Brave Girls Want: Change. That’s Not Merida, Disney. Be Brave and Fix It

June 11, 2013 Update: Brave Girls Want.com is now live! Use the hashtag #BraveGirlsWant on Twitter and “like” the new Facebook site to add your voice and views on the impact of media and marketing messaging so we can all help corporations envision (and create!) a healthier worldview for girls. From the new Brave Girls Want.com site positioning statement: “We are here to ask … [Read more...]

Beyond Merida: Toy Industry Complicity in Marketing Vapid Values

Update May 11, 2015 Could the caped crusader cavalry be coming in the form of sheroes and indie offerings like IAmElemental and Roominate and Lottie Dolls? Sure hope so! If you need a bit of joy juice, here's a glimpse of some positive progress with brands avenging gender stereotypes in the toy aisle. And here's an overview of 'where we are now'...Two short videos I created for … [Read more...]

Manga Makeovers and Other Body Image Cartoon Capers (Part 2)

It’s devil’s advocate day here, as I try to flush out my bias and take a centrist point of view on the cartoon character facelift conundrum, exploring ‘then and now’ from a sociological perspective, with a bit more analysis from yesterday's post on my own marketing background in terms of branding overhauls. After all, Pooh Bear got a makeover. So did Mickey. Popeye. Charlie … [Read more...]