You gots to love Women’s Entertainment. According to a recent poll conducted by the network, most women consider Paris Hilton to encompass all of the traits that an “American Princess” should have.
Hilton received 48 percent of the votes in the poll taken by 1,000 U.S. women, with Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg as runner up. WE also (not embarrassingly) reported that when Hilton was told about her honorary title, she replied “That’s hot!” Could this be any sadder?
The answer is yes, for this royalty rage doesn’t end there. WE's new reality series, “American Princess,” has twenty young women compete to see who can become the most "regal" within a certain amount of time. With our apparent views on royalty, I wonder what that will include, perhaps Pornography and Prada 101?
Shopping sprees actually are included in the show, as well as a handfull of experts who will teach the girls how to behave like “proper ladies.” (Who knows what that will entail.) The reigning young lass will be given a British title, $50,000, and will get to wear a disgustingly expensive tiara for about ten minutes.
This reminds me of our previous post on young girls’ obsession with everything “princess.” What a fantastic new idol to dote on. Fuck Sleeping Beauty, Princess Paris is here! Sigh.
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Has anyone seen the South Park episode about Paris Hilton?
That pretty much summed up my feelings on her.
I just don't get the whole Hilton as a princess or any other type of role model, just an example of how to look perpetually bored 24/7 ... and if being a princess means being unable to show that you take any joy from life then you can count me as relieved that I am not a member of the 'ruling' class... When I was a little girl, any princess type dreams I had included getting to talk to the UN about world peace not exploiting 15 minutes of fame *due to pornography on the internet* and remaking myself into a merchandising machine and pop culture whore...
I know that this sounds a little strident for my first post but she makes me angry. Anyway, very cool site y'all have here! I do have one quick question though... I have a ten year old daughter and I was wondering if any readers here know of any good, empowering sites for girls who aren't quite teens yet? I want to give her every tool that I can and I know that the internet will definitely play a part in her search to figure out what type of girl she is and what type of woman she wants to become... (yikes! type is such an icky word sometimes, I hope that everyone can see what I am trying to say!) Thanks in advance and sorry if I am hijacking the thread at all...
I just don't get it. She is such a waste of space! If this is what American women aspire to, I pity America and the next generation of women.
loving the ultra-rich, upperclass class in america has become an epidemic...
any ideas on how to reverse this?
I loathe it, but I'm not surprised by it. In a way, Paris is like a real-life Barbie doll, unnaturally thin and blonde, vacuous, built entirely on consumption and image. My image of a "proper lady" is unflappable good manners, discretion, and discriminating taste. But then I was raised on Agatha Christie.
The best kind of princess was described in Patricia Wrede's young-adult novel "Dealing with Dragons." Princess Cimorene was told by her parents that "princesses simply do not do such things" as learning magic, making her own clothes, studying swordfighting, etc. She answered "Aren't I a princess? Then princesses DO do such things!"
Paris Hilton should read that book.
Without being schooled in noblesse oblige, none of the current crop of ultra-rich children qualify to be a princess. I sincerely doubt the show will invest the contestants with knowledge about diplomacy, the importance of being charitable in all it's myriad meanings, or the difficulty in determining what is both just and right. Princesses were not pampered as much as our fairy tales like us to believe. They sure as hell weren't allowed to play the trollop all over the world. After all, they were up for bid and used merchandise doesn't sell as well.