I have no doubt that Susan Parker's young friend feels confidence and joy in her Tweety Bird underwear. I'm a 35-year-old woman who unashamedly wears a Tweety watch and giant Tweety slippers, and damn it, together they're worth a small mountain of Prozac. Find me Tweety underwear in MY size and I'll put it on!
But I'm surprised by the author's fear that she might be labeled a "pervert" for discussing children's underwear. Have we as a society really become that paranoid and sick? Good lord! I happily tell the story of my 3-year-old niece, who showed me her new underwear recently to announce that she was toilet trained. When I praised her extravagantly, she rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, that's enough." Evidently her underwear was a source of pride, too, and sufficient unto itself.
-- Stephanie Seery
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