Packaging Girlhood, written by Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown, two board members of consumer advocacy group Shaping Youth, is about how “girlhood” has been co-opted by marketers. Packaging Girlhood guides parents through attempts to claim girls by marketers and the media. It shows parents the image of girls (sexy, diva, boy-crazy, shoppers) that’s being packaged and sold, pretty in pink. Authors write about how “girl power” has been co-opted by marketers of music, fashion, books, cartoons, TV shows, movies, toys, and more to mean the power to shop and attract boys, and how girls are encouraged to use their “voice” to choose accessorizing over academics, sex appeal over sports, and boyfriends over friends. The book exposes these stereotypes and the very limited choices presented of who girls are and what they can be. Lamb and Brown give advice to parents about how they can guide their daughters through these negative images without taking a “Just say no” perspective.
In chapters: What They Watch, What They Wear, What They Hear, What They Read, and What They Do, they examine the lives of girls from childhood, through the tween years and middle school, and on through adolescence. Their survey of over 600 girls told us to take a closer look at topics similar to that of this website.
I personally can’t wait to read it.
Amy Jussel, executive director of Shaping Youth, is offering 2 copies of Packaging Girlhood in support of The Girl Revolution. Jessel also wrote a very complimentary article about The Girl Revolution.
Leave a comment to win. Enter as many times as you like by spreading the word.
1. Twitter Me: @traceesioux and post the link to either a contest post OR a post from the archives and categories you appreciated. Follow me. Come back and leave a comment so I can keep track.
2. Facebook: Add me as your friend and post a link to either a contest post OR a post from the archives you appreciated. Come back and leave a comment so I’ll can keep track.
3. Blogroll: Change Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me links to The Girl Revolution links if I’m already in your blogroll or Add The Girl Revolution to your blogroll.
4. Leave a comment
5. Blog It. You get 1 entry in all 18 contests for any post announcing and linking to The Girl Revolution on your own site. Leave a link to the post.
6. Visit The Girl Revolution Store: Feel free to buy something. If you drop a link to your favorite item you’re entered to win.
7. The Girl Revolution Webazine: Sign up for the Webazine. Leave a comment saying you’re signed up on the prize you like best.
Enter as many times as you like – Just be sure to leave a comment saying what you did. I’ll be announcing prizes all week. Each contest will be announced 7 days after its posted. I’ll email winners directly and announce them in the The Girl Revolution Webazine.
19 comments ↓
I would love to read this book. Love the new site.
Vanessa’s last blog post..Like Nobody is Watching
Just figured out the blogroll on my settings! Will add you as soon as I get home!
[...] TGR Launch Contest #6 – Packaging Girlhood [...]
Ooooh, this looks really good! Just today, my daughter wanted to play on the Lego computer site (their tetris-like game is very addicting). At first I said yes, but as I looked at the actual games, I noticed all the games directed at girls were about shopping or dressing something or building a castle. The boy games were about fighting and rescuing things. So I put her on pbs instead.
I also can’t wait to read this book. It is certainly hard to navigate the in-your-face and everywhere marketing out there right now.
I would love to win this. I’m majoring in social work and want to work with adolescents so this would be great to have
thanks!
Tracee,
You have been busy!!
Jeanne
Jeanne’s last blog post..INFERTILITY, IVF, & Keeping Hope: Sarah Motes Ashley – Singer. Songwriter.
I could use this one!
Ooooh Tracee. So you may recall from our previous conversations that this book would be a HUGE asset to me as I continue working on my dissertation – which focuses on the way that “Empowerment” is marketed to adolescent girls, usually via things that don’t do anything to actually empower them. I could add this to my stockpile of texts. Plus! If I write a review of the book that gets published, that’d be even more great publicity for The Girl Revolution. (fidgets in seat, waving hand wildly) Pick me! Pick Me!
I would love to have this book to read, thanks!
This is a great site and this is a message that all parents of girls need to read.
Following you on Twitter.
Hey, Tracee…there’s still one more typo left on Jussel above!
Hi readers, Amy Jussel here, Shaping Youth is offering Tracee THREE books (plus one for herself) and so as she winds down her contest here, I’ll up the ante for The Girl Revolution and create a triple play to pay it forward…
Here’s the deal: Now, readers from Tracee’s blog (I see Audrey’s already visited us!) can leave a comment on our post about Tracee’s “Girl Revolution” launch to be entered to receive three MORE hardcover editions of the Packaging Girlhood Book and increase your chances!
http://blog.shapingyouth.org/?p=4507
We’ll declare winners on Valentine’s Day, since we LOVE our girls and it’s a classic ‘think pink’ day to boot. You’ll find all of the links in our “all things girl’ series to point you to other cool and worthy sites to explore while you’re there…So heads up!
This contest may be closing but we’re opening ours to Tracee’s readers (yes, I bought an entire case of the fabulous book which we use in our programs with teens and moms!) So stop on by! (and yes, we have ‘comment luv’ now too, so let us know who you are so we can come visit you…PhDiva, I’d like to speak with you particularly on an article I’m working on about women PhDs!!
Congrats, Tracee on a fun launch and we’ll be glad to post the winners on our blog to pay it forward for ya, too? Best, Amy
Founder/Exec. Dir.
http://www.ShapingYouth.org
Using the power of media for positive change
Shaping Youth’s last blog post..The Girl Revolution: Empowering Girls Instead of Consuming Them
oops, I guess I could’ve just used the ‘comment luv’ to leave the link for your readers…Tracee feel free to delete/edit as needed to condense!
Shaping Youth’s last blog post..Obamicons, Inaugural Media, Gizmos and Facebook Feeds
Tracee,
I have sent you a tweet previously on Twitter.
As you know, we have been Facebook friends for a long time.
I had updated your name to The Girl Revolution in my blogroll as soon as you launched & have left numerous comments (on every post I have seen for the contests).
I have blogged about The GR.
I have visited the GR store.
Please enter me for everything I am eligible for.
I have had the pleasure of “meeting” Amy Jussel of Shaping Youth a few days ago. I love her blog.
Please let me know if I missed anything.
I am very interested in anything I can do to increase my odds of winning any of your contests!
There are so many items that I would love for my daughter.
It’s hard to pick favorites but I would love pretty much EVERYTHING available in all of your giveaways.
I am really impressed with the prizes available since your launch.
I would LOVE this book!
It’s exciting to see so many people so excited about empowering girls.
Jeanne
Jeanne’s last blog post..VIDEO: ‘Jeanne’s Endo Blog’ — Any Patient Or Caregiver Who Deals With Chronic Conditions Can Probably Appreciate This Fantastic Video!
Tracee,
I just re-tweeted you and sent you a Facebook message to cover all the bases.
Jeanne
Jeanne’s last blog post..VIDEO: ‘Jeanne’s Endo Blog’ — Any Patient Or Caregiver Who Deals With Chronic Conditions Can Probably Appreciate This Fantastic Video!
Tracee, Tracee, Tracee,
How can I thank you enough for the prizes I have won?
After entering all of your contests, I won several prizes.
With your random program picking winners, I’m amazed that I won multiple prizes!
I should mention, at this point, that I have a long history of winning random contests!
From concert tickets to books to records (yeah, I’m old enough to have won vinyl records from a radio station when I was about 12 or 13)… I’m the big “4-0″ for age now.
Whether it’s calling a radio station or a blog giveaway, I have good luck.
OK. Granted, I followed all of your steps to a “T” for all of the contests. So I did do my best to win.
All I know is I REALLY apppreciate winning this prize and others.
Since I have a young daughter, the prizes I won will be put to good use!
I don’t know where/how you got all of the many awesome prizes but your launch prizes are just amazing!
Your new site looks great! Your prizes are impressive. Cassie did a fantastic job redesigning your blog. You must be exhausted from the launch with all of these contests.
I hope you feel better soon!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the prizes. I am very grateful!!
I had the pleasure of “meeting” Amy Jessel the other day! She found my blog via yours and left me a comment.
So I checked out her Shaping Youth site and it’s amazing!
I am excited because she is going to a conference in Washington D.C. soon and she asked me to do a write-up regarding endometriosis!!
So I will be writing something up for her to take to the conference in Washington. I am very honored that she asked me to write a piece!
I haven’t written it out yet but I have been thinking about what I’m going to write! My endometriosis symptoms began at age 13. I did not have someone advocating for me to get proper medical attention. I was not diagnosed until my first laparoscopy surgery at age 23 (in 1992).
I will be writing “tips” to help girls know what questions to ask doctors (generally gynecologists). I’ll be writing “tips” to help girls know how to communicate about their symptoms with the goal of being taken seriously by doctors.
Too many girls (and women) are brushed aside with their endo symptoms. This is just not right.
I suffered for 10 years before diagnosis. (I have had endo for 27 years).
I was VERY fortunate that the delay in obtaining proper treatment did not prevent me from conceiving a child and carrying to term!
MANY women with endo experience infertility and miscarriages. The rate of ectopic pregnancies is higher for endo patients too.
I am VERY fortunate to have my daughter!!!!
My heart breaks for infertile couples who desperately want children and cannot conceive (or carry to term).
I blog a lot about infertility, miscarriages, premature babies, etc. because there are SO many people suffering.
If I can provide Amy with info that may help girls out there get an early diagnosis and proper medical treatment, it may help some girls from growing up to battle the hell of having infertility!
So I hope to empower girls by helping them obtain high quality medical care/timely diagnosis of their endometriosis.
Sadly, most endo patients I know had endo symptoms start in childhood, as mine did. It is a tough way to go through childhood!
More sadly, the average lag for diagnosis of endo is 9.9 years (!) from the onset of symptoms!! This is just plain wrong!
Earlier diagnosis is needed!
I hope I can write a piece that will help Amy to help girls out there to get early treatment for this serious condition.
Endo affects relationships, careers, quality of life, potentially fertility for some… The list goes on. It is a devastating disease for many. (There are varying degrees of endo symptoms but for some it is quite debilitating)!
I hope I can do justice to this issue in my piece for Amy.
Pediatricians, gynecoloists, and primary care physicians should ALL being trained about what endo is and how to diagnose/treat it.
It can only be diagnosed via a surgery called a laparoscopy.
I hope and pray my piece for Amy will help girls out there get the high quality healthcare they deserve!!!
Thank you very much for this prize and the opportunity to connect with Amy.
I’m very excited about writing a piece for her to take with her to Washington D.C. for her upcoming conference!
Take care,
Jeanne
Jeanne’s last blog post.."Jeanne’s Endo Blog": Please Vote Using My New Poll! It Will Help Me Meet Your Needs Here Better!
[...] their thoughts and commentary on March 1, 2009. We did this for Tracee’s recent launch at The Girl Revolution and it was a big [...]
I believe that when you put your mind to something you will have the power to achieve what your wildest imagination can conceive. Great post, and never give up!
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