Transformations in Girl Culture

       In Cinderella Ate my Daughter, Peggy Orenstein expressed her clear disappointment in how girl culture has taken a wrong turn from the time when she was a young girl to today. When I asked my mom- who has never taken a course on gender studies before- about what she was like when she was a child, she told me that she was never one of those kids who liked to play sports with the boys, and therefore, considered herself a "girly girl." But her definition of "girly girl," in relation to her childhood, is completely different from what it means to be a "girly girl" today.

       She use to play with paper dolls, but she also loved riding her bike, and watching scary movies, as well as enjoyed playing boardgames (i.e. Chinese checkers, Operation, Hi-Ho! Cherry-O, etc.), and climbing trees with her friends. But today, that's not what it means to be a "girly girl." It now involves playing dress up and house, watching Disney movies with fairy tell endings, and loving anything and everything pink. The marketing industry greatly contributes to the more polarized gender roles today. Marketers do this by stereotyping gender roles to make clear distinctions between girl and boy products, all in hopes of gaining revenue. With time, the distinctions between boy and girl products has become more and more clear. Girl culture is now girly girl culture. But with these transformations, what lies in the future for girls and the way girls view themselves?  Along with the growth of this new girl culture, the pressure for girls to look and behave certain ways has also had negative impacts on girls. Because more people are aware of the negative impacts girly girl culture has had on the development of young girls, does that mean that an end to girly girl culture is near? But because girly girl culture is a successful marketing tactic, will it continue to grow and prosper?