Update April 7, 2015 Toy Joy! New offerings upending the toy industry to send healthier cues to kids: Lottie Dolls, GoGoSportsGirls, and now this new Kickstarter, Ember World adventure dolls, … [Read more...]
Graduation, Prom, Pressure, Stress? Keeping Up With The Joneses
June 1, 2012 by 2 Comments
June 1, 2012 Personally, I don’t think 8th grade and ‘cocktail dress’ should be uttered in the same sentence, but alas, there are entire websites ratcheting up the ‘kids getting older younger’ (KGOY) … [Read more...]
Prom Spending Surges? Media Panics, Hype & Critical Thinking
May 19, 2012 by 7 Comments
May 15, 2015 Update! Great then/now retrospective in the New York Times that spans proms over 60 years, all the way up to current "promposal" shenanigans, spending surges and social media selfies! … [Read more...]
The Supermodels, Then and Now + A Chat With Janet Lansbury
February 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
Feb. 1, 2012 “25% of young women 18-34 would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize..." ..."And 23% would rather lose their ability to read than their figures” opens Lisa … [Read more...]
First Person Storytelling: The Real Deal Impacts Youth
January 17, 2011 by 13 Comments
Feb. 15, 2014 Update: Don't miss Frank Baker's fabulous article about inspiring photojournalist Gordon Parks; perfect storytelling for Black History Month and year round engagement. Jan. 20, 2014 … [Read more...]
6th Grade Boy Pulls A Susan Boyle To Trump LadyGaga
May 20, 2010 by 2 Comments
May 20, 2010 Riddle me this… What dynamo 6th grade boy from Edmond, Oklahoma performed LadyGaga’s Paparazzi managing to segue the local audience from ‘ho-hum, just another piano number’ talent show … [Read more...]
“I’m Not A Prude, But…”
October 23, 2009 by 26 Comments
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 … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth Is In the L.A. Times Today, Yawn
August 12, 2009 by 16 Comments
August 12, 2009 Well, it finally happened. Full tilt desensitization. I suppressed a huge yawn and a roll of the eyes reviewing Miley’s pole dancing antics at the Teen Choice Awards with a great … [Read more...]
What’s On Tweens’ Minds? Meet Denise Restauri of AllyKatzz
November 24, 2008 by 20 Comments
I figure the Obama girls are going to be a huge focal point in the months ahead (gawd help those darlings) and self-ascribed tween “experts” will be crawling out of the media morass … [Read more...]
Sexed Up M&Ms Sell Fashionably Decadent Premium Sleaze
September 26, 2008 by 8 Comments
Mars candies have reached a new low... Anthropomorphizing cartoon critters is one thing, giving chocolate candy classics the Jessica Rabbit treatment is another. Do we REALLY need more … [Read more...]
Celeb pop culture & media tipping point of toxicity
November 8, 2006 by 14 Comments
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha earned it. Lindsay wants it. Paris lacks it. Beyoncé & Britney had it, hit some high notes, then vamped it away.Our media culture is so fraught with ‘trashy party girl’ … [Read more...]
