I never thought I could describe myself as a ‘curmudgeon,’ but that’s how I’m feeling today. What’s got my back up? A New York Times editorial on a middle school talent show. Reading the article requires free registration, but I’ll save you the trouble with an excerpt:
They writhe and strut, shake their bottoms, splay their legs, thrust their chests out and in and out again. Some straddle empty chairs, like lap dancers without laps. They don’t smile much. Their faces are locked from grim exertion, from all …

This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a great article called Children, Adolescents, and Advertising. The abstract sums it up rather nicely:
Advertising is a pervasive influence on children and adolescents. Young people view more than 40,000 ads per year on television alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, and in schools. This exposure may contribute significantly to childhood and adolescent obesity, poor nutrition, and cigarette and alcohol use. Media education has been shown to be effective in mitigating some …

It’s the Toys ‘R’ Us catalogue that has irritated me this time. We got a thick one in the mail the other day with their Christmas theme. The whole thing basically repulsed me. The toys were almost all made of plastic and looked like they would break within a week of being received. Many of the toys had violent themes. And what bothered me the most about it was the sexism.
The section marked “Dollsâ€? was colored coded (or shall I say *gender coded*) in pink. …