Vamanos! Let's go to fairy land!" In her new book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture, Orenstein looks at Disney Princesses, American Girls, and Barbies, all of which were originally rebellious counterculture icons when compared to the typical feminine images of their day but, over time, have succumbed to the same old media-induced gender stereotypes.
Read Full Article »
