Shaping Youth At Ypulse 2009: Send In Your Priorities

May 1, 2009 Much like the scene in the new Disneynature Earth documentary where the lions and the elephants are drinking from the same watering hole, Shaping Youth has been invited to share space among the über-marketers at the YPulse Mashup June 1 and 2 as well as the Tweens Online (Un)Conference taking place the day prior. Attending as ‘press’ sends a positive sign that … [Read more...]

Dora The Explorer: Discover the World, Not the Mall

Feb. 26, 2009 Oh fer cripes sakes. Say it ain’t so. Is Dora the Explorer getting a makeover and turning tween TOO?! Leave her alone! This "age-compression" bit is putting a new dent in my TMJ-clenched jaw as we once again see marketers "vy for the buy" with zero regard for the integrity of the message being delivered. Just LOOK at the cues being sent to ‘tween girls’ as … [Read more...]

Supergirls Speak Out: Liz Funk on NBC Today, Tomorrow!

Feb. 9, 2009 In the ‘takes one to know one’ category, I have to throw my own overachiever support behind young SuperGirl Liz Funk who has spent the last couple years detailing the ‘pressure to be perfect’ among teenage girls. Shaping Youth is one of the ‘book tour stops’ for SuperGirls Speak Out, and I’d slated Liz closer to her debut March 3rd, but in typical ‘overachiever’ … [Read more...]

The Girl Revolution: Empowering Girls Instead of Consuming Them

Shaping Youth writes extensively about the need for a massive media mindshift away from the sexualization and commodification of girls, so it’s with great pride and ‘atta girl’ go-power that that we announce one of our own honorees in our All Things Girl round-up is seizing the headway and momentum to launch her renamed site The Girl Revolution! Chock full of fun freebies … [Read more...]

Kids@Play: Elf Island Unlocks the Secret to Parent Approval

I was AWOL at CES as my IBM went MIA. Translated? You're SOL (simply outta luck) if you're seeking a fresh thread on the big Consumer Electronics Show toys and tactics targeting kids at the Kids at Play summit, until I can reconvene with colleagues or TechMamas that were present to interview them and/or pitch a guest editorial. I tried, I really tried to get there. The … [Read more...]