Educate and empower yourself with these books, organizations, websites, and more.
We hand-pick each link, book, or movie, and only post them if they are in line with our mission. (We do not trade links without approving the site or product).
The Basics | Appearance & Body Image | Mental Health |
Questioning Media | Media Alternatives | Leadership & Activism | Other Organizations We Love
The Basics
- Powered By Girl – online magazine for girls by girls
- Proud2BMe – creating a world where confidence rules
- Rookie – a great web site/online magazine for girls just trying to get through the day
- GURL.com – discussion forum and tips about pretty much everything in girls’ lives
- Scarleteen – sex education for the real world
- Center for Young Women’s Health – health web site for young women
- CareerGirls – discover your own path to empowerment through access to inspiring career role models
Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL
Appearance & Body Image
- Makeup Tips – a beginner’s guide to eyeliner that’ll suit anyone who wants to wear it (shout-out to Kallie Johnson’s drama class at Learning Haven for the recommendation!)
- Thick Dumpling Skin – a vibrant community for Asian Americans to share and discuss the unhealthy quest, past and present, for the “perfect” body
- Beauty Redefined – taking back beauty for females everywhere
FAT!SO? : Because You Don’t Have to Apologize for Your Size
Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know
Real Gorgeous: The Truth about Body and Beauty
The Looks Book: A Whole New Approach to Beauty, Body Image, and Style
The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls
Mental Health
Focusing on depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
- Face the Issue – site addressing body image, eating disorders, abuse, depression… especially for loved ones and friends of people affected by mental health issues
- National Eating Disorders Awareness (NEDA) – support and information for individuals and families affected by eating disorders
Questioning Media
- Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women – Every older teen (like 17-18) should see this film
- Body Typed – 3 short films on media and physical perfection
- BODY TYPED — a photo-retouching game
- Feminist Frequency – strongly advocates for the just treatment of all people online and believes that media is an essential tool for eradicating injustice
- Beyond Beats and Rhymes – a documentary about the messages in hip-hop and rap
- Cover Girl Culture – a documentary film that interviews editors of Teen Vogue and Elle magazines, and takes a hard look at the fashion industry
All Made Up: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype to Celebrate Real Beauty
Media Alternatives
- Teen Vogue: shockingly amazing now
- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – pretty much every movie and all the books
Hunger Games Trilogy Classic [Hardcover] by SuzanneCollins
- Divergent by Veronica Roth – second only to Hunger Games
Divergent Series Four-Book Paperback Box Set: Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant, Four
The Divergent Series 3-Film Collection [DVD]
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter: novel about a Mexican-American girl in Chicago dealing with depression and the conflicts with her immigrant parents’ values
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
- Bitch magazine – feminist response to pop culture: a print magazine and excellent web site
- Common Sense Media – express your opinion on your favorite media for other teens and their adults to see
Leadership & Activism
- SPARK — A girl-fueled activist movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media
- Guerrilla Girls — An anonymous group of badasses who has successfully protested gender and racial inequality in the art world for many years
- dosomething.org
Other Organizations We Love
- Girls Leadership – workshops to equip girls with the skills to exercise the power of their voice
- Girls Rock Camp – rock camps in various parts of the U.S.
- Hollaback – together we have the power to end harassment
- Alliance For Girls – has a list of girl-serving organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Camp Reel Stories – filmmaking camp in San Francisco Bay Area