Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Lifetime-Insecurity

Photo: <a href="http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique/">Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique</a>

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On a recent trip to Disneyland, I came across a pink brochure for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where little girls are transformed into princesses.

Now, I get the royal makeover thing—but must young girls be taught that specialness entails gobs of “shimmering makeup,” fake hair pieces, body jewels, and nail polish?

And the taglines are pure insecurity-bait:

“Helllloooooo? If anyone isn’t noticing, it’s because you’ve blinded them with your looks!” (Side lesson: Valley Girl speak is totally awesome!)

And:

“With the colorful hair piece and Mickey shaped clips, you’re bound to get noticed!”

Yes, girls, it’s hard to feel loved. But with Disney’s help, you too can get attention—and Prince Charming! Just don’t forget the eyeliner.

 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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