Melissa Wardy

2014: The Year Of Redefining Girly

January 10, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Jan. 10, 2014 Even in just the last 5 years or so since the American Psychological Association Task Force reported about the harm of early sexualization and its impact on children (full 72pp APA study here) I’ve wondered “what’s taking so long, can’t people see this is a huge public health problem? Positive change feels glacial while negative influence feels like it’s been a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexualization & Body Image Tagged With: #BraveGirlsWant, adolescent body image, Amy-Jussel, APA task force sexualization girls, beauty myth, BGW, brain plasticity, Bratzillaz, Brave, Brave Girls Alliance, Brave Girls Invade Times Square, Brave Girls Want, change the channel of influence, child development, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, commercialized childhood, commodification, Consumerism, consumption, corporate social responsibility, CSR, damaging body image, Disney-Princesses, diversity, gender equity, girls leadership, harm of early sexualization, hypersexualized, Jean Kilbourne, Killing Us Softly, Let Toys Be Toys, media-literacy, Melissa Atkins Wardy, Melissa Wardy, merchandising, Merida makeover, Monster High, objectification, Packaging-Girlhood, parenting, PigTail Pals, Pigtail Pals Ballcap Buddies, pink blue stereotypes, Pink culture, preteen body image, Reality Bites Back, redefining girly, Sexualization, sexualized dolls, SheHeroes, So Sexy So Soon, stereotypes, The Illusionists Documentary, The Lolita Effect, The Real Tooth Fairies, Toward the Stars, toy industry, what sells

Take Back Halloween: Debunking the Mythology of Market Demand

October 27, 2013 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Update Oct. 22, 2016 Check out the new 2016 Take Back Halloween Costume Contest! (deadline to enter 11-6-16) And...in case any hipster parents are mumbling "what's the harm it's 2016, lighten up, people" I'm adding this "What about the boys" reminder which is wince-worthy realizing I've been covering this topic for so long, and this study on sexualized body image and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexualization & Body Image Tagged With: A Mighty Girl, adolescent body image, All Things Girl, Amy-Jussel, APA sexualization study, appropriate girls costumes, Brave Girls Alliance, Brave Girls Want, Early-Sexualization, Girls Costumes, girls Halloween costumes, girls leadership, girls-self-worth, Halloween costumes on the fly, healthy Halloween, historic women costumes, Malala, Melissa Wardy, mythological goddesses, non-sexy girls costumes, notable women, preteen girls, redefining girly, Sexualization of Kids, SheHeroes, sheroes, Smart Girls at the Party, So Sexy So Soon, STEM women in costume, Suzanne Scoggins, Take Back Halloween, women in history, Women Leadership

Brave Girls Want To Put Media On A Different Frequency!

October 7, 2013 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Oct. 10, 2013 Update: At the end is a newly minted press release/activities update, and this great post by Adios Barbie crams a lot into a small package involving some of the partner organization efforts as well! Oct. 7, 2013 Without a doubt, this week’s about “All Things Girl” as the 2nd annual U.N. International Day of the Girl on October 11, 2013 hosts a plethora of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Literacy Tagged With: #BraveGirlsWant, adolescent body image, Amy Jussel Partner, Amy-Jussel, APA task force sexualization girls, BGW, brain plasticity, Brave, Brave director Brenda Chapman, Brave Girls, Brave Girls Alliance, Brave Girls Invade Times Square, Brave Girls Want, Brenda Chapman, change the channel of influence, child development, Consumerism, consumption, corporate social responsibility, CSR, Disney-Princesses, diversity, gender equity, girls leadership, hypersexualized, If you had the chance to change your fate, Ines Almeida, International Day of the Girl, Let Toys Be Toys, media-literacy, Melissa Wardy, merchandising, Merida makeover, Packaging-Girlhood, parenting, PigTail Pals, preteen body image, redefining girly, Sexualization, sexualized dolls, SheHeroes, So Sexy So Soon, stereotypes, Toward the Stars, toy industry

Brave Girls Want: A Movement, Not a Moment.

September 10, 2013 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Sept. 11, 2013 Grand Finale Tally for IndieGoGo campaign ended at 11:59PT: $26,673 Sept. 9, 2013 Today marks the triumph of a grassroots groundswell over colossal corporate branding, with the tipping point to “take back the media” coming from individuals, en masse! Tomorrow, the Brave Girls Invade Times Square campaign will be featured as the IndieGoGo crowdfunding … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM Tagged With: #KeepMeridaBrave, adolescent body image, Amy Jussel Partner, Amy-Jussel, APA task force sexualization girls, BGW, brain plasticity, Bratzillaz, Brave, Brave director Brenda Chapman, Brave Girls Alliance, Brave Girls Invade Times Square, Brave Girls Want, Brenda Chapman, change the channel of influence, child development, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Consumerism, consumption, corporate social responsibility, CSR, Disney, Disney-Princesses, diversity, gender equity, gender parity, girls leadership, hypersexualized, If you had the chance to change your fate, Ines Almeida, International Day of the Girl, Let Toys Be Toys, Media and Perception of Reality, media-literacy, Media-Makeovers, Melissa Wardy, merchandising, Merida makeover, Merida petition, Monster High, Packaging-Girlhood, parenting, Peggy Orenstein, PigTail Pals, preteen body image, Princess Free Zone, Princess Merida, Rebecca Hains, redefining girly, Sexualization, sexualized dolls, SheHeroes, So Sexy So Soon, stereotypes, That's Not Merida, Toward the Stars, toy industry

Positive Picks In Media & Marketing: Pigtail Pals, Redefining Girly

May 5, 2011 by Amy Jussel 13 Comments

May 5, 2011 To prevent founder flameout and “battle fatigue” in the fight to win the hearts and mindshare of our children, I’ve decided to devote May to “spring forward” with media and marketing examples of companies, orgs, and projects who are POSITIVE influences and “doing it right.” Shaping Youth is shining the spotlight on indie entities we WISH would get more play … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: age compression, All Things Girl, alternative boutiques, Amy-Jussel, anti-princess, defending pretending, girls clothing, Janesville Wisconsin, kids free to be kids, Melissa Wardy, mompreneurs, online retailers, open ended play, Packaging-Girlhood, PigTail Pals, PigtailPals, play, play outdoors, Pop culture impact on kids, power of play, preserving childhood, putting the child back in childhood, Redefine Girly, redefining girly, selling out kids, sexualization of children, small business, Whimsy Bees, Women of Worth, work from home, worthy small business