Packaging Girlhood

I was listening to Kansas City's NPR station while doing Meals on Wheels yesterday and caught part of one of my favorite programs - Up to Date.

http://www.kcur.org/uptodate.html#Wednesday

I was able to hear the portion where callers can phone in and ask questions or make comments on the topic and I was delighted to have caught Wednesday's topic - how the media sells sexuality to our female children and how adult women are being "girlified" at the same time.

Then I learned about Club Libby Lu - An "experience-based retailer" that allows groups of girls to come in, get covered in makeup, nail polish, and age-inappropriate clothes so that they can learn their roles as princesses, divas, and sex objects. Basically - it is a store where you can take your daughter to be turned into a living Bratz doll. I have been meaning to rant about Bratz for quite some time and just didn't get around to it, but a store where you can have parties to encourage our girls to become everything that they think boys want them to be at the cost of their individuality and a huge dent in parents' pocketbooks? I am horrified.

I will be tracking down Dr. Lynn Mikel Brown's book and let you know what I think.