The Princess Trend in Girls

Nina Sebastiane: Have you been shopping for your little girl recently and notice that the whole world seems to have gone pink crazy. Pink dolls, pink cars, pink televisions. They're seems to be a huge demand for it. Now recent survey carried out by Disney princess found that there's been a real shift in our children's playing habits. Previous moms were very tumblish and even I was. And it seems that the current generation of little girls all want to be princesses. Christine Webber is a psychotherapist and she is here to talk about these changing trends along with mom Lisa Gowie and her five year old daughter Tyla who is of course her very own little princess. Welcome everyone. Now Christine what is this obsession with pink and girlie? Christine Webber: Well the Disney princess report would suggest that 40% of little girls now want to be princesses. They want to play a pink princess. Nearly about a quarter of their moms can recall having wanted to do this at their age. So what does this say? Well I think there is a natural psychical thing here that we tend to react to some extent against our parents, that's a very natural normal thing. And I do think like the moms of Tyla's generation are as you say were tomboys and also do slow ball in jogging bottoms and grungy jeans and this sort of thing. And I do think there's been a kind of reaction against that. Nina Sebastiane: Well, I know for myself when I was I think me and nearly same in our age. I was definitely a tomboy quite rum bunches played with my brother's toys. Didn't really do the pink thing. It wasn't even on my radar, and didn't even want to do that. I mean my favorite game was probably doctors and nurses. I think I probably liked snugging all the boys. What sort of things did you play? Lisa Gowie: Well, definitely same sort of thing, doctors and nurses or climbing trees playing even my sister was the same. She is two years younger and she played on bike and same as I did and played football and wanted to play rounders and do that sort of thing, it wasn't interested in pink or princesses at all. Nina Sebastiane: So do you think that this almost sort of going back to almost a traditional female role. Is that something that we will be seeing in their later lives as well. Christine Webber: It's could be very interesting to find out. Are we breeding a generation who are going to expect to be kept and looked after and homemaking jam will perhaps not if you not are princess. But you know Nina Sebastiane: I don't know. Christine Webber: I don't know are they still going to be Prime Ministers, Captains of industry. I think partly the fact that these sorts of products are so readily accessible and relatively cheap compared with what they would have been in previous generations. That's how its impact is. And the fact that it has been taken up by all of them, I mean I think to some extent. There is quite a lot of peer pressure to be a princess, whereas perhaps in your generation the pressure was to excel in some other way. Nina Sebastiane: All I did, I think I definitely played doctors and nurse. I played school teachers, school mom, and I had all my dollies a lined up and it would tell them of a fake Christine Webber: But is it that we now or that generation actually know the reality being a teacher is often -- being a doctor and nurse is sort of lost that kind of kudos thing that they used to have. May be its just that the fancy now has to be something so delightful. And I think the real thing is I rather like the idea about children little girls being princesses, because you know as a psychotherapist I see a lot of adults in therapy who are quite were damaged as children. They weren't affirmed enough. Their self esteem was low. They weren't paid enough attention to whatever it may be. And I think every little girl should be the princess to her family. She should feel she is the most enchanting thing on the planet. This going to help things. Nina Sebastiane: So it's okay to dress up. Have you ever diswayed Tyla from wanting to be the princess, the imaginary princess. Lisa Gowie: No, no, not at all. I think you can in this teen age you can have it all and I think the fact that Tyla wants to be a princess she can still go on and late in life to be a Prime Minister, but just wear pink. There is nothing wrong with that. Nina Sebastiane: And why not? Why not? Imagine Margaret Thatcher will little sort of you know Terry and -- Christine Webber: I don't know anything about that. Nina Sebastiane: Well, let's talk about boys toys as well. I mean because obviously this is great for girls, but do we still have a stigma around when boys try and dress up or may be do something that is not perceived does the sort of typical male or boy role. I mean I know a little boy just down off street and he loves pushing this little pink buggy. I am not sure how his parents feel about that. Lisa Gowie: I don't think there is actually anything wrong with it, my son is 11 now. He plays rugby and football and does all the normal things that boys do, but at some the same age as Tyla was well really young probably about two, he was still trying on my shoes and playing with my handbags and things like that. I don't think there is any way we should dismay children from doing that. Nina Sebastiane: So, it doesn't mean they are going to be gay if they wear pink or want to play with girl's toys. Christine Webber: Well statistically some of them will be. But I don't think because they owe. My god she is playing with pink, because after all when a little girl in the 60s or 70s played on a chopper bike or with an action man who they were the big toys then. I don't think we all thought, oh heavens she is not a female, is she? You know if feminine. I don't think so. Nina Sebastiane: It's funny you say that because my daughter is only 19 months and occasionally, when she was very young there was a great little boys type outfits and I dresses her up a couple of times and people would say, oh you are dressing her good and I said its okay. She's cross-dressing nothing shall get over it. So there is definitely a stigma between what girls can do and what boys can do. Christine Webber: But there is also quite recently I was doing a little research on the internet for coming on here. In 1905 there was a book about parenting suggesting that little girls should always be dressed in pale blue because that was a kind of frail fragile color and that pink would be quite suitable for boys, because it was near a red. So in the last 100 years this has completely turned around. Nina Sebastiane: Well, let's ask Tyla. Tyla whats your favorite game? What you like playing the most at home? Tyla: With Barbies. Nina Sebastiane: With Barbies and you like dressing up. Now we brought Disney if I actually send this if you -- look at us, so why don't you have a look at what you most like to play with. So is anything there of any interest to you. I never she got this glitter bag. This Disney glitter bag and we brought oh she got marshmallows in here I bought myself. We have got a television set that's in of course pink. And we have got magic wand perhaps I will give this to Tyla to see if she can make us a spell or cast us a nice spell. Lisa Gowie: Who's that princess on that? Tyla: Jasmine. Nina Sebastiane: So when you get together with your buddy your girlfriend, what do you do? What sort of games do you like playing? Tyla: Snap and stuff. Nina Sebastiane: snap and stuff, but with pink snap colors. Lisa Gowie: -- Christine Webber: Of course they are I mean do you think that this is taking away from a child's imagination, because there's so much stuff to play with and there is so many thing that you can buy them. The average parent must be absolutely horrified to even turn the TV on when the after it's on. Christine Webber: Well, I think in most families you have got nowadays the child listens such as me who is very happy to indulge in. so I don't think its all just coming from the parents. I think you know, you have your other children in the family and you indulge, because you don't have children of your own and you are able to find that floor in the well known toy shop where everything is pink and then you become the very popular on. So, I don't think it all depends on the parents. I actually think it does encourage make belief and imagination and imaginative play. And those things are very important, aren't they? Nina Sebastiane: That's a good question Lisa. Do you feel that when she is playing, when Tyla is playing with her toys is there is actually imagination just that sort of creates another story within a story? How does it work? Lisa Gowie: Definitely. I think so. It just adds another dimension to whats already there. I think she, she already knows what she wants to play and what type of game she wants to play. And if she can have that little princess dolls or have the little handbags and little cars sort of things like that. It just helps her imagination and helps much better for her. Nina Sebastiane: How often do you actually get involved. How often do you take part in role-play? Lisa Gowie: Yes mommy is made to play quite a lot. That's fine. I love playing with her and I think that's another way for a parent to spend time with her child. There is nothing with that, that's great. Nina Sebastiane: Are there any times when do you think it's detrimental to encourage something like this to encourage children to be a fairytale figure that in effect it is impossible to be in real life. Christine Webber: I don't really think that's a problem, because they are facing real life all the time. They are facing school and school uniform and normal things. So I don't think that's sort of retreating into that fantasy world it is really, but I think it might don't be a problem if you became too acquisitive and you felt oh! You'll nothing if haven't got the very latest thing and you got to have it all, but I mean though I think is Lisa said when you venture into this may believe because so many parents feel really guilt ridden about how little time comfortably they have to spend with their children. But the important thing is the quality time that you do spend with them and if you can enter into them make beneath games with them, I think that's a very good way of interacting with your child. Nina Sebastiane: And what about the stereotypical roles, I mean Tyla there is a toy down here, a power rangers toy that we just bring it out here. Is this something you play with? Why don't you like this? Whats wrong with it? Tyla: Boys. Nina Sebastiane: It's a boys' toy and whats wrong with boys' toys. They are just not as interesting? You much prefer to play with the girls toys do you? and again this is I am guessing a typical boys toy and power rangers is all about shooting thing and firing guns and jumping and being very active and all those kind of thing. That was totally unexpected. I think I press something. Pressing his power belt. I am going to leave him alone. We are still passing that message on those little boys that -- Christine Webber: But don't you think that the reason that little boys are instant those of things is because they are some level to think you know they are going to grow up to have a lot of testosterone. They are more naturally aggressive. And if you watch two children walking through say a shopping mall with their mom, one boy and one girl, the little girl is probably looking at the shops and on the hall behaving in a relatively docile way. The little boy is probably walking through -- some acting some adventure game of his own, because they are born to be you know the hunter gatherer the more aggressive type of person. That's just our chemical make up. I don't think you can fly in the face of that. Nina Sebastiane: So as far as you are concerned it is nature. It's not like that. So they are going to do, whatever they are going to do, whether they have pink things or whether they have well you know where have been parents have they said I am giving my daughter a mechanical a socket set or something. I am giving my son knitting to do or something. But in the end they all do what they want and I think a lot of people have tried very hard to interest their children in sort of non-gender or even the opposite gender specific or even the gender and they are not interested. You can not just because now women have it all hopefully and can do with sort of things I don't think you can fly in the face of sort of a millennia of conditioning where they were feminine and they got looked after and they enjoyed soft romantic things and boys are more aggressive. I mean that's just the nature. Nina Sebastiane: So, Tyla when you grow up what do you want to be? It's a tough one. Lisa Gowie: What do you want to do when you grow up? Tyla: Be like a mom. Nina Sebastiane: Oh! That's lovely. Be like your mom. That's best kind of job, isn't it? That's fantastic. Well thank you very much everybody, Tyla and Lisa and of course Christine for coming again and chatting to us and well the pink fest I don't know where to start. I think I have to go to the marshmallows and here you go --