Raising Authentic Girls: Rachel Simmons’ “Be You! The Real Girl Tour”

August 31, 2010 “Be you!” Riiiiight. In a media environment that cynically exploits how to act, what to wear, why to buy and who to be, girls are repeatedly told to "be themselves." GirlsHealth has a perky “Be healthy. Be happy. Be You. Be Beautiful” site. Girls Inc is “inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold.” Jess Weiner is "Creating A Nation of Confident … [Read more...]

What Does a 13-Year Old Boy Know About DATING Violence?

Feb. 2013 update:  First and foremost, yesterday's US Senate/VAWA vote overwhelmingly passed reauthorization and now moves on to the House of Representatives. What IS the Violence Against Women Act, specifically? Here's a comprehensive snapshot of content and history, from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In recapping these vast resources and Twitter handles at the … [Read more...]

Media Hypefest: Is Prom the New Wedding? A Teen’s Perspective

May 7, 2010 As the last vestiges of prom wind down along with Girls Rights Week, I wanted to land one last post in the queue exploring media and marketing’s impact on kids' expectations, reality show distortions, and 'over the top' depictions of celebratory fetes. From ‘proma-a drama,’ lavish limos and  fantasy night fairytales (e.g. akin to the amped up MTV My Super Sweet … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth Honors Girls Rights Week May 3-7

May 3, 2010 In honor of Girls Rights Week, advocating for positive change in the world, I’m going to run a week long series of “all things girl” to show how media and marketing can HELP rather than hinder healthy development. What IS Girls Rights Week? Another ‘Hallmark holiday’ you ask? Not by a long shot... As one who changed radio channels four times on the way to … [Read more...]

SexEd Abstracts Due For SexTech Summit: Not Your Mother’s Media

Nov. 8, 2009 One of our SexTech.org ‘top ten’ posts continues to be the Top Ten Teen SexEd videos created by students, for students in an effort to improve the lousy coverage of an inevitably touchy subject in schools. If you're unfamiliar with Isis-Inc.org (Internet Sexuality Information Services) they're an amazing health advocacy crew that epitomizes the concept of Shaping … [Read more...]