Empowered by Play » Healthy Media Choices

Peggy Orenstein’s CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER

Geralyn — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:52:01 +0000

Peggy Orenstein’s book CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER wasn’t the book I hoped it would be – it was better.

I was hoping she’d knock the marketing giant flat on its exploitative keister and that her book would make a strong and irrefutable case against Disney’s shameless and relentless marketing to young girls – opening parents’ eyes to all harmful stereotypes that Disney foists on our young girls and boys. I was hoping for a lambasting.

Instead, Orenstein offers the reader a deeply nuanced, thoughtful and honest look into her personal journey of parenting her young daughter through the princess years. As a mother of only boys, I appreciated the chance to enter into the complicated world of raising a happy and confident daughter in our current “girlie-girl culture”. Orenstein looks at American Girl dolls, Bratz dolls, Hannah Montana, Britney Spears, Internet chat rooms, Greek myths and more, taking the time to see what is behind the headlines and what the research is telling us. She talks to other parents about the choices they are making for their daughters. Orenstein helps illustrate that as your child moves from preschooler to tween, teen and beyond, the choices you make and why you make them will help shape how your daughter sees the world – and sees herself in the world. The book is sort of a wake-up call to wake-up and be present in your daughter’s media life.

For a terrific interview with Orenstein, check out the podcast and transcript of her hour with Healthy Media Choices’ Mary Rothschild. Here is a powerful excerpt from the interview where Rothschild hits the nail on the head and helps crystalize the message that Orenstein is sending us:

Mary Rothschild: This is one of the keys, I think – intentionality. Being intentional, even if you decide to let all the Princess stuff in. Whatever you decide for your family, being intentional makes all the difference in the world. The child (senses it).

Peggy Orenstein: That’s actually a great way for me to put it, so I appreciate your telling me that. When I talk about it, I’m going to say that, if you don’t mind. I can’t tell you what decisions to make for your child but, whatever you do, to provide context. I wanted to start a conversation and I wanted to provide some context and information so that parents could make their choices more wisely, but I guess what that does mean is make them intentionally. If you’re going to let your daughter get the twenty-one-piece Disney Princess makeup kit, know what you’re doing. That’s fine. That’s your choice. That’s your right, but know what you’re doing.

Be intentional about your choices. Good advice for parents of boys, too. For the full podcast and interview please check out Healthy Media Choices.

Healthy Media Choices: follow-up, reflection and new directions

Geralyn — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:49:00 +0000

Thanks to all of you who tuned in on Tuesday to the Healthy Media Choices Hour radio show. It was great fun for me, and talking with Mary Rothschild was a perfect opportunity to cross-pollinate and share ideas. Look on her site for a link to Mary’s blog, too.

We talked about so much, but of course afterwards there was even more that I thought about. Luckily the on-going blog gives me the chance to continue the conversation. One great resource, which I am honored to have contributed to, is the book So Sexy So Soon by Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne. The book is now available in paperback it is an invaluable resource for all parents (toddlers through teens). I know that Jean has been on The Healthy Media Choices Hour talking about the book, and this is a shout out about the new paperback edition and the newly launched blog!

In the interview did I make clear that good teaching is a craft? That one reason why good teachers are leaving the field due to No Child Left Behind. They are too smart and too creative to be fulfilled in a job of scripted curriculum. Good teachers are good thinkers and need to be in places that are interesting and stimulating. Losing skilled teachers is part of the fallout from NCLB. As I’ve said in the past, Debbie Meier is an expert at starting schools that are interesting places for students and for teachers. It is not only possible – it is essential.

I also loved the question one listener emailed, about me getting money from companies I endorse. As I stated on the show, my endorsements are free. I simply believe that people who are doing good work on behalf of kids deserve to be recognized. Parents and kids are constantly marketed to by companies more concerned about growing cradle-to-grave consumers than they are about growing thinkers and doers. I also aim to celebrate great toys simply because the current world is saturated with absolutely terrible toys.

Finally, I recently added a link on my blog for folks who are looking to host workshops for parents and teachers on the topics presented in the blog. I have been presenting for years at schools and conferences across the country, and now that my sons are starting school, I will have more time for presenting again. Thanks, again to everyone – we’ll see where the new (school) year brings us…

Time to relax ~ and Healthy Media Choices

Geralyn — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:53:00 +0000

The ironic thing about starting this blog (to protect and promote and imaginative play in our way-too-busy, consumer-driven, media-filled world) is that my life has gotten busier and more media-filled. It has been energizing, too, no doubt. The fact that we’ve gotten great feedback helps fuel me to continue the work. However, today I am going on vacation, and will do my very best to stay away from the computer for a week! We will be visiting family and friends, relaxing and playing at the beach. Sand and water make for wonderful, open-ended toys that invite investigation and imagination. I aim to play! (And to watch and listen as my own children play – my favorite and most fulfilling pastime.)

On the flip side, on Tuesday, August 25th at 1:00 pm, I’ll be interviewed on The Healthy Media Choices Hour radio show from Brattleboro, Vermont. The show is hosted by Mary Rothschild and streams live on the internet at http://www.wvew.org/. Mark your calendars now! I hope you can listen!

Make mine Moxie Girlz …or maybe not.

Geralyn — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:59:00 +0000

“Every girl has the strength to do something amazing. Anything is possible as long as you stay true to yourself and never give up on your dreams!” Sounds good, right? That is ad copy for the newest line of dolls…inspired by Bratz, but somewhat more modest. Moxie means confidence, and the new Moxie Girlz are selling it. “Be true, be you,” we’re told, for $17.99 – $29.99. MGA Entertainment is launching the new dolls as Mattel, Inc. takes over the Bratz line (long legal battle there). The short and the long of it is that kids (girls) have a new choice in the sassy doll market. Maybe this one is a little easier to stomach than Bratz. Maybe. Then again, maybe not. The cookie-cutter sexyness is still there.

In other updates, I contacted the school where the High School Musical ad was hanging in the kindergarten screening reception area. Happily, the administrator in charge of the screening did not like the idea of the ad being displayed, and went to check the room. Interestingly enough, someone had taken the ad down in the interim, and she thanked me for letting her know about it. I felt she was genuinely glad I called and was relieved one of her teachers had probably removed the ad. Nice. I was prepared for the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. It gives me (and I hope others!) encouragement to continue the quest to question advertising in schools.

Finally, my radio interview for tomorrow on the weekly show Healthy Media Choices, has been postponed until October. Keep an eye here for further updates.