Rosalind Wiseman

By Damien Gessell
Republican Herald
October 14, 2008

The best-selling author who inspired the 2004 teen flick “Mean Girls” on Monday urged local adolescent girls to be wary of pop culture’s one-size-fits-all aesthetic.

“The message here is that you have to be super sexy, even at 5 years old,” Rosalind Wiseman said, pointing to a projector image of the kid-favorite “Bratz” dolls.

Wiseman, who penned New York Times Bestseller “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence,” spoke to more than 200 adolescent girls and their parents on resisting pressure and fighting bullying.

Last week Joanne Parulis, VISION executive director said about 612 people pre-registered for the free event, the second of two seminars scheduled that day.

Wiseman blamed the media and music for forcing girls to conform to archetypical standards of beauty and popularity.

A native of Washington, D.C., Wiseman is nationally recognized as an expert on ethical leadership, bullying prevention and school violence. In 1992, she founded the Empower Program, a national violence-prevention effort.

“If you don’t understand the rules that are coming at you from the culture, you won’t be in control of your life,” Wiseman said Monday night during a packed presentation at Pottsville Area High School’s Wachter Auditorium.

The bullying prevention expert implored the audience to acknowledge the implicit messages in songs like the Pussycat Dolls’ “When I Grow Up.”

“My goal is that you are to be taken seriously,” said Wiseman. “If you have the image that the only way you can be taken seriously is with cars, friends, fame and fake breasts, you have the wrong idea.”

Wiseman said messages girls receive through pop culture can sometimes have wider implications in their interactions with each other, leading in some cases to bullying. Taking a realistic stance on bullying, Wiseman told parents to hold their children responsible while at the same time treating them with dignity.

She also asked adults to “set the bar high for yourselves.”

Wiseman said: “There are a lot of super cynical kids out there, and there’s a reason for it.”

Mother Beth Krasinsky, Pottsville, liked what Wiseman had to say.

“I agreed with her, especially about the ‘Bratz’ dolls,” Krasinsky said.

Lillian Hobbs, Pottsville, also took Wiseman’s message to heart.

“This is something needed in all communities,” she said.