Moms Speak Up | The ORIGINAL Moms Speak Up is back!

10 Antidotes to Girls’ Self-Sexualization

Posted on August 14, 2008 by traceesioux

I’m so excited to be invited to regularly cross-post on Moms Speak Up! My mission is to revolutionize the perception of Girlness and the Culture of Girlness. Please visit Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me to find out how. Thanks for having me.

by Tracee Sioux

Yesterday, we discussed Self-Objectification and Low Self-Esteem.

I loath problems without solutions and complaints that make us feel powerless. So, here’s a list of 10 Antidotes to Self-Objectification and Sexualization of Girls.

* Media Literacy – talk to girls about the images they see. Point it out when there is obvious digital retouching like in Keira Knightly Stands Up for Her Girls and Yours.
Watch Dove’s Onslaught campaign with her and discuss it. If it’s age-appropriate take her to the Natural Breast Gallery and talk about how different the images of women in media are than the bodies of real women. Tell her about Photoshop and discuss the motives of the media to sell products by misrepresenting women’s bodies.

* Athletics - A focus on the body that is nonsexual, athletics focuses on competency, agency and action. As participation in sports increases, participation in risky sexual-activity decreases. Taekwondo and soccer are good choices. The report sites cheerleading and dance as less empowering types of athletics due to the focus on appearance, sexiness, and thinness.

* Extracurricular Activities – Girl Scouts, band, after-school programs like Girls Inc., drama club, band, computer or video gaming clubs give girls an alternative to activities that focus on their appearance.

* Comprehensive Sexuality Education – “A central way to help youth counteract distorted views presented by the media and culture about girls, sex and the sexualization of girls is comprehensive sex education. Programs must include accurate information about reproduction and contraception, the importance of delaying intercourse initiation for young people, and the building of communication skills, and promotes a notion of sexual responsibility that includes respect for oneself and an emphasis on consensual, non-exploitative sexual activity.” Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Girls, Media, Women | Tagged beauty ideal, beauty industry, body image, empowering girls, Media, self esteem, self objectification, self sexualization, so sioux me, tracee sioux | 5 Comments

The Feminization of the Olympics?

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Sarah

This year I am watching the Summer Olympics as a mother of two. This is a first. At home, I am breaking my own records for patience, creativity, and hug-giving. I am also watching the Olympics as a possible future dream. The dream? Watching my own kids participate on the Olympics. Never say never, right?

When Michael Phelps won another gold medal, I found myself watching his mom and tearing up. As a mom, I understood the joy in her heart. The New York Times published a moving article about Michael and his struggle to fit in with the normal school day.

There is some talk about among “real sports fans” that the Olympics are being feminized with a focus on sappy background stories. Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Tagged olympics, phelps | 3 Comments

Room-by-room home ecofier tool: Makin’ it easy…

Posted on August 12, 2008 by Lisa F

Wow, this tool makes it visually easy to go through your house and get rid of the toxic junk. Check it out. Room by room, Healthy Child, Healthy World breaks it down item by item. Out go the candles, new vinyl flooring, and soft plastic toys, among other things. One idea is to hit a room each week so you don’t get overwhelmed or bogged down. Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Environment, Family, Green Living | 3 Comments

Toxic Car Seats? Search for the Best… and Worst

Posted on August 12, 2008 by Lisa F

Late in 2007 the Healthy Toy database sprang into existence when some dedicated folks at the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, MI responded to all those lead recalls (remember them?). Well now they’ve taken it a step further with its car seat and car database, where you can search by brand and type (e.g., infant, convertible, booster). Fascinating. Britax, which I always thought to be the “safest” car seat (also the most expensive…) ranks high, high, high on the toxic list. They have a top 10 list, natch, so you can quick see if yours made the best or worst lists. Continue reading →

Posted in Product Safety | 5 Comments

Empowering girls: Hootchy Clothes and Mean Girls

Posted on August 11, 2008 by Julie Pippert

Many thanks to guest poster Tracee Sioux for providing this thought-provoking essay:

If you are using words like hootchy, skank, slut, whore or any other sexually derogatory word to describe the clothing (whether inappropriate or not) of any girl you are an active participant in further sexualizing girls.

If you are teaching your daughter (or sons) to use sexually derogatory words to describe other girls’ clothing you are actively coaching her in mean girl behavior.

If you call a young girl’s outfit “skanky,” you’ve just taught your daughter that it’s okay to call another girl a “skank” if she doesn’t like her clothes. If you describe an outfit as “hootchy mama,” you’ve just taught your daughter that if she makes the slightest clothing error, it’s okay for others to call her a “hootchy mama.”

You’re basically making a judgment about whether a girl is sexually active or promiscuous by her clothing.

I’m hearing people say such things about 3-5 year olds. Think about it: are those words you really want to apply to children?

Continue reading →

Posted in Girls | Tagged empowering girls, girls clothes, girls clothing, judging clothes, juicy couture, mean girls | 6 Comments

Insanely High Gas Prices Good for America? YES!!!

Posted on August 6, 2008 by admin

While I’m justifiably nervous about how higher gas prices are going to affect my life and the world at large (Everything in the typical American home is tied to oil in one way or another) I have to admit that I’ve secretly thought that expensive oil could also be good for America. We are so wasteful in this country and we throw away SO MUCH STUFF. It’s shameful in some circles to be frugal or to not be a wasteful, frivolous consumer and as uncool as it may be, I really HATE that about America.

I used to get really annoyed when SUV’s were criticized for being gas guzzlers and the typical American response is “So what? I’m paying for it. What do you care?” I despise our culture of rabid conspicuous consumption and I’m forever disgusted with the typical gluttonous American lifestyle in which we care not how much we consume or waste, not just with food, but everything (I’m guilty of it, too). Is it any surprise the rest of the world looks at us like we’re total jackasses?

Well, the game has changed and it seems I’m not the only one who was looking for the silver lining of higher gas prices.

Time Magazine recently ran a piece discussing that very topic. Check out the following list and then click through to read the article:

10 Good Things About High Gas Prices

1. Globalized Jobs Return Home

2. Sprawl Stalls

3. Four-Day Workweeks

4. Less Pollution

5. More Frugality

6. Fewer Traffic Deaths

7. Cheaper Insurance8. Less Traffic

9. More Cops on the Beat

10. Less Obesity

Read the entire article here

Posted in Environment | Tagged carbon, gas, insurance, obesity, oil, pollution, prices, traffic | 3 Comments

Get the Target Off Our Kids’ Foreheads

Posted on July 29, 2008 by admin

Marketing to children is a huge industry and all of our kids, even babies, have a high price on their heads. The aggressive, negative and unscrupulous tactics used to reach and influence our children and their long-term effects, which are finally being acknowledged by the American Psychological Association, are incredibly manipulative and designed to undermine parents.

If you’re tired of the media onslaught directed at your kids; tired of being undermined by a machine seemingly too powerful to stop, then consider signing both of these petitions, one to each political party, to make this topic a platform issue and put our children’s well-being ahead of corporate profits.

Click here to sign the petition to the Republicans

Click here to sign the petition to the Democrats

Please link to this post on your own blog if you support this petition. Thanks!

Posted in Advertising, Call to Action, Children, Corporations, Media | Tagged Children, marketing, Media, nag factor, precocious sexuality, youth violence | 2 Comments

Housing Slump May be Good News

Posted on July 25, 2008 by Sarah

The latest AP report tells us that new housing sales for June were down 0.6 percent compared to May. Compared to last year, June of this year sees sales down 33.2 percent. This is being reported as bad news. This may not be bad news. Continue reading →

Posted in Media | 1 Comment

Worried about Food Safety?

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Sarah

Why yes, I am worried about food safety. I have stopped buying grapes from Mexico long ago, even though I love grapes. So, it does not surprise to me read that people are wary about the food they eat. What does a recent poll tell us that should be filed under obvious? Continue reading →

Posted in Government | 3 Comments