June 16, 2019 “I can’t wait for this story to go away…” is uttered by a radio personality towards the end of the film Roll Red Roll, the true crime documentary exposing over 400 texts and digital data loops of evidence in the 2012 rape case involving small town football all-stars amidst the “Go Red” fan furor Steubenville, Ohio. As much as this very human reaction to trauma … [Read more...]
Gender Stereotypes: Part 2 with Dr. Elizabeth Sweet
April 28, 2016 The dismissive wails from the Twittersphere and social media mavens were almost audible: "Oh please, not another pink and blue gender in the toy aisle post..." To coin a phrase from Part One of the White House convening on Breaking Gender Stereotypes in Media and Toys, "Yes, And..." I’ve been writing about media and marketing’s impact on kids for ten years … [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...]