The Zoe on the left is not a Manic Pixie of any sort.

I have been following the debate over what Julie Klausner dubs “Manic Pixie Muppet Babies,” women who act like 12 year old girls in pigtails, rompers and ring pops. I can see why some people think she was too harsh. I sporadically collect Archie comics. The banner for this blog has cupcakes in it. When I had strep throat and was delirious with fever, watching Rainbow Brite actually did make me feel better. But I can admit that I part of the charm comes from getting to regress. It is fun to play make believe and remember what it was like to be a kid, but that it isn’t healthy to do all the time, and more importantly there are plenty of grown up things that are even more fun.

There is a double standard about men’s and women’s “childish” interests. A man can put sports memorabilia all over his cubicle/office and it’s just a hobby. But if a woman does it she is either too masculine, only doing it to ogle the players sexually or acting like a 13 y/o tomboy. If she put up Disney Princess or Hello Kitty posters no one would take her seriously ever (not to mention if a man did those things).

My favorite response to the Manic Pixie Muppet Baby (Babby?) phenomena has got to be the comedy webseries “Vag Magazine.” The women are very silly third wave feminists and the series pokes fun at cliches like crafting, roller derby and menstrual cups. It’s better than it sounds.

Being a grown up woman is something to celebrate and to be proud of. We can still be silly, and have fun without regressing or losing our dignity. That’s what I loved about the movie Bridesmaids, and I think what draws many women to shows like Sex and The City.

Finally, if it is “all about the peen” are we really going to say that Zooey Deschanel’s onscreen persona is having more fun at scoring with dudes than Kathleen Turner?

Why is this even a question?.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Editorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.