Mattel’s Manipulative Monster High Marketing Machine: Unkind.

June 15, 2012 Last year when I wrote about Mattel’s vampy campy Monster High dolls I purposely didn’t even name their brand, hoping it would quietly fizzle and bury itself in the outcry of parents tired of sexploitation, sassy, rude, mean behavioral cues sent to kids, blatant consumerism and vapid values.When Mattel tried to backpedal from the toxic messages in their webisodes … [Read more...]

Sexism in Video Games: Tropes, Trolls and Terrific Upstanders

Update YET AGAIN: Oct. 15, 2014 Reprising Anita Sarkeesian's important words, "The most radical thing you can do to support women online" given the cancellation of her Utah State University event slated for today due to "massacre shooting" terrorist threats impacting public safety at the school. Sheroes won't be silenced, and the upstanders and journalists helping explain with … [Read more...]

Tilt World’s Nicole Lazzaro (Interview) Putting Emotion Into Game Play

Sept. 2, 2016 Update Adding a few recent finds along these lines of 'putting emotion into game play' like "Shelter, Paws" and other empathy based critter care games to edge towards seeding compassion for all creatures great and small caring for wolf pups and badger babies, instead of fantasy Pokemon Go creations. Also, here's a recently funded Kickstarter called Junior … [Read more...]

Oscar Is Worthy! See Chimpanzee, Support Jane Goodall’s Work

April 18, 2012 No secret I’m a fan of all creatures great and small, wildly applauding every effort to impart nature’s magnificence to 21st century kids. Whether it’s the brand new launch of TiltWorld’s app (fun little Flip the frog on an eco-mission to make real world change in climate chaos) or Richard Louv’s Children and Nature Network (C&NN awarded $100K Disney … [Read more...]

Kids, Media & Intimacy: What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Update Feb. 13, 2018 Related research and an excellent NYT read on the need for "porn literacy" given that teens exposure to online porn sites is distorting their lens of peer social norming, healthy intimacy, and respect and consent. WAY past time for comprehensive sexed and critical thinking on consent to prevent misinformation and disinformation. Oh, and by the way, could we … [Read more...]