Oct. 29, 2009 Every year I try to come up with ‘green Halloween goodies’ or attempt to find ‘healthier’ ideas that are not a snore or a bore... just to balance out the gobs of candy kids receive and seed the concept that other treats can be even cooler than standard fare. The trick is to go for the wide smile alternative and the ‘value-add’ as they say in marketing, because … [Read more...]
Media Morsels for Lil’ Goblins: Next to New BOOks as Treats!
Halloween Beyond the Cliché: Packaging Boyhood Part Two
Oct. 7, 2014 Update I realize I've been 'deconstructing' Halloween for years with pushback on the societal sexploitation of girls as we fiercely try to "Take Back Halloween" by mythbusting "market demand"...But the little boys' lens of how some of the girls costumes land on them is one to watch too, instilling critical thinking early on...in this case, two posts by SheKnows.com … [Read more...]
Packaging Boyhood: What About BOYS Halloween Costumes?
Oct. 25, 2016 Update: Given that media is slowly giving more coverage to the impact of body image on boys, including wee ones as young as six years old being 'fat-shamed' and toddlers even at age three, it seems sites from WebMD to health platforms are finally beginning to 'get it' that boys are being impacted with buffed boy cues and puffy superhero abs too! Choosing a … [Read more...]
What About the Boys? ‘Packaging Boyhood’ Authors Respond
Oct. 12, 2009 Tomorrow Shaping Youth advisors and authors of Packaging Boyhood launch their sequel book to my favorite media literacy teaching tool on the 'pink think' stereotypes front, Packaging Girlhood. For years I've been asking the 'what about the boys' question in my work, because frankly, boys are getting just as hammered with negative cues about what 'real men' … [Read more...]
What I Learned From Maya Angelou’s Mark Twain Media Moment
May 28, 2014 Update Sadly, this time it is true. Dr. Maya Angelou has died at age 86. Original Post: Oct. 4 2009 "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" is a Mark Twain classic, which this Google research feed shows gets its own share of media morphs and revisions to suit the occasion. The hodgepodge of misinformation on that quote alone exemplifies and keenly … [Read more...]