At summer camp, girls learn to shop for self-confidence, excel at “posing”
Monday, June 23rd, 2008Asthma Mom looks at a summer “Fashion Camp” held at a Louisville mall in Teaching Young Girls How to Shop. For Self-Confidence.
The camp coordinator says that while the camp “has a fashion background . . . it also has to do with personal development and self-confidence.”
The personal development must come from these activities:
– lessons in modeling and posing;
– learning fashion terminology;
– putting together and accessorizing outfits;
– understanding the importance of thank-you notes (courtesy Hallmark); and
– standing up in front of the class and describing fashion choices.
The youngest camp attendees (ages 6 to 8) can join in on the fun with these sessions:
– Let’s Play Fashion Seek and Find! (courtesy J. Crew);
– Let’s Accessorize a Dress! and
– What Do I Need To Do to Keep My Skin Pretty?
I suppose an argument could be made for the merits of teaching girls to present themselves in an appropriate manner. That argument would work well in, say, the 1800s. But not today, when we know that the marketing-body-image-consumerism cycle is actually detrimental to girls:
. . . The “quick-fix” of a purchase actually robs [girls] of self-determination, self-awareness, and self-esteem. Encouraged to look outside of themselves for comfort, values and direction, girls become easy prey to addictive behaviors and unrealistic images . . . . In fact, the diet, tobacco and alcohol industries target girls, capitalizing on the body image, weight concerns, and beauty ideals that make them most vulnerable.
And let’s face it: this camp exists only to encourage girls to become shoppers at this neighborhood mall.
“As far as we know, this is the only program of its kind in the country,” says the camp coordinator.
Amen.
Read more: I Want, Therefore I Am: Global Girls in Consumer Culture
