Sunday, June 29, 2008

Is the "American Girl" brand good for our girls (future women!) or not?

Here's what A.O. Scott had to say on the occasion of the opening of "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl." Here's an excerpt from his review of the film:

You grow up being told that you can do anything — run for president, win a Nascar race, fly into space or become a four-star general — but in the meantime everything you do is subject to intense and often contradictory scrutiny from the grown-up world. You are exposed to a barrage of mixed signals from parents, friends, teachers, television advertisements, even the stuff you play with, and your response to those signals becomes grist for expert hand wringing and opinion mongering.

What is a girl to do? Any advice from you fem legal theory alums?

1 comment:

Jen said...

I don't know. I loved my Barbie growing up. But I also played soccer from age 6 to 12 and had my mom take me to court on "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" (she was a social worker). I guess it's a balance. Mixed signals are better than one that tells you there is only one way of being...

I really enjoy supporting women in professional sports and I hope to take my kids to WNBA games and other women sporting events one day (maybe professional softball/baseball for women?) Those weren't an option when I was young!