Halloween Beyond the Cliché: Packaging Boyhood Part Two

Oct. 7, 2014 Update I realize I've been 'deconstructing' Halloween for years with pushback on the societal sexploitation of girls as we fiercely try to "Take Back Halloween" by mythbusting "market demand"...But the little boys' lens of how some of the girls costumes land on them is one to watch too, instilling critical thinking early on...in this case, two posts by SheKnows.com … [Read more...]

“I’m Not A Prude, But…”

Oct. 23, 2009 How many times have you heard that preface to a conversation about pop culture lately? Tweens? Teens? Okay, I promised NOT to do a Halloween Horrors bit on girls' costumes and tramp vamp cues (been there, done that) BUT the irony in the timing of this post from Australia titled, "Musical Tarts are Infecting Our Children" that referenced us here at Shaping … [Read more...]

Blog Action Day: Inspiring Kids As Stewards of the Planet

Oct. 15, 2009 Today is 'Blog Action Day' powered by Change.org, when over 12,000+ global writers turn their sites on one topic to reach millions of eyeballs one day to appeal to their own readership. This year the subject is 'climate change' and while I've written extensively about eco-kids, green gaming, and grassroots orgs like Cool the Earth tackling the issue, I needed … [Read more...]

Reporting From the First Ever Tween Summit: Debra Moffitt for S.Y.

Oct. 14, 2009 This past weekend, Denise Restauri and the AllyKatzz team launched the first ever National Tween Summit to see what's on the minds of preteen girls. I haven't figured out how to be two places at once yet, so I tapped KidsHealth.org editor, journalist and author Debra Moffitt who knows a LOT about "tweens" having recently written the book "The Pink Locker … [Read more...]

What About the Boys? ‘Packaging Boyhood’ Authors Respond

Oct. 12, 2009 Tomorrow Shaping Youth advisors and authors of Packaging Boyhood launch their sequel book to my favorite media literacy teaching tool on the 'pink think' stereotypes front, Packaging Girlhood. For years I've been asking the 'what about the boys' question in my work, because frankly, boys are getting just as hammered with negative cues about what 'real men' … [Read more...]