How do I De-Princessify???

[Pepa]

After being very vocal about the crazy social/cultural expectations girls are supposed to conform to I have realised with utter dismay I have totally let my two girls down :( Pink and sparkly princess tat has invaded my house. Barbies litter every room and kids make-up and princess dresses are the 'toy' of choice.....At Christmas/Birthdays I have totally taken the easier path and bought the toy they were begging for (pink/sparkly shit) rather than try to expqand their horizons a little....I know mnay folks will say there's nothing wrong with sparkly pink tat but my 4yr old is already obsessed with her looks and with looking like a princess.... So oh wise Mumsnetters how do I fix this? I'm concerned that if I take all the pink/princess stuff to charity I am going to make it worse, because then it will be the desire for the thing you can't have.....if I do get rid of the SPT what do I replace it with??? :(

The princess stuff really does wear off, virtually universally, but I'd be more concerned about the obsession with looks that the princess thing fosters - how many girls manage to grow out of that?

Cinderella Ate My Daughter is awesome for understanding and navigating this stuff.

Re obsession with looks - can honestly say that at the mo (8 and 12) dd's seem unscathed by the princess years in that department. I suspect, tbh, that the prince years are going to be more trying in that department. I'm certainly concerned by external pressure to conform (although it hasn't raised it's head at present) rather than internal at this point. And they got through the external princess crap ok...

Dd1 wears jeans and hoodies and is astonishingly hairy for a dancer. Dd2 is always going to be different, as she has a physical disability. I'm really hoping that she doesn't catch conformity later in an attempt to minimise the disability aspect. She's pretty robust, though.

Talking of pressure to conform - I loved this blog, and particularly the comment from a 13yo feminist.

I really wouldn't worry about it. So they like pink, big deal. And the more you try to ban it the more they'll want it. Really, pick your battles....they'll grow out of it.