Disney’s Frozen: Critical Thinking Skills to Ice Out Personal Bias

Dec. 29, 2013 “It was soooooooo booooooooo-tiful with snowfwakes evweeewhere wiff fweeedeee (3D) gwasses!” the five-year old’s eyes lit up and widened almost as large as the animated sheroes in the film (ok, admittedly not as huge as “her eyeball is larger than her wrist” dimorphism that body image critics are charging Disney with perpetuating, but BIG nonetheless)…Her … [Read more...]

Take Back Halloween: Debunking the Mythology of Market Demand

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...]

Beyond Merida: Toy Industry Complicity in Marketing Vapid Values

Update May 11, 2015 Could the caped crusader cavalry be coming in the form of sheroes and indie offerings like IAmElemental and Roominate and Lottie Dolls? Sure hope so! If you need a bit of joy juice, here's a glimpse of some positive progress with brands avenging gender stereotypes in the toy aisle. And here's an overview of 'where we are now'...Two short videos I created for … [Read more...]

A Mighty Girl: Healthier Media Messaging, One Click Convenience

April 11, 2013 Update: Check out A Mighty Girl pics for Environmental Books and movies for green kidlit and Earth Day 2013!  Dec. 10, 2012 What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature “Hey!” and some REAL Christmas cheer! A Mighty Girl  holiday story: I’ve written about rampant sexualization and gendered absurdity narrowing choices in the toy aisle many times … [Read more...]

“Mouse Inc?” Disney Bullies Small & Mighty CCFC From Home?

March 10, 2010 I bought and watched Academy Award nominee  Food Inc. last night, the riveting documentary on corporate pressures leaning hard on farmers that’s nothing short of mafia-style thuggery for compliance and adherence to industrial machinations. Looks to me like we’ve got a similar scenario with Disney strong-arming the powers that be to silence and oust tiny but … [Read more...]