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“Bonfire of the Princesses” is an article by a renowned writer, Barbara Ehrenreich that delves deep into the relationship between product marketing toward children and their perception of themselves and others. She claims that Disney’s toy line and inclination to present the Disney princesses as role models are damaging to young girls in social and self-reflective contexts. I personally find that the behavior and social norms taught through products are harmful to children and can affect their perception of their peers, their own dreams and ambition, and their expectations of adults. The article uncovers the conventional mode of marketing toward children and the ways in which it can be marginalizing, superficial, and even predatory. Secondly, Ehrenreich examines how it devalues qualities in women that are not traditional and old-fashioned. Lastly, she illustrates how these assumptions are incorporated into the real life of children and the negative interference they can have with the child’s perspective of adulthood.
Ehrenreich uses this article to address the parents of girls who are likely to purchase Disney toys. She intends to convince them that the entire purpose of such toy lines is to market very old-fashioned and superficial traits to young girls. She supports her argument with a list of products that include unspecialized tools that are usually seen in a domestic and non-professional settings, such as toothbrush holders, wallpaper, and stickers. Additionally, many of the toys insist on the value of a young girl’s beauty, such as ball gowns, necklaces, and tiaras. Ehrenreich exposes the motive of companies such as Disney, which underestimate the ambitions and dreams of young girls and attempts to convince the reading parents of the potential danger such indoctrinating marketing can have in the long term.
Ehrenreich uses a ‘building to climax’ mode of information spacing throughout the written work to enforce the size of this issue. In later paragraphs, she speaks about the ‘sexualized’ nature of some of the toys and characters. She cites the change in the design of characters such as Snow White, whose figure has changed over the years to depict a more conventionally desirable body shape. Here the author uses rich imagery to depict the parallel between the sexualization of the princesses and its reflection in real children, such as her daughter.
She equates a poisoned apple with a drugged drink and the fainting of the princesses with the swooning of her own child in imitation as a kind of drug-fueled and vulnerable state that is suggested as positive to children by Disney. Overall, the text presents an ironic and accusatory tone and illustrates scenarios to support the severity of the issue. Ehrenreich does this by frequently addressing the reader as if they were in conversation with phrases such as ‘all you have to look for is wrinkles’ and ‘pass the Rohypnol-laced margarita, please’.
In the last paragraphs of the article, Ehrenreich reminds the readers of the psychological and social impact of the reinforced behaviors such toy lines can expose. The depiction of sex within the children’s media is detrimental to their relationship with their own sexuality. Ehrenreich advocates for children to uncover their relationship with sex at their own time and in an appropriate way that is not driven by adult intervention, such as the Disney princesses and their promoted values.
Ehrenreich’s article has strong imagery that deeply affects the reader and successfully alarms parents, which is the intended purpose of the article. The hazard of toys that reinforce negative behavior and values is the main idea which is presented in this persuasive piece. Her statements are still relevant in the current day with gendered toys and the presence of social media which can expose children to a wide array of both positive and negative perspectives on reality and themselves. I find that although the ideologies of toy companies such as Disney are improving with the introduction of female characters that have ambitions outside romance and home duties, much is still needed to allow young girls the freedom to grow up without enforced social norms.
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