Princess nation.

My littlegirl is still a baby, but if you’ve got one a little older (and even if you don't) you might enjoy this article over at Salon.com, A Nation of Little Princesses by Christopher Healy (subscription required, but you can click through for free if you agree to look at an ad). His daughter (like a lot of little girls apparently) is enthralled with the idea of being a princess, and the article mostly discusses whether or not this is a good thing. A lot of it is encouraged by consumer products, especially Disney’s Princess line of products, but it’s also coming from more supposedly unlikely sources like Dora the Explorer. It’s nice to see a dad writing from his perspective, and I suppose these are the sorts of child-raising (and little-girl-raising) challenges that I also have to look forward to. You know, when I was younger I never thought that I would ever have to ponder the pros and cons of your daughter wanting to be a princess, but now it’s interesting to me. Life is funny that way.