Two Day Magazine

From bringing my favorite stuffed animal with me to college, to enjoying a little cartoon action on my Saturday mornings, I am a girl who is very much in touch with her inner child.

This, to me, isn’t unhealthy.  I simply like things that make me feel good, or remind me of happy times.  I think that’s universal for everyone.  As long as I don’t get crazy by hoarding beanie babies or addressing everyone in a “Dora the Explorer” type voice, I see no problem with occasionally indulging my childlike whims.

I find it interesting though, that in popular culture, I am noticing an interesting trend.  More and more women are wearing rainbow colored wigs, bright painted on makeup, and baby doll dresses.  Now some may see this as a strange, but albeit normal means of expression.  And I would agree with you.  So they like to dress colorfully?  So they find the “cute” ascetic to their liking?  What’s the problem with that?

Well, there wouldn’t be, if this ascetic was creepily juxtaposed with unabashed and intense sexuality.

You see, for me, the two shouldn’t mix.  You can’t dress like a little girl playing dress up but with your skirt hiked up so that if there is even a minor draft the god and the entire world can see all up in your business.  In my eyes, it sends two very unpleasant, but nonetheless related messages.

One of them is an apparent phenomenon that has been discussed previously on this website; the sexualizing of little girls.  The culprit, is, of course, shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras,” which just illustrates that despite the fact that we are an increasingly paranoid society that we will go at great lengths to have the best, most poised, and prettiest five-year-olds that anyone ever did see, with the metals and curler burns behind their ears to prove it.

The idea that older women are dressing to be sexy is akin to saying along the lines of “little girls are desirable, so I am going to dress like a little girl.”  It’s a little unsettling.

But what’s the other message that this type of trend is sending?

Take a good hard look at Katy Perry in, oh, almost anything. What is her motif?  Singing dirty songs whilst dressed like a small child, with lollipops adhered to her chest as a means of drawing attention to her very curvaceous body in a very juvenile way. Why?

Because women have to be, and have always had to be two things simultaneously.  We have to be knowing yet innocent, sensual yet approachable.  In short, you must be a walking contradiction—which is exactly what Katy Perry is doing on an extreme level.

She dresses like a street walking strawberry shortcake.  Because she wants to be cutesy, doll like, innocent, and yet extremely sexual—thus the whip cream shooting canisters that can be affixed to her outfits during shows (once again, placed cleverly over her breasts!  I mean, this girl is juts full of creative ideas) because we don’t want you to forget her main assets.  And by that I mean her singing ability of course!

And, after all, she’s only singing about sex—it’s too hard to visualize it on your own, so you could really whip cream canisters.  My only regret is that she doesn’t use them throughout the entire show.

My personal rants aside, I think women today are at an impasse.

Half of society tells us that empowered women have casual sex and don’t get tied up in emotions and long term relationships; that a true feminist is a feminist that is unabashed about her sexuality.  She’ll talk about it anywhere at anytime and doesn’t care who is listening.  

The other half tells us to cover up.  To be good girls because guys don’t really want to settle down with girls they just hook up with.  Don’t be too outspoken because that’s not attractive. Remember what our place is.

And so in order to please everybody, in order to be hyper sexual and innocent at the same time, we dress like Sailor Moon working it so that she can pay the rent.

It’s all terribly depressing.  But also, a cash cow.  Women spend a ridiculous amount of time and money on this sexy little girl trend, and people know it.

But here’s what I always want to stress at the end of every article—do your own thing.  Just don’t pay attention to anything anyone says or does or tells you to do, because it’s just pointless.  



You’ll just end up being someone who isn’t you, and it’s quite unpleasant to occupy a strangers body and a strangers life.

Don’t wear baby doll dresses and wear bows and have a lot of cleavage and hike your dress up to where the sun down shine; because it sends a certain message out there, namely, that you aren’t comfortable with your decisions.

You won’t be completely sexy or innocent, because neither feels right because everyone tells you its wrong.  Well, start asking around, because as you’ll soon find, I hear that “everyone” is a lot less people than you think.

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twoday magazine wants to know: Do women need to “act their age” or is playing dress up fun for all? Share with us on our Facebook page.

Follow @miasminirants on Twitter for more lollipop and gumdrop fantasies! (Whatever that means!)

Like this article? Check out other great pieces from Mia Bencivenga exclusively for twoday magazine:

     Take Some Steam Out of the Machine

     Sex For the Sake of "Art?"