Media Literacy: 50 Talking Points for 50 Shades of Grey

Feb. 13, 2015 Talk about Angry Birds. Parents have been swept into the viral vortex of a gazillion ambient ads piling on to the relentless hype of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie opening today.From sex toys adjacent to kids' toothbrushes at Target (a big box blunder could be just a merchandising mistake, but shrugging it off  in "you do you" mode is a larger corporate gaffe, … [Read more...]

Reading Between the Lines: A Media Literacy Education in Domestic Violence

Jan. 30, 2015 For the first time ever, the NFL will air a pitch perfect, poignant PSA by No More.org against domestic violence that resonates on multiple levels and can be used as a tool to uncork important conversations even in the classroom. Scripted with powerful realism, brilliant visual execution and based on a compilation of authentic 911 calls, this amazing PSA is a … [Read more...]

Circle of 6 Campus Safety App: What It is And What it Isn’t

Update: March 7, 2013 It's official! The President Signed VAWA! Feb. 28, 2013 Finally! The Violence Against Women Act has passed both the House and the Senate and is moving on for final signing by the President. To celebrate, you'll love this pop culture Taylor Swift style video send-up about the 22 who voted against VAWA. It's hilarious. Even though VAWA is no laughing … [Read more...]

Public Health: DV Grammys, Too Short Of A Memory, Sexualization

Update Feb. 12, 2016 With the 2016 Grammys coming up this weekend, I wanted to add two posts by the author of The Achilles Effect and Boys, Sex & Media as a ponderable question about what we're choosing to honor and award with media messaging and masculinity. Without vilifying an entire genre, specific artist, or lyrics lens (not interested in uncorking a censorship convo; … [Read more...]

Sesame Street Takes On Bullying in Shows, Talking Points

Oct. 18, 2011 “Look at those feet!” Big Bird is told. “They’re ridiculous!” --“They are?”As he tries to get accepted into the “Good Bird Club,” he shifts from “happy to be me” to hanging his feathered beak with insecurity and scuffling his giant orange clompers in ‘not good enough’ mode…Before you roll your eyes at Sesame Street's bullying prevention program as yet another … [Read more...]