Is it just me, or are there some of you out there in bloggerland who also have a strong disdain for Disney and their 'Lolita Factory'? You know that place where young girls are being groomed into prepubescent stardom and taught that traits like sauciness, sassiness and sexiness are appropriate for today’s teen/tween audience? I don’t blame it all on Disney – there are parents out there who allow their kids to be treated like a commodity - Lindsay Lohan and her mother Dina are a perfect example - but an attachment to the Disney brand and the money that follows are what makes it all sooo attractive. And if you’ve seen ‘Bruno’, you’ve seen that some parents will allow their kids to do anything for a chance at Hollywood’s brass ring.
My 6yr old niece’s name is Hannah. Everyone at her school, and even some members of our family, call her Hannah Montana. It makes me cringe! Miley Cyrus is a 16yrs old smoker who started living with her 20-something boyfriend with her parent's consent at the age of 15, and who at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, where the audience is...well...teens...was pole dancing dresed in next to nothing. Meanwhile, girls with a ‘cleaner’ image like Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez are being pushed to the backburner, clearing the way for the red-carpet antics of their sexier counterparts.
Now throw into the mix shows like 'Toddlers & Tiaras'; in our current society tramping up young girls is becoming the norm and good old fashioned values are being thrown by the wayside.
I remember when Jodie Foster and Brooke Shields being accepted into Yale and Princeton respectfully was considered celebrity news; giving girls at the time (like me) something real to aspire to. Now all it takes is a flash of skin without panties and 'hacked' cell phone pics to become CNN headline news.
So I’m fighting back. How? I have started watching Little House on the Prairie with Hannah, so that she can learn it is not cool to sass grown-ups, attitude will not win you friends (courtesy of one Nellie Olsen) and that doing the right thing will always earn you respect (remember when Laura and Bunny won the horse race and she gave the cup back to Mrs. Olsen?). She calls it ‘our show’ and often has to remind me when it is on. In addition to that, a full Miley/Hannah boycott. Not a dime to be wasted on that crap. And I am always on the lookout for more positive role models for young girls – like Demi and Selena – to encourage Hannah to look up to. Any suggestions?
Please feel free to weigh in - I would love to hear your thoughts...whether you agree, disagree or agree to disagree!
Cheers,
Lori
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
the games we play
We play games. It is instilled in us at a young age to strategize, to expose our opponent’s weaknesses and manipulate their strengths to our advantage as a means to coming out on top. Thinking back to games like musical chairs, duck-duck-goose, hide and seek, it was key to always be one step ahead, while watching your back at the same time.
We apply these strategies at work to outshine our colleagues and land the promotion.
We apply these strategies with our friends and neighbours to keep up with the Jones’.
We apply these strategies with our hearts hoping for happily ever after.
A very good friend of mine is ‘Gigi’ from “He’s Just Not That Into You”. She is attractive, intelligent, funny, independent, kind...but so eager to find Mr Right that she embarrasses herself trying to force relationships with guys who are clearly Mr Wrong. She insists she’s cool being a single chick on the loose, but obsesses over texts, emails and phone messages...overanalysing the finest of details...naively making excuses for the games they play.
Now there was a time when the game came with flattery focused on physical attributes...great body, nice smile, pretty eyes. The compliments now come with words like ‘astute’ and ‘insightful’. Are boys using intellect to raise the bar and set themselves apart from the pack? Or is it that in the year 2009 girls are still playing the dumb-down game because they think that’s what boys are looking for, making smart the ‘exception’?
We were taught that it wasn't about whether you win or lose but how you play the game, and as kids we were okay with that, but as adults, why do we feel the need to always win...and in the end, are we really winning?
I thought games were supposed to be fun...
We apply these strategies at work to outshine our colleagues and land the promotion.
We apply these strategies with our friends and neighbours to keep up with the Jones’.
We apply these strategies with our hearts hoping for happily ever after.
A very good friend of mine is ‘Gigi’ from “He’s Just Not That Into You”. She is attractive, intelligent, funny, independent, kind...but so eager to find Mr Right that she embarrasses herself trying to force relationships with guys who are clearly Mr Wrong. She insists she’s cool being a single chick on the loose, but obsesses over texts, emails and phone messages...overanalysing the finest of details...naively making excuses for the games they play.
Now there was a time when the game came with flattery focused on physical attributes...great body, nice smile, pretty eyes. The compliments now come with words like ‘astute’ and ‘insightful’. Are boys using intellect to raise the bar and set themselves apart from the pack? Or is it that in the year 2009 girls are still playing the dumb-down game because they think that’s what boys are looking for, making smart the ‘exception’?
We were taught that it wasn't about whether you win or lose but how you play the game, and as kids we were okay with that, but as adults, why do we feel the need to always win...and in the end, are we really winning?
I thought games were supposed to be fun...
Monday, August 3, 2009
road trip
Two friends, on a road trip – not trying to escape the law like Thelma & Louise (though one of us did come home with a warrant for her arrest in the state of Pennsylvania), just hoping to escape reality for a couple of weeks. Driving from Ontario to Florida for New Years Eve...no plans, no where to stay, completely by the seats of our pants.
Allow me to backtrack. I am an uptight vacationer. I need a vacation after planning a vacation. Every last detail painstakingly thought out, analysed, researched, short-listed and confirmed. From what day of the week is best to exchange money, what sales taxes are charged in each state, what hotels offer free Wi-fi (because laptops are mandatory on holiday?), weather patterns and of course, where to find the best outlet malls.
None of these, not even the least significant of plans, actually made it to execution. We got in the car and drove. No plans. No where to stay. And guess what?? It didn’t kill me!
*Sidebar: I really did believe I was dying at one point, though it turned out to be nothing more than a nasty throat infection that thanks to the United States Food & Drug Administration was cleared up in a matter of days.
The most important part of this trip, aside from the five pairs of shoes I came home with, is that I learned something about myself. That my life doesn’t have to be scheduled to be enjoyed, that being spontaneous is not a killer, and that facing my fears has been a healthy part of moving forward while overcoming a setback. And that the setback is not much of a setback at all, but an opportunity to enjoy more of the journey.
Allow me to backtrack. I am an uptight vacationer. I need a vacation after planning a vacation. Every last detail painstakingly thought out, analysed, researched, short-listed and confirmed. From what day of the week is best to exchange money, what sales taxes are charged in each state, what hotels offer free Wi-fi (because laptops are mandatory on holiday?), weather patterns and of course, where to find the best outlet malls.
None of these, not even the least significant of plans, actually made it to execution. We got in the car and drove. No plans. No where to stay. And guess what?? It didn’t kill me!
*Sidebar: I really did believe I was dying at one point, though it turned out to be nothing more than a nasty throat infection that thanks to the United States Food & Drug Administration was cleared up in a matter of days.
The most important part of this trip, aside from the five pairs of shoes I came home with, is that I learned something about myself. That my life doesn’t have to be scheduled to be enjoyed, that being spontaneous is not a killer, and that facing my fears has been a healthy part of moving forward while overcoming a setback. And that the setback is not much of a setback at all, but an opportunity to enjoy more of the journey.
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