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 […]
Have you ever noticed that all the animals in the popular children’s lift-the-flap book Dear Zoo are male? Every single one. It’s not an isolated example. Looking at almost 6,000 children’s books published between 1900 and 2000, the study, led by Janice McCabe, a professor of sociology at Florida State University, found that males are central characters […]
We’re still swimming in sexism Here’s a quick exercise for you: grab a pen and paper, or open a document on a device. Briefly note down the ten or so kids’ television shows that you see or hear most of when you are around kids. You could include kids’ movies as well if you like. What shows […]
A little visitor came to our house for the first time recently. This was the conversation between the visitor and my four-year-old son, SBJ: Visitor: Whose bike is that? SBJ: Mine! V: It can’t be yours. It’s pink. Pink is a girl colour. SBJ: No, colours are for everyone. Pink is one of my favourite colours. […]
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 […]
The Otago Daily Times, the only independently-owned major daily newspaper in New Zealand, had this feature teased on the front page this weekend: The paper is joining with a heritage society to get everyone to vote for Dunedin’s ‘most notable resident’. But you have to vote from a list of 17 nominees that have been […]
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 […]
We may not have a TV, but DVD box sets and the internet are an enormous part of my life in the resting-or-breastfeeding days of late pregnancy and the ‘fourth trimester‘. I know I’m not alone in finding it suddenly much easier to watch than read during those hours on the sofa. It’s hard to […]