little girls and body image: maybe not as bleak as it seems

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There's a lot of panic (much of it well-deserved) about little girls and body image. How affected are they by images of celebrities photoshopped, perfected, scrutinized bodies? What about all of the princess-obsession and merchandise from Disney? How about the ever-early over-sexualization of young girl's bodies? All plenty of fodder for a bleak outlook on the future for these girls, and as someone with a six-year-old niece, it worries me sometimes.

But occasionally, there's a little sign of hope, that maybe all these girls will turn out okay (hey, and maybe even like their bodies along the way!) anyway.

Yesterday, I went to Six Flags (for ten bucks! Hell yeah!) as part of a Smith senior week trip. Like the little kids we are at heart, the Librarian, Lady Lola and I went on the superhero themed swings after a string of roller coasters. A girl of about six or seven was sitting in front of us, and the Librarian told her how nice her pink cape looked and we chatted for a bit about it. Quite the gregarious cute little kid.

I turned to L and L and noted that it seemed kinda ridiculous for the Batgirl painting on the swings to have a four-pack AND huge boobs and we all agreed that it was absurd, talking about the evolution of both male and female comic book characters into these incredibly ripped freaks instead of the moderately in shape individuals they started as in the 20s and 30s.

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The little girl turned to me and said, "I didn't know girls had abs." I froze for a second. This is a teaching moment! I need to say the right thing or I could fuck up this kid with one errant comment! I said that some girls do, some girls don't, and that you don't need to have them. She nodded, paused for a moment, and said, "Yeah, I think they're weird." SIGH of relief from the Sheriff, and I said I thought they looked odd on Batgirl too (calmly, even though I wanted to give her a hug).


Despite giving me a mini-panic attack, this conversation made me assured of quite a few things. Number one, little girls definitely notice the images around them and the things that older women seem concerned with. Number two, they also have their own thoughts and perceptions, even from an early age, and when those thoughts and perceptions and ideas diverge from the beauty norm, we should gently encourage them, without being overwhelming (and hanging children we don't know).

Do you have any little girls in your life you worry about? When do you first recall being aware of beauty expectations?

Much love,
The Sheriff