Goodness, this is really interesting. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Strangely, for the last few weekends, there have been troupes of very young girls in very heavy makeup and very sparkly outfits, presumably for some sort of dance competition, being led around by anxious-looking chaperones on my university campus.
Though it isn't as extreme as in the video posted above, the whole vibe feels exploitative to me. It feels to me like part of a (barely) subterranean campaign (largely driven by financial forces, I think- like marketing for Disney Princess merchandise) to ensure girls know their place in the world, you know? To ensure that they understand, as early as possible, that being pretty is paramount. I am reminded, as well, of when I worked at a science museum gift shop a few years ago. I remember there was this one, maddening section of the store where everything was pink and fluffy and sparkly AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SCIENCE. It seems like a bombardment.
Incidentally, a friend of mine who has a (totally awesome and smart and funny) young girl recently posted a link to this site on her Facebook profile:
http://pinkstinks.wordpress.com/about/
ETA: For whatever it's worth, I don't actually object to kids' engaging in fantasy that appears to have a gendered cast; if young girls or boys are having a blast wearing tutu's and spinning around and pretending to be princesses or whatever, well, that's awesome
But there's something else going on here. At the risk of sounding too alarmist, there is a largely economically-motivated campaign, I think, to convince young girls that their worth lies primarily in their appearance and, further, that all sorts of accoutrements must be purchased for them if they're ever to be pretty enough.