Archive for April, 2010
Is that Kiely? One Ex-Cheetah Girl’s Unsettling New Image
With the recent surge in risqué music videos (i.e. Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”, Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat”, etc.), you’d think we’d be used to, or at least not surprised, when another unsettling or inappropriate video hits the airwaves. But when I heard Kiely Williams’ new song “Spectacular” and shortly thereafter saw the accompanying music video, I was confused and disgusted. Could this really be the Kiely Williams I’d grown up with? The same girl that my younger cousins admired and loved?
“Talk to Strangers:” Is the New Chat Craze Dangerous for Girls?
“Talk to strangers:” That’s the tag line for Omegle, a website where girls can text chat with random people they’ve never met. Omegle and Chatroulette, which allows users to video chat with strangers, have become explosively popular with teen girls, and I’ve asked some girls I respect to weigh in on the new chat craze.
“You Talk Like A White Girl!”: The Drama of Growing Up Outside the Box
As far back as I can remember there was always something that made me stand out.
From kindergarten to sixth grade it was my height and weight: I was taller (and skinnier) than all of the boys and most of the girls throughout elementary school. In class pictures from those years, I stand awkwardly on the back row of the bleachers in the gym; my pink, frilly dresses an anomaly next to the clip-on ties and black suit jackets worn by the boys who flank me on either side. They called me Olive Oil, after the super-thin character from the Popeye’s cartoon, and I endured endless taunts including the dreaded “You’re so skinny you could hula-hoop with a cheerio!”
Rosalind Wiseman and Unilever: “Don’t Fret the Sweat” Campaign
Rosalind gives teens tips on how to handle “sweat-inducing moments”, and speaks on how having tough conversations with ‘tweens’ can make for healthier teen-parent relationships as kids get older.
What Every Parent Should Know About Formspring: The New Cyberscourge for Teens
Last week, a Long Island high school senior committed suicide, and the website Formspring.me is suspected as a cause. Yet most parents don’t even know it exists. Formspring is the latest cyberscourge for teens. It lets you open an account and allows your anonymous audience – usually your classmates – to communicate with brutal honesty. By which I mean breathtaking cruelty.
