Here's a New Year's gift for you and your kids or students. History lessons set to pop music. Two history teachers in Hawaii write the lyrics and sing them. Watch and learn about Elizabeth I: Try a few more. Try to stop. It's addictive. Read … [Read more...]
New report puts numbers to sexualization of girls on television
December 22, 2010 by
You already know that television is full of inappropriate and unhealthy sexual content for children and teens. If you need any more reasons to turn it off and speak out, take a look at a new report by the Parents Television Council that documents the … [Read more...]
Internet porn: addictive, may have long-lasting ill effects on youth
December 16, 2010 by
After I read this disturbing article in Psychology Today about the potentially very harmful effects of today’s brutal, extreme and widely available internet pornography on a young person’s developing sexuality, I immediately gave it to my 14-year-old … [Read more...]
The best gift: A chance to grow up without limits.
December 10, 2010 by
Decades ago, little girls (my sister and I) were playing with Legos, and they weren’t even pink. We also enjoyed playing with trucks, and dressing up in mom’s old prom dress. My boys have found cars, trucks and construction toys under the Christmas … [Read more...]
Body hate is up. Let’s change the conversation.
December 3, 2010 by
In the latest disturbing news, research published in the December issue of Pediatrics finds that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are on the rise, and is showing up in new places: among younger children, boys, minorities and lower income … [Read more...]
Media literacy success at school
November 29, 2010 by
My son, R, was so eager to tell me that his Freshman Advisory teacher was going to do a unit about media literacy, and was using the documentary film “Consuming Kids,” that he couldn’t wait, and sent a text message from school. So we’ll leave the … [Read more...]
A letter to the smart, talented and awesome Tina Fey
November 12, 2010 by
Dear Ms. Fey, Do you realize that over the course of more than 30 animated movies that Pixar and Dreamworks have created for children, there are precious few featuring a female protagonist? I found just one. The primary source of heroines in … [Read more...]
Research shows positive media images do a world of good
November 1, 2010 by
The hoopla over the degrading photos of Glee actresses in GQ magazine reminds me of a similar phenomenon in which female athletes pose nude for men's magazines. Elizabeth Daniels, a psychologist at the University of Oregon, has been studying how … [Read more...]
Not feeling Gleeful
October 26, 2010 by
Not sure I would call Glee a wholesome family show. A friend of mine who watches Glee with her 14-year-old son said she was appalled by a scene in the episode with Britney Spears in which a boy was masturbating in an audience. Glee has plenty … [Read more...]
Protesting Sexualization: Young women say, "It’s not sexy!"
October 25, 2010 by
On Friday I was in New York for the SPARK Summit, a gathering of young women activists and their adult supporters. It was a treat to see so many teens speaking out against the barrage of sexualized images of females in tv programs, movies, video … [Read more...]
Marketing, Media and Childhood 