When I was a kid, you could identify a truly progressive family by the expectations that were communicated to its daughters. That was a time when what the vast majority of girls wanted out of life was pretty much what was presumed--marriage and motherhood. The avant garde might entertain a career as teacher or nurse...as long as it dovetailed with 'the woman's role'. But the idea of a 'girl' as scientist or policewoman or business executive? Forget it--no way. It was a direct and slippery slope from June Cleaver to Chairman Mao.
There's a research firm in Chicago that's been studying the state of the teen mindset for decades, and to the surprise of no one (I think), things have changed. Parents of daughters might feel proud that girls today feel more in control of their destinies, and see far fewer obstacles preventing them from getting what they want. (The corrollary trend--the purported 'wussifying' of boys--has been widely reported in the media).
But the rub comes in their new-found aspirations. The top goal of teenaged girls today is to become--a celebrity. While the study didn't probe this, I have a feeling that the self-defined state of 'celebrity' in play here is not one won on the basis of intelligence, hard work and social benefit. Instead, it smells just like that vacuous, self-absorbed, achievement-free form of celebrity personified by Paris Hilton. It doens't matter how you wind up on the cover of the tabloids--just do it, baby. We are all American Idols.
And the kicker is this--a full 50% of teen aged girls actually believe they WILL BECOME celebrities.
So, hold your heads up high, Boomer and Gen X parents. We have liberated our daughters from wanting to be something...to wanting to be nothing.
The road to hell truly is paved with good intentions.
diderot
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