Childhood Matters

Commodification of Kids: The Backlash Has Begun

April 16, 2010 by Amy Jussel 17 Comments

April 16, 2010 About a year ago, TruthOut featured a poignant article called "Commodifying Kids, The Forgotten Crisis" by academic Henry A. Giroux, and though I read it with lots of head bobbing agreement on the tipping point of toxicity, I have to strongly DISagree with the "forgotten" notion. This issue is not the LEAST bit forgotten...it's on fire, baby and it's gaining … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Adproofing, America the Beautiful movie, Amy-Jussel, APA, buffed boy, Candies, CCFC, childhood, Childhood Matters, coarseness, commodification, Consuming kids, consumption, corporate accountability, Counter-marketing, crass, CSR, digital-ads, Dr. Robyn, ethics, exploitation, Forgotten crisis, FTC, harm, Healthy media choices, Henry Giroux, HGHW, hottie factor, I'm not a prude but, Jess Weiner, KGOY, meat marketing, Media circus, media influence, media-literacy, Oakland schools, Packaging-Boyhood, Packaging-Girlhood, padded bikinis, PEM, PigTail Pals, Pop-Culture, Rachel Simmons, Sexualization, So Sexy So Soon, The Consumerist, The Fat Trap, thinspiration, thongs, true child, TruthOut, tweens

Bottom Feeders Like American Apparel Need Whacked in the Assets

February 2, 2010 by Amy Jussel 29 Comments

Feb. 9, 2010 Update: Almost 1000 signatures already & expanding global on ipetitions now! Join in! Orig article 2-2-10: "Confident about the junk in your trunk? Show us your assets! Post a photo of your booty's best side for judgment,” invites American Apparel in their latest sexist slop. Yep, they've launched their new ad campaign to “search for the best bottom in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Damaging Drek, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity, Vapid Values, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: A&F, About-Face, Actionists, activists, adolescents, advocacy, American Apparel, Amy-Jussel, anti-porn, APA, APA task force sexualization girls, appearance cues, body-positive, boy toys, boycott, branding-youth, cause marketing, Childhood Matters, cultures of dignity, Dads, Daughters, demeaning, Dora, empowerment, Etsy, exploitation, females, feminist, girl revolution, girlcott, Girlcotts, girlpower, growing girls with purpose, harassment, Hardy Girls Healthy Women, HGHW, iPetitions, Live Nation, lyn mikel, mom bloggers, New-Moon-Girl-Media, one angry girl, Packaging-Girlhood, petition, PigTail Pals, porn influence on kids, preteen-health, REVERB, SAHM, self-objectify, sexist slop, sexploitation, sexting, sexting prosecution, sexuality, Sexualization, stay at home dads, t-shirts, Targeting Kids, Tee shirts, teens, tees, thongs, toxic ads, toxic waste, undermining parents, underwear, violence, women

Childhood Matters Radio Show: Raising Strong, Healthy Girls Today

July 19, 2009 by Amy Jussel 12 Comments

July 19, 2009 Here are some of the brand new resources or lesser known resources I named on the air today for those seeking SOLUTIONS rather than just identifying problems to get girls strong from the start and counter-act raising girls amidst "meat marketing"so pervasive today. TrueChild.org: Washington D.C. based advocacy org focusing specifically on these gender … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: All Things Girl, Amy-Jussel, athletes, Childhood Matters, Daughters.com, Early-Sexualization, Empowering girls, Feel Good Girl, Felicia Richardson Battle, Fem2.0, females, Frank W. Baker, Geena Davis Institute, Gender, Gender Roles, gifted girls, Girl Mogul, girls, Girls for a Change, Girls-Are-Champions, How I Look Journal, Jean Kilbourne, leaders, Lisa Izzi, media and women, Media Clearinghouse, Media stereotypes, media-literacy, Nan Dellheim, New Moon, Nurse Rona Renner, parenting, pink and blue, Pop-Culture, prime time TV, raising girls, Representation, Respect Rx, smart girls, So Sexy So Soon, teens, The Daddy Shift, The Girl Revolution, true child, tweens, women, women 2.0, women and media

Raising Girls Amidst Meat Marketing: Carls Jr., Burger King Raunch

July 16, 2009 by Amy Jussel 32 Comments

Jan. 27, 2015 Update: It's achingly sad that I can reprise my own prose about "meat marketing" women with gobsmacking sexualization and objectification commodifying bodies as edible objects to be consumed, but alas Carl's Jr. is using the same stale crass-en masse trash for outrage baiting buzz in 2015 as they did five years ago.Guess they're consistent in their sexist tripe, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Damaging Drek, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity, Vapid Values Tagged With: AIDS, Amplify your voice, apa sexualization, April Fronk, Burger King, burger wars, Carls Jr., CCFC, Childhood Matters, civil rights, ColaLife.org, crass advertising, Dr. Kay Kleinerman, Fem2.0, females, feminism, Feministing, girls, Girls-Are-Champions, HIV, hot chicks eating burgers, junk-food, Lisa Izzi, medicine, objectification, offensive ads, Packaging-Girlhood, Rona-Renner, sexist commercials, Simon Berry, spongebog squarebutts, super seven incher, Target, true child, Twittermob rally, young hungry guys, young men, youth

“About Face” Body Image Benefit: America the Beautiful Movie

May 15, 2009 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

May 15, 2009 He’s baaaaaaaaaack! ‘Tell it like it is’ director Darryl Roberts of America The Beautiful is wrapping his last personal appearance on his U.S. screening tour to benefit two worthy Bay Area orgs promoting positive body image: About-Face.org (love their "don't fall for the media circus" tagline) and Beyond Hunger ("freedom from the obsession with food and weight) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Nutrition & Wellness, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth Tagged With: About-Face, America the Beautiful, America the Beautiful documentary, America the Beautiful movie, Amy-Jussel, ATB, Beyond Hunger, Body Blitz, Childhood Matters, Darryl Roberts, Dr.-Robyn-Silverman, eating-disorders, Eve Ensler, feminist, Feministing, femme, fundraising, Gerren Taylor, girls, girls self esteem, girls-self-worth, indie films, NAED, objectification, Positive Body Image, Reign-of-the-Girl-Child, Screen a movie make a difference, summer swimsuit shopping, teen-angst, thinspiration, YWCA