Pinky Swear, Starry, Petal Pinks.

Pinky Swear, Starry, Petal Pinks.  (Lyn here.) Makes you think little girl, right?  Well, yes and no.  These are the names of products on makeup sites targeting tweens .  Forget pre-makeup face glitter and lip gloss--so three years ago.  Younger girls are now invited to sites like www.cherryculture.com,  teen2 queen, world of smackers, and sexygirlcosmetics.com that introduce them to a world of image and body consciousness that used to be reserved for adult women. According to Cherry Culture, "there is no age limit as to when you should start putting on makeup."  Really?  What irks me about these sites, beyond the obvious, are the ways they introduce younger and younger girls to a stereotypical view of femininity and call it natural.  They tell girls that to be truly female means needing self-improvement and wanting it fast:  Teen2Queen tells girls how to get that make-up, hair and nails makeover "in 3-5 minutes".  They tell girls that sexy is everything and an exclusive club:  Sexy Girl Cosmetics brags that "only sexy girls wear our cosmetics!"  In a thinly veiled way, with product names like "cherry", "girlies", and "fresh juicy", they imply that sexy means available.  And they suggest that sexy is all about competition with other girls, because as Sexy Girl explains, "sexy and adored by all" also means "envied by others."  And a question:  Do we know what's in these products?   Will anyone educate little girls about the very big and nasty toxic ingredients in makeup, fragrances, and body lotions?  Do we have any idea how these ingredients affect growing bodies?  Maybe the makeup mavens think, touting their brand of desperate femininity and all, that girls won't notice or won't care.

Comments

[Katie]

*sigh*

"Maybe the makeup mavens think, touting their brand of desperate femininity and all, that girls won't notice or won't care."

That makes me want to cry.

After all, most of the girls raised by women who don't notice or care also won't notice or care.