"My daddy died this year in Iraq. I am going to give mommy the Angel pendant that daddy put on mommy when she was having me. I had it in my jewelry box since that day. I love my mommy."
--winning "Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays essay winner
Somewhen around the early 90's, women's studies departments noticed that between 9 and 14, something happens in female development (quelle surprise!). Nascient Rosie O'Donnells (self-confident, boisterous, energetic, earthy, fat) become little Helena Bonham Carters(shy, quiet, restrained, modest, thin). Suicide! Bulemia! Your precious snowflakes in grave danger from gender discrimination, the pop media, date rape, and the annihilation of self! Pull the wagons in a circle, and call the shamaness!
Time was, we called it "growing up", "attaining poise", and "becoming womanly". A quiet, graceful, modest young woman is going to get a lot more attention of a good kind than the class clown, even if the boys think her a capital ladette, and a good party all around. She might even get called "grown up", and be called upon to join the Junior Auxilliary of the Garden Club in their conservation drive, or help at a tea, which of course means having a good name among women whose husbands might hire her, or of course have dateable sons. Nonetheless, the usual suspects were called up: "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" became a national institution (despite controversy), some school districts called for same-sex classrooms to address the problem that boys tended to blurt out the answers in class, while girls waited to be called on and American marketing (headed by Disney) went into overdrive promoting The American Princess.
Unlike a king or queen or even prince (in this view), a princess has virtually no responsibility past wearing a tiara, looking pretty and having beautiful quasi-mystical experiences on her way to eventually finding her Prince. (If you like Marianne Williamson, you can even dispense with the Prince.) She is, however, a paragon of self-esteem, guaranteed gems, expensive clothing, unquestioning fealty from besotted commoners, etc. etc. Birds and butterflies come down off trees to feed from her gentle hands, dogs and horses are always friendly (but not too friendly, hmmm...) and she's without a doubt, in touch with Nature, though I wonder how much of a carbon footprint all her living large is making...oh, sorry. This is the Fantasy Medieval economy.
What little girl could ever fret about how the boys at school tease her when she can put on her tiara with her galpals? OK, so they also play soccer, they're sporty princesses! But they got the big P on the hoodie, and the legend "Believe in your Dreams" inside. They can even be rockstar princesses, at your local mall's Club Libby Lu
"It's all about you, you, YOU!"
Being a rockstar princess at Libby Lu, involves a makeover (a "Libby Du") by the staff, a wig, a dressup session with bare midriffs and feather boas, a karioke session with a headset microphone (videotaped), and a goodie bag of bubble baths and hair ornaments to take home, all in an atmosphere of screaming pink, pink, PINK! (Somehow, I get the feeling Anita Pallenburg was not consulted...nor was Patti Smith, come to think about it...) Just think about it...your daughter, a cute little Britney Spears look-alike...or Paris Hilton, or Lindsey Lohan, with a cute little stuffed "pooch" in its official "Pooch Parlor" carrier. See her eyes light up, as she gets the Pierced Ear charm for her VIP charm bracelet, after so much bickering. Reflect on her expertise at mixing colors, scents and soap solution...such a good little apothecary! (Granted, I had a few diva fantasies of my own, but I kept them on the level of my older relatives' evening outfits...of course, there was always the fantasy that I was a consumptive heiress at a spa-like san...but that came later...) And of course, whatever she wants, she gets...
Now we have the news that their Hannah Montana Rock the Holidays contest was won by a girl whose mother (whose last name is, curiously, not the same as the girl's father...) lied that her baby daddy was dead in Iraq. Club Libby Lu is taking away her kid's prize: "We only wanted to make a little girl's Christmas special." Please, Libby Lu. You're breaking this little girl's heart...her daddy isn't dead? What did she do to deserve this? She has important lessons to learn...things that will help her in her future career!