I was wandering around the public library, and this book caught my eye, Cinderella Ate My Daughter by journalist Peggy Orenstein, HarperCollins, 2011. As a new mother and firm feminist, the author vowed to raise her daughter to be free from the passive, fairy tale princess stereotype only to discover her 3 year old reenacting the tale of Snow White. Where on earth did she learn this? This led Orenstein on a search to examine the influence of the girlie-girl culture which include: ~ The power of marketing, i.e. the Disney Princess merchandising jackpot - 26,000 Princess items which raked in $4 billion by 2009. ~ The princess meme, a harmless phase or narcissists in training? ~ Gender differences, real or imposed? Real. ~ Beauty pageants and teen idols with feet of clay. ~ Looks versus achievements, which one is more important and which one wins out? Unfortunately, it's still looks. ~ Social media - virtual friends and intimacy, cyber-bullying, and ...