Why Must Gwen Stefani Look Like A Little Girl In Her Ad For Little Girls’ Clothing?

Gwen Stefani has offered a sneak peek at her Harajuku Mini collection for Target. She released the first images of the line this week and while the featured little girl looks adorable, I’m perplexed as to why Gwen feels compelled to look child-like too.

I get that Gwen is playful and “quirky” and that the brand itself is based on youthful Japanese fashion. But Gwen herself is 41 years old, and while I hold no prejudices towards women dressing in any way that suits them, I find this particular advertisement a bit irksome.

I would have no problems purchasing edgy clothes for my hypothetical daughter from a woman who looks 41. After all, the clothes are for the kid, not for me. But donning a big bowed headband and a frilly mini skirt reads like an attempt to infantilize her as businesswoman and as a brand.

I want to see the smart, entrepreneurial mother who designed this line, not her pink lipstick and stockings. And while I recognize that those two representations could very well intersect, I also doubt that any guy would consent to being dressed up as toddler in his marketing campaign.

As a businesswoman and a mother, Gwen appears to be pandering to audiences by giving them a nonthreatening image in her advertisement: a little girl. I’m not in the least bit intimidated by mothers who run businesses, design clothing lines, or manage lives outside of childrearing. But this timid advertisement proves that many people would.

(photo: crushable.com)

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