Category Archives: beauty myth

The Maisy Test for Sexism in Kids’ TV Shows and Movies: What to look for and what to do about it

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 […]

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Ten Books, Four Words Each: Most Influential

The latest booklovers’ chain-letter going around Facebook seems to be a challenge to list (without too much agonising) your ten most ‘influential’ books. Heavens. To stay in the spirit of the challenge I’ve tried to write this in one sitting, presumably missing a lot of worthy contenders, but hopefully capturing some kind of truth. And […]

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Everyday Misogyny: What Air New Zealand Doesn’t Understand

The story starts here, if you want to read the three posts in order. Here’s the thing: we’re not saying no one should ever wear a bikini, nor that my toddler should never see anyone in one. We’re saying that using women wearing bikinis and prancing (I checked the dictionary definition to be sure that was […]

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Everyday Misogyny: Sexism in Paradise Video Update

You’ll be astonished to know that my complaint via the Air New Zealand website (thanks Lucy for the motivation to make it) has not resulted in the ‘Safety in Paradise’ ads being withdrawn. Here’s how the correspondence has gone so far, and what I’m doing next. After I wrote this post about why I thought […]

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International Women’s Day: 8 (Easy and Hard) Ways to Make Life Better for Women

The wonderful Lucy is hosting an International Women’s Day link-up at Lulastic and the Hippyshake, so head over there for a great collection of posts. It’s International Women’s Day, so without further ado, here are 8 ways – some easy, some not – that you, yep, you can make the world a better place for girls […]

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Everyday Misogyny: What’s wrong with Air New Zealand’s Swimsuit Safety Video?

Update: I’ve been getting my complain on! For my early correspondence with Air New Zealand and the Advertising Standards Authority, click through to this update, and for Air New Zealand’s flabbergasting response to my ASA complaint, head here. I wrote most of this post a few days ago on a plane. I was flying home from […]

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‘Normal’ Barbie

What if Barbie dolls had the same proportions as normal women? This: Nickolay Lamm has recreated a typical blonde Barbie, but at the average proportions of a 19-year-old American woman (he took the measurements from the Centre for Disease Control). And you know what? Real-girl Barbie looks amazing. The project was at first an experiment […]

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‘One look in the mirror and I’m tickled pink’

At number one on the toddler playlist this week is ‘Beans! Beans! Beans!’ – Weezer’s geek-pop anthem ‘Pork and Beans‘. Including pop culture pieces like this in our kids’ lives doesn’t exactly provide media balance – the tide of body hatred is too overwhelming – but it can open conversation and give a theme tune […]

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TItian, Venus, an organist and a little dog | HOPEFULLY NOT PASSING ON BODY HATRED More good stuff on body image here too. | Sacraparental.com

(Hopefully Not) Passing on Body Hatred

    Is it fair to say we all want our kids to have better, healthier, happier feelings about their bodies than we have about ours? How can we avoid passing on our own insecurities? Alex linked recently to this bawl-inducing letter Kasey Edwards writes to her mother in ‘Passing on Body Hatred,’ excerpted from […]

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