Giveaway!

Yes! A giveaway! It's a book I read recently, called Cinderella Ate My Daughter, by bestselling author and journalist Peggy Orenstein.

Do you ever have those "stop the world, I'm getting off" moments? Reading the press release for this book gave me several of those. For example:

• Walmart introduced an anti-aging make-up line for 8-12 year olds
• JCPenney released a T-shirt that read "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me"
• Disney Princess products generated $4 billion in 2009 (it was a mere $300 million in 2000).

This is what the publicity for the book says:

"More and more, parents are deluged with products that teach their girls that the sexes are fundamentally different, that the most important thing for girls is to be pretty (and later "hot"), and that "girl power" is expressed by having the most stuff... The pursuit of physical perfection has been recast as the source of female empowerment, and commercialization has spread the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages... The potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is undeniable."

I loved the book. It's easy to read, funny, judgmental where it needs to be and non-judgmental when it comes to the everyday struggles of individual parents. It's sensible and is the kind of thing that gives feminism a good name. I loved the stories of where Peggy Orenstein went, in the name of research (a toddler beauty pageant, a Miley Cyrus concert, the American Girl store). I tell you, if she lived next door, I'd be round there for a cup of tea every other day. I love a good story. In fact, I think I'm going to buy the house next door and have her move in.

I did meet her a few weeks ago actually (so on the basis of that, she would probably be totally up for the moving-in-next-door idea). She came from classy California to our little flyover state to give a talk, promoted by the Girl Scouts, who, incidentally, are much more fabulous than I gave them credit for. Turns out they are all about building girls' courage, confidence and character, and have an advocacy program dealing with all these kinds of important concerns.

I know, I know. Lots of you are sitting there thinking "Iota. There are more important issues out there. Don't get your knickers in a twist." (I just have to throw in that expression, because (a) American readers love British expressions like that and (b) I miss using it in everyday speech.) But it's an issue I feel strongly about. And pretty much everything I feel about it is in Cinderella Ate My Daughter.

I have three copies to give away. Thank you Harper Collins. You can enter simply by leaving a comment, by the end of Tuesday, March 13th. I will pick three winners using a random number generator. Please don't think that if you have sons and not daughters, that this book isn't for you. It is. Your son's way of looking at women is as prone to manipulation as your daughter's way of being one. If you don't have children, it's just a darn good read.

By the way, if you're an American living in Britain and you win, you can request an inexpensive mailable item (Cheezits, Rice-a-Roni, a double-ended Sharpie - whatever it is you're jonesing after), and I'll pop it in the parcel with the book. Provided you write "knickers in a twist" in the comments. Come on. Cross that cultural divide.