You know I have pretty high standards for kids’ TV shows and think most of them are crap for various reasons – violence, sexism, meanness, etc. My kids watch plenty of TV – we’re not screen-free by any means. But I am pretty strict about letting a new show into the rotation. First I check […]
Has anyone been wondering about seeing The Star with kids? It’s a new animated Nativity story, with lots of Hollywood voice talent, and some funny moments. It’s also stuck in the 1980s when it comes to portrayal of women, casting and content. Sigh. I went today with my son and friends, so here are […]
I keep reading this baseless crap about how boys won’t read stories about girls, so we should just stop writing and publishing them. It’s nonsense. Worse, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because how will boys read about girls if everyone’s been warned not to offer them those books? I recently wrote a round-up of 12 notable New […]
New Zealand’s TV Guide got an enormous amount of attention this week (exactly the amount it was hoping for, presumably), when it published this letter: This hideous piece of throwback misogyny got all the condemnation and ridicule it deserved on Facebook yesterday (and more, no doubt: I’m not suggesting that social media response has […]
In the middle of the (Thai) night, slightly out of kilter after all the flying, and up with jet-lagged (or rather, jet-fuelled) children, I got the very good news by email that the Advertising Standards Authority had upheld a swathe of complaints against this billboard: The advertisement, like several others for the services of this […]
[Update: we won! But there’s good news and bad news. My take on the decision is here.] I got my rant on yesterday and today I got my complain on. This is the text of my formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. They’ve already refused to consider two complaints against this ad, so I […]
Sigh. I went to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority (yes, again) about a billboard where a naked woman’s body is used to sell… scaffolding. And cranes. And stuff like that. It came up in the feminist mothers’ Facebook group I’m part of. Lots of people were appalled at the billboard and had been complaining […]
Wow! What a lovely response to my post on sexism in kids’ TV shows and movies (the whole post is here and it’ll make your blood boil!) Thomas suggested on Twitter that I make a quick reference guide in a separate post. And Tricia suggested on Facebook that she’d love a poster for her kids […]
This is something of an experimental post, so please be kind in your comments! I’d love your help to hone it. I’ve been working on it for months, so it’s time to let it out into the world and get your help. Thanks! Sexism in kids’ TV and movies I’m thoroughly, wretchedly ambivalent about children’s television and […]
Bill English announced in yesterday’s Budget that ‘work readiness’ obligations would increase for parents who receive welfare benefits and have young children. Currently, most parents are obliged to actively seek 15 hours of paid work – and accept any ‘suitable’ job – when their youngest child turns five years old (despite the legal age of […]