A recent piece in the New York Times examines the culture of cosmetic consumption among tweenaged girls, and how when the media message of "buy, buy, buy" hits young girls, it's usually glued to beauty products.
Referring to actual use and not just swiping a lick of grandmother's coral-colored Chanel, the article cites, "55 percent of 6- to 9-year-old girls said they used lip gloss or lipstick, and nearly two-thirds said they used nail polish...in 2003, 49 percent of 6- to 9-year-old girls said they used lip gloss or lipstick."
Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabees (re: Mean Girls' inspiration), is admittedly not my favorite apple on the tree when it comes to her commentary of teenaged girls. She says "hyper-sexualization" is the result of this trend of kid cosmetics. And to some extent, I agree, but I think giving a 10-year-old a swipe of Lip Smackers is hardly a sign of the apocalypse.
Rather, I think the key is balance. I wouldn't push makeup on a young girl, but if she wants to experiment with it in a non-Pussycat Dolls way, I wouldn't stop her. But, like interviewed mom Lucy Corrigan, I'd rather "girls try it and decide they don’t need all these products to be beautiful, and then do something more vital with their time and money and efforts, like write a poem or take a walk or save the world.”
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3 comments:
Just because ( say if you were a mother) your daughter says to you something along the lines of" i want to wear makeup", it doesn't nessecarily mean that she has doomed herself to becoming a pop-star or god knows what else. I agree with you, as long theres a balance, its perfectly fine.
I also believe that cosmetics use in preteens is not a problem. I believe the experimentation is not chiefly for augmenting looks, but merely for the thrill and curiosity for those of a different age group.. in a non-sexual manner.
Thank you.
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