From a young age, women are taught to associate important life milestones with how their bodies look. We’re told to suck in our stomachs at our first dance recitals, diet to fit into our high school prom dresses, and search our bodies for evidence of the “Freshman 15” after our first year of college. Not… Continue Reading →
My wish for Mother’s Day: A break from the sexism aimed at my kids
I’m raising two boys, and it is exhausting — but not for the reasons you might expect. It’s not because they’re “gross” or “loud” or “stinky” or “roughhousing” all the time. All kids can be those things at any given moment. What is truly exhausting is always running into sexism and violence in toys, TV… Continue Reading →
Why the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover brought me to tears
Why did the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover bring me to tears? (Hint: It had nothing to do with wanting to look like the model.) It was because I have no idea how I’m going to explain the image to my two sons (ages six and eight), who love sports and are about to be… Continue Reading →
Celebrity baby mamas: hot new trend; regular baby mamas: not so much
Let’s get one thing clear from the start: I’m not judging high-profile women like the currently preggers Kate Winslet or Halle Berry for having children with multiple partners. That’s not what this post is about. Instead, it’s about how our culture lets some women who engage in Multiple Partner Fertility (MPF) off the hook (ahem,… Continue Reading →
Have you ever looked at your body and wanted to cry?
Recently my 3-year-old son looked at me lovingly and said, “Mommy, you’re fat!” I’m an average-sized, curvy woman and I love my body the way it is. Fat is not a bad word, however, I have to admit, my self-esteem took a temporary hit with this one. He certainly didn’t learn that language from our… Continue Reading →
Croods best ensemble movie since Incredibles. Take your kids!
This piece was originally published by Margot Magowan on her blog, Reel Girl. My three daughters, my niece, my sister, and I LOVED The Croods. From beginning to end, this movie is fantastic. The characters are great and the animation is gorgeous. The Croods is the best ensemble animated movie since The Incredibles, and like… Continue Reading →
Kids want to see heroic female protagonists
This article was originally published by Margot Magowan on her blog, Reel Girl. Yesterday, I posted about A Mighty Girl’s news that kids’ underwear with female superheroes on it sold out. I also posted about a dad shopping with his 5-year-old daughter who complained about the lack of cool female characters on clothing. He bought his daughter boys’… Continue Reading →
Reel Girl’s gallery of girls gone missing from children’s movies in 2012
This article was originally published by Margot Magowan on her blog, Reel Girl. I’ve been avoiding writing this post. I knew that female characters in children’s movies were not faring well in 2012. Not in number and not in stature. But I kept hoping. Hoping that somehow, before January, something would change, a slew of… Continue Reading →
Let girls be the heroes for a change
A couple of weeks ago, the Huffington Post released a pretty phenomenal article about gender representation in the virtual world. Mike Hoye, a self-employed programmer, was tired of the enormous gender gap between strong male and female characters in video games. He and his three-and-a-half year old daughter Maya regularly played Zelda: Windwaker together. Link,… Continue Reading →