About This Site

(Last Updated On April 30, 2022)

Pigtails in Paint has evolved into a kind of resource center for information about the portrayal of little girls.  As a result, there are now a number of pages that serve as supplemental resources to this site.  It can be difficult for the new or even established readers to know what is available here without looking through every menu.  Therefore, this page is an outline of what is contained in these pages.

  1. About This Site: That is this page which offers a kind of map to the resource pages found elsewhere.
    1. Mission Statement: This evolving page was a reaction to associates in the academic world who believe—and I agree—that Pigtails in Paint’s purpose should be more explicitly stated.  It is all too easy for casual readers to think we are only about the cavalier presentation of little girl imagery.  This page will lend legitimacy to this site in the eyes of academic and high-art institutions interested in the potential of learning more about ourselves as human beings.  It is a formidable task so I will be adding parts to the Mission Statement as they occur to me and time permits.
    2. Messages from The Founder and Editor-in-Chief: As Pigtails in Paint gained in popularity, Pip (Founder) and Ron (Editor-in-Chief) recognized the need for a short statement offering the background and history of this site.  These statements are a few years old and do not account for more recent developments.
    3. RSS Feeds: Those desiring RSS Feeds for this site can get information here.
  2. Archives: Pigtails in Paint has and continues to serve as a kind of repository for the topic of little girls.  Even though a lot of this kind of information ought to be shared with the readers, it does not properly belong to a particular post or is too valuable to scatter or bury among the chronologically ordered posts.
    1. The Pipeline: The influx of relevant documents and sources are too overwhelming to publish in a timely manner.  Therefore, to avoid duplication of effort, a list of planned projects and leads will be offered so readers can know what we have on hand and what may still be needed to complete a post.
    2. Little Orphan Images: This page is for images of seeming import that are not identified.  Many bloggers are notorious for publishing things and not identifying the artist or source.  Readers can visit this page and offer any details they may be privy to.
    3. Transcriptions: Sometimes there are notes or articles of interest for a particular artist but the length of such materials would make including them in the original post untidy and cumbersome.  Also, transcriptions in foreign languages may be offered to solicit the help of translators so a well-researched post can be produced.  There is also a page called ‘Tangents’ for interesting and important articles that have a peripheral connection to the site (politics, art in general, science, etc.)
    4. Recommended Reading: There are a lot of interesting scholarly books and well-written novels that would be of interest to readers but, because this is largely a visual site, it was thought that these should not appear as individual posts.
    5. Artist Galleries: Currently this page is a repository for Pip’s own on-topic artwork.  It will also be offered to other skilled artists who cannot find a satisfactory forum for their work elsewhere.  This may sometimes include original art offered for sale.
  3. Community: Apart from the need for assistance in fleshing out our archives, this menu lets readers know what other work and technical expertise is needed to best service the rest of the community.  It is also hoped that this will foster scholarly and thoughtful discussion of topics of import related to little girls.
    1. Job Board: This is a list of specific needs such as translating, researching or serving as a liaison to relevant organizations.
    2. Related Sites: There are a number of reputable sites that connect to our own and we will share them here.
    3. Discussion Groups: Serious discussion about the science and politics of the character and plight of little girls is needed and should not be regarded as suspicious or taboo because of its specificity.  The Pigtails Facebook page was created to facilitate discussions that might evolve into useful conversations and organizations for the development of a compassionate society.
  4. Legal: This is just a disclaimer about the most touchy aspects of this site, but it is also our hope that Pigtails in Paint can establish some standards and serve as an authority for legislatures, courts and law enforcement that will mitigate a rampant witch hunt mentality.
  5. Contact Us: This page offers a contact form for reaching site administrators or readers can contact the Editor-in-Chief directly at the email address posted there.

9 thoughts on “About This Site”

  1. don’t understand why so many men think they are the authority on girlhood enough to be making art about it. why do they believe THEY are the necessary voices to talk about being a little girl? about the transition from girlhood to being a woman? they are simply not qualified. “the science and politics of the character and plight of little girls” what freakish language. girls are not some mystical creature. they are not mysterious. as someone who was once a little girl, this whole website feels like one, big, red flag.

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    • While it is true that men cannot really emotionally understand girlhood, we can still try to understand it intellectually. Regarding the production of art, it is not so much about girlhood itself, but the artist’s perception of it. This site is about the portrayal of little girls; that means the perceptions and projections of everyone who interacts with girls and the concept of girlhood. Their art is principally about way they are moved by girls, not necessarily the girls themselves. Even without the presence and contributions of women to this site, that alone with justify what we are doing here.
      Regarding the mystique, I believe you are referring to the term coined by Betty Frieden is her book The Feminine Mystique (1963). To paraphrase, the crux of the argument is that women are people too and it is folly for men to project notions of mystique on women. During that particular wave of feminism also came the idea of “objectification”. From a completely rational perspective, it is a valid complaint that men see women a certain way. The problem is that it does not take into account biology and developmental psychology. The simple fact is that men find women mysterious and objectify them to some degree; we are just built that way (perhaps you should take your complaint to God). But women do the same to men; it simply takes another form. The reason women have good cause to rankle under these projections is there is not gender parity pretty much since the advent of civilization. Therefore, anything that seems to limit the capabilities of women (and girls) is understandably criticized harshly. The fact of the matter is that if we can work out gender parity, these complaints will simply have no teeth. Joseph Campbell calls it “the lure of the exotic”.
      From there, it is easy to understand an extension of this “exotic” principle to children, this lost innocence which we find so charming. This has even manifested itself in so-called “age play” which has become a compelling activity for many adults (in many forms). Even one’s own memories of childhood has to be viewed with suspicion since the mental development of a child would cause him to come to certain conclusion different than an adult would (with their accompanying neuroses). Graham Ovenden calls it “a state of grace” but is a description from the point of view of us who are so moved by the countenance and behavior of girl children. From an evolutionary standpoint, this is an effect of cuteness whose purpose seems to be to help children to survive their childhood. Do they really understand it in this way? Of course not.
      The only way meaningful feminism is going to take a real hold of society is when we put aside our notions of “the war of the sexes” and men are included as part of the solution. Men and women are at their best when they compliment each other and it is foolish to take an adversarial position that will simply alienate men and make them defensive. In the domain of race relations, Malcolm X realized this when he at first refused to accept help from people who were not Black. He realized his error during an Islamic pilgrimage in which he met so many wonderful like-minded people of multiple races.
      It is best if we at least try to understand what Poli Papapetrou called “the other” whether that means the opposite sex, the child, the elderly, other species or extraterrestrial aliens! I don’t know what you mean by “red flags” but I suspect you have exaggerated the dangers you are perceiving. There can be no downside to an honest educational exploration, as far as we can understand it through the lens of our psyche. -Ron

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  2. Excellent resource site and I agree with your ‘philosophy’ about children. I was looking for inspiration for an art course on fairy tales I am taking and stumbled in here…glad I did and thank you!

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  3. Great work, Pip, finally someone resisting mainstream opinion where showing brutality, killings and torture is OK but nude bodies of innocent children are tabu.
    Go on your fine job and thanks!

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  5. Hi,
    I was given your website by my wife who happened to encounter it while browsing Tumblr. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how in depth your articles and representations of little girls are.

    I am a visual artist and author exploring my interests in haunted places, spirits, primeval witchcraft, alternate realities, death, possession and childhood (specifically little girls). My artwork has become a medium for my theories and personal discoveries and interests. My use of “little girls” permeates my work extensively. Sometimes as complex symbols for malice, childlike wonder, and exploration all rolled into one. Some of my work actually tends to elevate the little girls to godlike and supernatural states. Unhindered by concepts of adult “morality” and beyond good and evil.

    Though my work is more orientated to the supernatural I wanted to send you what i do, regardless of how you take it, as I found it is rare to read concepts on this vast subject matter that is usually largely misunderstood.

    My official site is http://www.scottferry.com and my Facebook is http://www.facebook.com/sicklyplaything

    all the best
    Scott

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    • Thank you! Glad you like the site. It will definitely be getting better, as I have a lot of articles and images from the original Pigtails (which was up for a year and a half) to put back up, as well as tons of new material. We’ll also take a look at your work and review/feature it if you like. I already love the concept you’ve provided of goddess and/or supernatural girls. That’s right up my alley! Cheers!

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