> I saw this article today (see link below) but Helen Shaw's name wasn't attached but it is in the same vein. Why the sudden interest in going after this by the media?

Personally, I found it absolutely hilarious that next to the article warning safety-minded parents everywhere of the rampant dangers to their little girls' self-esteems, and jutting obnoxiously into the article's column as if it were a related illustration, is an huge banner ad reading "COSMETIC SURGERY, BREAST AUGMENTATION, LIPOSUCTION, FACELIFT, RHINOPLASTY" and decorated with well-formed cleavage and midriff for emphasis.

But as for the article itself, I have a few questions: If you bar every remotely hurtful thing from a child, could they ever possibly grow to become an actual person and not a self-absorbed eternal three-year-old living in a 'I'm perfect because Mommy said so' fantasy world? The occasional blow to one's self-esteem is a part of life. Wouldn't hiding every bit of evidence that your child is an imperfect human being (which is precisely what they are) just make then more immature in the long run?

And also, why doesn't anybody fret and wring their hands over little *boys'* self-esteems the way they do over girls? It's as if society is trying to compensate for some perceived Great Wrong that has been done to womankind in the past (like, I dunno, not letting them vote or be millionaire CEOs or something), and the way they're going about this compensation is by fussing and clucking over their little princesses and when it's their sons' turns for love and guidance, the general additude seems to be 'oh, just give them some food and they'll be fine'. Wouldn't this theory of fairy tales harming children work both ways? I mean, almost all fairy tale heroes I can think of are praised for their bravery and cleverness. If you wanted to continue with what the article is saying, you could say that fairy tales are telling little boys that if they aren't fearless and super-smart, they'll never amount to anything. And yet the article doesn't even raise this possibility at all. They're just too busy worrying about the *females*. I find it a bit sexist, to tell the truth.

Not that I *want* such PC literature-mangling to spread over the world entire, I'm just saying.

Qua "Oh, and re-writing Cinderella so she dumps Prince Charming in favor of her own personal empowerment? YUCK." rtz