1970s Nostalgia vs. Girls Gone Wild

I'm starting to think the New York Times' Judith Warner has some cool things to say. I really enjoyed this blog she wrote about “The Daring Book for Girls,” by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. Apparently, a recent blockbuster was the midcentury-themed “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” (which, being a mom of two boys, I will have to look into). This is the girl's version, with an alternative, 1970s-era focus and lists of all sorts of great activities, from reading the tides to building clubhouses and forts. Warner wonders, as do I, whether this book will appeal to a broad swath of girls today or just a smattering of geeks. I don't know if I agree, but I found this interesting:

The 1970s, too, Buchanan and Peskowitz acknowledged, had their frustrations and limitations for the girls on the very cusp of social change. But the era of their girlhood, the authors believe, was, overall, less toxic.

“Girls have more opportunities now,” Peskowitz said. “But the culture is more horrid. Girls jump into womanhood at nine. It may have been more fun in some ways to have been a girl in 1963 or 1973 without the pressures.”