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 … [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, … [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 … [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 … [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 … [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

Healthy Youth Media Act Pt 2: Can Change Be Legislated? (interview)

July 21, 2010 by Amy Jussel 9 Comments

July 21, 2010 Can you hear the drumbeat, Hollywood? It’s getting louder. Girl advocates like Jessica Lawrence head to Capitol Hill to discuss H.R. 4925 tomorrow to share firsthand data about how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Nutrition & Wellness, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: alcopops, All Things Girl, America the Beautiful, American Apparel, APA, APA Task force, appearance cues, Be the voice for girls, beauty myth, beyonce, boy toys, boys into monsters, Bratz, Capitol Hill, consumer advocacy, corporate pedophilia, dereon divas, dieting, eating-disorders, fashion-beauty-industry-expectations, FCC, FTC, Geena Davis Institute, Gender, gender equity, girl scouts, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, girls inc., GLI, GSA, GSUSA, H.R. 4925, harm of early sexualization, Healthy Media Youth Act, HGHW, hottie factor, HR4925, Huge, Jessica Lawrence, Lyn Mikel-Brown, meat marketing, media-literacy, Melissa Wardy, NCWO, obectification, Oct 22, Packaging-Boyhood, Packaging-Girlhood, parenting girls, PigTail Pals, Pink Think, plastic surgery, Pop culture impact on kids, preteens, raising girls, redefining girly, self-worth, Sesame Streetwalkers, sexism, sexist ads, Sexualization, Shelley Moore Capito, Single Ladies, So Sexy So Soon, SPARK! summit, sparksummit, support healthy media images for girls, surviving media morass, Tammy Baldwin, Tinkerbell, Wisconsin, Youth-advocacy

Steamed About Sexualization? Healthy Media for Youth Act Now!

July 14, 2010 by Amy Jussel 22 Comments

July 12-16, 2010: Healthy Media for Youth week! Fed up with “boy chasin’ bed swappin’ lip-lickin’ hottie-hoochie booty-bouncin’ appearance-is-everything” cues comin’ at your girls? Yah, so are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Nutrition & Wellness, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: Actionist Network, Actionists, adolescent body image, Adonis-Complex, APA, APA task force sexualization girls, beauty myth, body-positive, buffed boy, CDC, Confidence Community, congressional hearings, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, depiction of females in media, dieting children, diversity, Dove, Dove Self Esteem Fund, eating-disorders, EDC, education, fashion-beauty-industry-expectations, FCC, female characters, FTC, Geena-Davis, gender equity, Girl Scout Research Institute, girl scouts, girls-self-worth, GSA, H.R. 4925, Healthy Media Youth Act, hot chicks eating burgers, hottie, HR 4925, hyper-sexualizing, Jean Kilbourne, Jessica Lawrence, Killing Us Softly 4, legislation, Male-Body-Image, media influence, Media messages, Media-as-super-peer, Media-Education-Foundation, media-literacy, MEF, Melissa Wardy, obsession with weight, Oct 22, Packaging-Girlhood, preteen-health, Promoting Healthy Media Images, raising healthy kids in a sexualized media world, role models kids, sexuality, Sexualization, sexualization girls, sixpack abs, So Sexy So Soon, SPARK, sparksummit, thinspiration, unhealthy relationships, weight loss, women and girls, women and girls in the media, Youth-advocacy

Kids Summer Camps & Niche Gender Marketing: Why?

June 8, 2010 by Amy Jussel 23 Comments

June 8, 2010 Why do we have to turn summer camp into a marketing opportunity for pink and blue? What's the matter with plain ol' grass green and outdoor fun? Admittedly, I never made it to a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: Actionist Network, adventure camp, Amy-Jussel, Castles, Childhood Summers, children, childrens intelligence, Confidence Community, day camps, DigiGirlz, Disney, Every Boy, Every girl, fairytales, Geena Davis Institute, Gender, gender literacy, gender parity, Gender Portrayal, Girl Media, Girls Leadership Insititute, Jess Weiner, Kids, media-literacy, Melissa Wardy, niche camps, overnight camps, Packaging-Boyhood, Packaging-Girlhood, PigTail Pals, pink and blue, pink camping gear, Pink princess, pink tents, Pink Think, pirates, princesses, reach and teach, redefining girly, robotics, selling of pink, sociological images, STEM, stratification, summer camps, traditional camps, true child

Redefining Girly: Girls Rights Week W/Founder of Pigtail Pals

May 6, 2010 by Amy Jussel 3 Comments

May 6, 2010 Call her a mompreneur, entrepreneurista, or "the original PigTail Pal," Melissa Wardy is a mama bear with a mission and a voice that roars when it comes to changing the way our society … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: acid on their innocence, APA, bikinis, Candies, children, corporate ethics, empowerment, exploitation, G-string, girls inc., Girls' Rights Week, Human-billboards, innuendo, Kohls, Let her dream in every color, Melissa Wardy, panties, paper bag princess, PigTail Pals, preteens, redefining girly, self rescuing princess, sexuality, Sexualization, So Sexy So Soon, social justice, Tee shirts, thongs, undies, Wisconsin

Girls Are Not Candies. Tweens Are Not Teens. Thongs Are Not Undies.

May 4, 2010 by Amy Jussel 22 Comments

May 4, 2010 A few years back I commented on the post Confessions of a Lingerie Lover by Fae Goodman on Alternet and copped to being “one and the same.” Fae uncorked a doozy of a conversation that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Damaging Drek, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Vapid Values Tagged With: 10 is the new 15, About-Face, acid on their innocence, adolescence, age compression, American Apparel, APA, aspirational marketing, Axe girls, best bottom contest, Body Blitz, Britney Spears, bustiers, butt floss, butts as billboards, Candies, children, confessions of a lingerie lover, corporate greed, corporate pedophilia, desensitizing, ethics, Fae Goodman, Free to be kids, G-strings, Girlcotts, Girls' Rights Week, HGHW, hypersexualization, innuendo, KGOY, Kids, Kohls, LimitedToo, lingerie, Lolita, Mama bear, Melissa Wardy, moral outrage, objectification, padded bikinis, panties, peekaboo, PigTail Pals, pink, Pop-Culture, preteens, raunchy ads, redefining girly, sex appeal, sexploitation, Sexualization, Sexualization & Body Image, slimy, So Sexy So Soon, tacky fashion, Tee shirts, thongs, training bras, tween baiting, tweens, Victoria's Secret, VS

Amy Jussel Follow

Founder, https://t.co/pXG3JwXd6b Passionista, media/marketing analyst, youth advocate, former ad agency pro, author of media literacy kidlit series https://t.co/6RdcLWjQlL

Avatar Amy Jussel @shapingyouth ·

26 Sep

Started FREE @knightfdn AP course "How to Use ChatGPT & other Generative #AI Tools in Newsrooms" to debrief myself in time for media literacy week on the pros/cons of low/high risk automation practices & protocols #MediaLitWk #medialiteracy #NewsLiteracy

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Avatar Media Literacy Now @medialitnow ·

12 Sep

How Can We Help Students Evaluate Scientific Information? Media Literacy Education! We recently convened #STEM & #MediaLiteracy educators to discuss the skills students need to learn to better evaluate scientific information & resist misinformation. ➡️

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Avatar Amy Jussel @shapingyouth ·

12 Sep

Enjoying @iftf webinar happening now on #AI which is maxed out on attendees/Zoom, but viewable here: Complements the book I just finished, The Coming Wave which I HIGHLY recommend w/a macro lens on societal implications: https://www.the-coming-wave.com/ #IFTF

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Avatar Internet Ethics @iethics ·

6 Sep

"When #car companies aren’t busy sharing or selling your #data, they’re often not protecting it as well as they should. We couldn’t confirm if any of the car brands we researched meet our Minimum #Security Standards. That’s really bad and not normal" #tech

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