Dad’s Day Media: A Boy Needs Rules! Walker Lamond Says So

June 19, 2010 “Let’s get some things straight before I get old and uncool.” This is Walker Lamond’s 'dad-to-be' premise awaiting his son, who arrived shortly after publication... “Rules for my Unborn Son” is a simple distillation of thoughts to be a ‘good man’ some of which you'll agree with, others which could merit a 'meh,' (submit a rule on the blog) but with media's … [Read more...]

Predatory Practices as Sport? Boys to Men & Swaggerfests

June 15, 2010 Forget the fact that my freshman daughter is friends with JV football guys… ...Or that digital reputations flinging about on social media (FB, Formspring, etc) warn of male ‘players’ and females being ‘played’ with reckless, feckless inaccuracy bordering on slanderous distortion (this seems to mirror many school’s virtual stage, reflecting more performance art … [Read more...]

Sexualization Summit: Save the Date Oct 22, 2010 NYC

May 17, 2010 As irony would have it, on Thurs, May 13, in New York City, a small tribe of thought leaders convened on how to best address rampant sexualization of youth in media and marketing. Each invitee of this diverse group was hand-selected for the purpose of "bringing their entire communities" into the conversation and sharing next steps, best practices, and public … [Read more...]

Media Hypefest: Is Prom the New Wedding? A Teen’s Perspective

May 7, 2010 As the last vestiges of prom wind down along with Girls Rights Week, I wanted to land one last post in the queue exploring media and marketing’s impact on kids' expectations, reality show distortions, and 'over the top' depictions of celebratory fetes. From ‘proma-a drama,’ lavish limos and  fantasy night fairytales (e.g. akin to the amped up MTV My Super Sweet … [Read more...]

Girls Are Not Candies. Tweens Are Not Teens. Thongs Are Not Undies.

May 4, 2010 A few years back I commented on the post Confessions of a Lingerie Lover by Fae Goodman on Alternet and copped to being “one and the same.” Fae uncorked a doozy of a conversation that brought out the best/worst in femme debates as she pithily contrasted the difference between adult media messages and ‘costuming’ cues and the marketer’s desire to target adolescents, … [Read more...]