Anti Princess

Yesterday, I ventured out in the cold (what is this, winter??? Oh, right, it is. Nevermind...) to have dinner with my friend and see my dad in the hospital. Being the awesome daughter that I am, I stopped at the bookstore afterwards to pick up some magazines to help with my father's boredom. Ever in love with books, especially those that are on sale, I browsed through the bargain shelves. Deciding that I really don't need any more books but missing Amelia after spending most of the day away from her, I headed over to the children's shelves and started gathering books. Counting books, farm animals books, Sesame Street books, princess books...

Wait.

No princess books.

Actually, there were two very cute books that were displayed that I considered buying. One was pirates. The other was princesses. I would have bought her the pirates book if I had to choose one or the other.

Now, I can't give you some big social explanation of why I don't like the princess stuff. Really, it is more mother's gut feeling, in that all the pink makes me want to vomit a little bit. I'm not a girly girl. I don't wear make-up. I hate clothes shopping, unless it's for Amelia. I own very basic pairs of shoes. I would rather go hiking than go to the mall. It is just who I am, and although in my younger years I felt like this made me weird, I've learned to embrace this about myself.

On the other hand, I have been thinking a lot about who Amelia is and letting her be who she wants to be. Although femininity is not my forte, if she chooses to adore make-up and fancy heels, then that will be my girl and I will love her just how she is.

So let's talk about who my daughter is, at 16 months of age. She loves Elmo and Mickey Mouse. The only movies she's ever cared about are The Cat in the Hat starring Mike Myers and Elmo in Grouchland. When we go to the gym where there is an obscene amount of toys to choose from, she picks the phone, cars, and the kitchen, generally. Last week, she insisted upon playing basketball and race cars with the boys. Of her books, she likes Dr. Suess (particularly Are You My Mother?) the best.

Am I naive enough to think this will stay the same forever? No. I know that she may like pink and frilly some day. And if she says "Mama, can I please have the princess book?", I will probably say yes. But frankly, I see no reason to encourage it. I don't dress her in tutu's, I don't buy her girly girl stuff.

But really, why does all that stuff make me sick? Well, because, why can't the princesses look like this?

OK, well, maybe this takes it to the extreme. I certainly don't want my daughter to strive for morbid obesity. But, as I mentioned before, I try to be a good example to her when it comes to health and body image. Is this what I really want her seeing all the time?:

No. Not really. Do you know who she really loves?

That's my girl, loving the character with a backpack and a practical haircut.
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