Toys enable kids to explore and reflect on the world around them, which is why it’s so important that they identify with their dolls and action figures, but why is that so often not the case? The #ToyLikeMe social media campaign began with Rebecca Atkinson, Karen Newell, and Melissa Mostyn, three mothers from the UK who realized how rarely toymakers… Continue Reading →
I cringe every time a woman is called a “girl”
We hear it all the time in TV and movies: Women being called “girls”. Someone saying, “Hey, you should meet this girl” while referring to someone in their 30s, or, “The girls are here” about women in their late 20s. It’s happening so often that it’s even put in the titles of TV shows without… Continue Reading →
“I like my body because it’s magic.”
When I was around four years old, I announced to my parents, “I like my round belly!” Probably not a sentence you’d expect to hear from a 14-year-old or 24-year-old — by then, sadly, we learn that round bellies and mainstream standards of beauty don’t mix. But I was reminded of my upbeat four-year-old announcement… Continue Reading →
What the French ban on beauty pageants can teach us
Anyone else totally caught off guard by France’s impressive new legislation banning child beauty pageants? Yeah, me, too. Because as I much as I adore the country and its people (I lived there for two years in my late twenties and also worked for the French company Club Med), its contemporary pop culture has never… Continue Reading →
Mommy vs. media in sexualization of girls: Where are the dads?
An article on AlterNet about sexualization of young girls concluded “Mothers are a strong predictor — even more than the amount of media consumption alone — of whether a girl will regard herself as a sex object.” But I couldn’t help but wonder: What role do fathers play in their daughters’ sexualization? The article, titled “I Want… Continue Reading →
Smart Girls at the Party is back, celebrating girls just as they are
Oh, how do I love Amy Poehler, let me count the ways. Her web series, Smart Girls at the Party, returns for its second season as empowering entertainment celebrating real girls. The best part? Amy Poehler’s intimate webcam video series, “Ask Amy” where the bare-faced breath of fresh air answers girls’ questions from her bed. There… Continue Reading →
Swimming and camping and… Waxing? Oh my.
When I was 15 years old and gearing up for summertime, my thoughts were much like the thoughts of any other kid preparing for three months of school-less bliss. Beach. Camping. Barbecues. Swimming. One thing that was certainly not on my mind was whether this would be the summer I would get a bikini wax…. Continue Reading →
Trending with toddlers: pole dancing?
Just when I thought parenting skills couldn’t become any more questionable, I come face-to-face with a new activity atrocity: pushing pole dancing for children, adolescents, and teens. I almost choked on my morning cereal (Don’t worry, it wasn’t Cheerios – I still can’t get behind their marketing mishaps) when I read a June 2011 article from… Continue Reading →
“Smart Girls at the Party” shows that smart girls have more fun
It’s not often we see girls and young women honored for their intelligence, but that’s exactly what Smart Girls at the Party does. [media url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoAy8jTfzyo”] Smart Girls is a ten-episode web series created by actress Amy Poehler, producer Meredith Walker, and musician Amy Miles. Poehler says the show was created, in some ways, as a… Continue Reading →