Win a Girls Rock Shirt for a Rockin' Mama

A lot of you have heard me talk about how how supportive and influential my mom and grandma have been in my feminism, activism and specifically in Sticker Sisters. Some of you have even had the chance to see them in action at our yearly family reunion at the NOW conference.

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to hear about an amazing mama you know (or two or three).

Post in the comments about them and then on Mother's Day I'll pick a winner at random. The winner will receive a Girls Rock t-shirt for themselves or the mother of their choice. Please make sure there's some way I can identify or contact you in your comment.

Check out this rockin' family who got so many smiles and comments when they wore their Girls Rock shirts out all together.

Mama Cait explained that her older daughter "is shy so it's really a statement for her, which is very cool. It's good to see girl power things especially for young girls."

If you know a girl who needs a little encouragement or a rockin' mama, pick up an empowering shirt for them. Or better yet--get shirts for your whole crew!

Let's share stories and celebrate all the great mamas we know!

Barbie Turns 50

I've been reading and hearing a ton about Barbie's 50th birthday today. It's got me thinking about the complicated relationship I've had with this silly doll.

When I was six years old I somehow come to have my aunt's 1960s Midge doll, but otherwise my parents were anti-Barbie. All Midge came with was a striped bathing suit. There were no elaborate outfits to put her in, no car, no dream house. A friend took pity on my situation and gave me some of her rejects. She had chopped off their hair and painted their faces with red nail polish, but I was delighted nonetheless!

As I got older I started to despise Barbie with all her gowns, unrealistic proportions and "Math class is tough" comments. I hung a Body Shop poster with an image of a more realistically proportioned Barbie-esque doll in my room.


And even though I won't be buying Barbies for my kids, I can appreciate that she's had quite a run. As Veronica on Awearness Blog says:

Barbie's done a lot in her life. She's held many careers, married Ken, left Ken, got back together and even struggled her way through math class. She even beat a popular rival into oblivion.

You absolutely must read Sarah Haskins' really funny piece Barbie's Little Secret. I won't give away all the funny stuff (c'mon what did you really do with your Barbies?!). But Sarah Haskins sums up the complicated relationship that a lot of feminists seem to have with Barbie:

After all, in her own strange way, she was a pioneer -- a trailblazing figure in branding, a woman whose every tiny wobbly step paved the way for the questionable role models that perplex and concern parents today, be they Bratz or Disney Princesses.

Worst Toy of the Year

Will it be the Cadillac Escalade that three-year-olds can learn to gas guzzle with? Or the Barbie Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader doll that's oozing gender stereotypes?

Check out the other contestants and vote for Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood's award for worst toy of the year.

 

Encouraging Girls Without Dissing Boys

The topic of feminist messages for boys has been on my mind for some time, but it's been coming up a lot so far this year.

I got a comment in an order from Melissa in El Paso, TX saying:

"I love how the site and products encourage girls to be strong without engaging in boy-bashing (I have a son too!)."

This might seem hard to believe, but I'd never quite thought about it that way. I mean I've always hated that slogan, "Girls rule, boys drool." It just doesn't make sense to me to be encouraging one person while putting down another. I want all the Sticker Sisters goodies to have a celebratory, fun tone that doesn't come at the expense of anyone else.

I was thinking about this when Janet in San Francisco e-mailed me for advice:

"In a couple of months I have a chance to go to a family reunion and deliver stickers, shoelaces, bandaids...into the hands of at least eight grand-nieces whose parents may or may not get the reasoning. (Ages: 18 months to 15 years, with a cluster in the 5-10 range).

Meanwhile, the girls have three brothers/cousins in the impressionable age range of 5-7. They will get gifts too. To inoculate the boys against "girls-rule" teasing (which can lead to a backlash by parents and other folk, thus negating the valuable consciousness-raising), I'm looking for some good messages to incorporate on the boys' gifts. You've undoubtedly thought this question through: I notice that your messages are pro-girl but not anti-boy. What messages do you like for giving confidence to boys, without putting girls down?"

So that brings me to my biggest challenge. While Sticker Sisters will always be focused on girl-positive messages, I've had a lot of requests for items for boys as well. Of course boys can wear "Girls Rock," "Action Not Glamour," or "My Kind of Princess..." t-shirts. And I've had some very cool ones do just that! But let's be real--most boys aren't going to wear those shirts.

Anyone have ideas on messages that would be appealing to girls and boys?

 

Understanding and Raising Girls -- Live Chat

I just found out PBS Engage is hosting a live chat with Rachel Simmons--author of the New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls.

Check out the chat:

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 4:00pm EST

They'll post a transcript for those who can't make it.

There are some great questions already posted:

"How do I teach my daughters (4 1/2 & 2) not to emulate the images they see on magazine covers and TV?"

"What are the Top 3 Tactics we can employ as parents to raise stronger, more self-sufficient and HAPPY girls."

Got any advice for these parents or questions of your own?

Barbie Beats Bratz

A judge today said that Bratz makers can no longer sell their dolls. It has nothing to do with their sexy outfits and excessively made up faces though.

Apparently Bratz infringed on a Mattel copyright. According to Salon:

"For several years, Mattel has promised to 'litigate to the death' over what it called (for realz, no joke) a 'Barbie genocide.' After winning a $100 million lawsuit against MGA, Mattel decided to wage its own 'genocide,' and called for all Bratz dolls to be impounded and destroyed. It's like a feud between rival prom queens, only in the language of, like, actual war."

Oh goodness--the jokes are gonna write themselves!

So now that Mattel owns the Bratz concept (they must be so proud!), who knows if they'll destroy all the dolls or start selling them. Barbie and Bratz all under one big Mattel umbrella of unrealistic body images for girls? Whoa that might be too much for me! Let's hope they opt to destroy the Bratz dolls.

Target Women: Disney Princesses

Have you seen the "Target Women" videos? They're hysterical! This latest one fits right in with our new My Kind of Princess shirt.

New Word for Tomboy

Over at Shameless Magazine they're talking about an article in the Toronto Star called "Why 'tomboy' remains a loaded word."

The article quotes a description in the NY Times of actress Ellen Page as "a tomboy – her on-screen persona is sharp, clear-eyed, determined and self-consciously original."

Apparently a Sarah Lawrence professor wrote a response saying:

“It is unfortunate that we have no other word available to describe this strong, independent young woman than to refer to her as a tomboy. This continues to convey to girls that growing up clear-eyed and courageous is being like a boy.”

Well said!

I was the only girl on my baseball team when I was younger and have often been mistaken for a boy when I have short hair. But I can't think of an instance where I was directly called a tomboy. I definitely identified with boys when I was little and even wished to become one, but I never liked the word tomboy.

Were you ever called a tomboy? How do you feel about the term? What are other words we can use to describe strong girls? Does even having any word assume that it's unusual or unnatural for girls to be strong?

More Girls Fighting?

So I'm driving to work this morning listening to Day to Day on NPR and I hear the host proclaiming,"'Fight like a girl' used to be an expression that meant you didn't fight all that hard or all that violently. Well things have changed."

My ears perk up. Did I miss something? Is this cause for celebration? Are people not using "like a girl" as an insult anymore? Welllll...not quite. The story is about videos posted on YouTube showing girls fighting each other. They say in it that girls are getting in physical fights with each other more often than in the past. Not sure what the past is to them, but I definitely remember fights among girls when I was in middle and high school. But maybe it is getting more common. What do you think?

There was one part of the story that was especially annoying. Dr. Louis Kraus at Rush University says, "We see more girls interacting in competitive sports. We've seen girls get into more fights." Are we supposed to draw some connection between girls being more involved in sports and getting in more fights? What happened to sports being so good for girls?

And then they talk to a thirteen-year-old who says, "Guys aren't better than girls. Girls can fight too." Ah equality at last. But seriously let's strive for no fighting.

Oh but the Dr. Kraus guy brings up a good point at the end about how schools are less likely to take fights among girls as seriously as fights among guys. Teachers and administrators often see girls' fights as "skirmishes" and are less likely to intervene. Hopefully awareness will do a little something to help people not diminish girls' activities and expressions (however unacceptable).

Gifts For Girls and Holiday Orders

I've been busy getting a new sticker printed and December seems to have snuck up on me. I hope those of you in the Midwest and New York are surviving the winter weather. I'm drinking some hot chocolate for you right now!

Anyway this sticker elf is ready to get your holiday orders out to all the brave, strong girls in your life.

To make your job as awesome aunt/mother/grandmother/friend even easier this year, we've got spiffy new gift boxes and can ship your order directly to the recipient. So go ahead and add wrapping and a personalized card to any order. Our new gift packaging is made of recycled materials so it’s easier on the environment too!



Have a great holiday season!

P.S. If you need gifts in time for Xmas, please place orders by December 19th.

Giving Thanks (and not giving thanks)

So I spent yesterday with my mom, grandma, aunt, and cousin. There were moments when they drove me crazy of course, but overall I felt so lucky to be surrounded by such strong, awesome women and one smart, spunky eleven-year-old. This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for all the wonderful people in my life, but especially the amazing, brave girls and women I know.

Hopefully you'll have a chance during the holiday to think about all the awesome girls in your life. And keep in mind that Sticker Sisters has dozens of smart, spunky stickers, t-shirts, and gifts with celebratory, encouraging messages for girls of all ages. And you don't have to wrestle the crowds at the mall to get the goodies!

Okay, well just to round out this little mushy love fest, here are a couple things I won't be giving thanks for this year.

1) Turkeys that look like headless women's bodies (in a bikini no less!) waiting to be carved up. Misogyny on a plate. Ugh just what this holiday needed.

2) The upcoming Spice Girls reunion tour. Really? Oh please please don't say they're back.

But seriously--what are you thankful for and not thankful for today?

More Spooky Stereotypes

So it's old news that Halloween costumes for women and girls keep getting "sexier" and more stereotypical. Not to mention all the racist "ethnic" costumes. And then there's the "sexy," "ethnic" costumes. Those really take the cake.

But apparently there's a new fad for men and boys. Move over scary costumes, this year "muscle" costumes are all the rage. From "Mini Muscle Man Infant" to "Macho Biker Man Adult" costumes, there's no scarcity of stereotypes for guys either.


Tolerance.org has a list of questions to help identify stereotypes in costumes:

WEARING A FUNNY COSTUME?
Ask yourself: Is the humor based on "making fun" of real people, real human traits or cultures?

Though intended to be funny, last season’s "Mental Patient" costume by Disguise was considered demeaning, dehumanizing, and humiliating to individuals struggling with a mental illness and their families. Complete with a "Hannibal" type mask and a straightjacket, the costume reinforced stereotypes and fears about persons with mental illness.


WEARING A SCARY COSTUME?
Ask yourself: Is the "fear factor" based on real forms of violence or grotesque depictions of human traits?

"This scary stud can empty out a full house just by walking through the door," touts the tag line for Fright Catalog’s "Vato Loco" mask. The bandana clad, tattooed, brown-skinned vinyl creation makes light of gang violence, which takes a serious toll on families and neighborhoods across the country. The costume also sends the message that Latinos are violent.


WEARING A HISTORICAL COSTUME?
Ask yourself: If the costume is meant to be historical, does it further misinformation or historical and cultural inaccuracies?

The "Indian" get-up prevails each year as culture-turned-costume. But did you know few Native Americans wore buckskin and headbands and even fewer wore them together? Did you know "war paint" and feathers carry religious meaning and were never worn by Native American children?


WEARING A "BEAUTIFUL" COSTUME?
Ask yourself: If the costume is meant to be beautiful, are these characteristics drawn from commercial references, such as movie characters?

Too often, beautiful at Halloween means white, blonde, princess masks. What statement does your Halloween costume make about what constitutes beauty -- and about who is beautiful and who isn't?


WEARING A "CULTURAL" COSTUME?
Ask yourself: Does the costume reduce cultural differences to jokes?

People like Leigha Baugham, a former communications student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, believe when it comes to picking Halloween costumes, we should "keep our hands out of the melting pot."

There are a zillion great things to dress up as that don't promote stereotypes. My favorite costumes have been a tube of toothpaste, a jellyfish, a gecko, a teabag, and a picnic. What great costumes have you worn or seen?

Glue On Gender for Pipsqueaks

So I just discovered another absurd way parents are trying to prevent that oh so scary question, “Is that a boy or a girl?” And it really takes the cake. They’re “stick on bows” for infants who don’t have enough hair to hold a regular bow. They come with a little bottle of glue that you use to adhere the bow to the baby’s scalp. And of course they’re available in pink, pink, and more pink.