Why all the pink? #1

I am currently reading "Cinderella Ate my Daughter." for my Issues in America class. So far, I love the book. It explains so much. Have you ever thought to think that princesses had a bad influence on one's kids? Until I read this book, I didn't even think of it. If one payed really close attention to disney princess movies and books, one would realize the terrible message it sends to girls. We all know that Ariel sacrificed her voice to fall in love with a prince she's never even met because that was the way to live happily ever after. Or when Cinderella didn't have anything to wear to the ball where she was going to go fall in love with a man that she has never met, her fairy godmother came and granted her every wish. Is that really the message people should be sending to their kids? I understand that disney princesses are kind of hard to avoid. They are everywhere and even if a mother doesn't overwhelm their kids with pink, princesses, and princes, they are going to hear it from their friends or their friend's mothers. Ever since I started reading this book, i've been trying to think of a way to get rid of these influences, and the author, Peggy Orenstein, said there already was a solution, American Girl Dolls. Instead of buying your daughter a barbie or a princess, get her an American Girl Doll. These dolls are realistic to what is going on in the world. There is an African American, Indian, homeless, jewish, etc. But why are mothers still buying barbies and princesses more than these dolls? Well, these dolls are about $110 and why would parents buy that when you can buy a barbie for $5. A lot of parents found it to be a great lesson to their daughters but the girls can't take their eyes off the outfits and the salon long enough to look at their dolls history.