I’m Shaping Youth!
How flattered am I that Amy Jussel at ShapingYouth.org decided to cross-post my AntiRacistParent column (Breaking the Color Code and Princess Power)?
ShapingYouth is a forum about media and marketing’s influence on kids, and is chock-full of great resources for parents and anyone interested in kids and consumer culture. Another such site is ParentsForEthicalMarketing.org/Corporate Babysitter. Check them out.
Among other topics, both sites deal with gendered marketing. I keep my antennae raised when it comes to my girls’ perceptions of themselves as female, esp. given stuff like this mess:
(courtesy of Crunk + Disorderly)
…and “whorses”:
So tonight, I was all smiles upon overhearing this conversation as I cooked dinner:
MiniMe and BabyGirl are talking about something which prompts MM to mention a judge.
BG: What’s a judge?
MM: A judge is someone…well, when there’s a crime or people have a problem they can’t agree on, she is the one who decides who’s right and who’s wrong. And she decides if they have to go to jail. Basically, she’s in charge of the court and stuff like that.
So, to summarize:
Jane Bolin, America’s First Black Female Judge
…yes!
…absolutely not.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Oh good, Lord! I started wearing heels young but these ad campaigns are ludicrous! Who are they aimed at? R Kelly?
May 14th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
*fainting dead away @ Wendy’s comment*
You know, I call him Statutory R. Kelly. Did you hear that jury selection FINALLY started in his case this week?
May 15th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I also referenced your princess post today. Although I’m a wee bit more small time than shapingyouth.org . Just a bit. Anyway thanks for the links - I am a Big Sister to a 16 year old and mama to a 5 month old girl and really really REALLY want to help them understand, question and analyze consumerism and the exploitation of young girls…those are great resources.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Hey Deesha, glad you posted about Lisa’s great blog too, as we are known to align on multiple levels and feed each other morsels of marketing mania that needs the full microscope treatment.
The Dereon bit I clearly don’t get, but frankly the whole Knowles family ‘franchise’ seems to be lacking in judgment on a variety of levels…(um, her dad and sister’s Baby JamZ hits me as off-strategy as well.)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=18462
As I say on my blog when someone asks, “Amy, who IS Shaping Youth?” I answer “we all are.” —With everything we ‘put out there’ into pop culture; Beyonce, included.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Amy: I wonder if Beyonce will dress her daughter, if she has one down the road, in those outfits. I shudder to think.
Eva: Thanks for the shout-out! And kudos to you as a Big Sister. One question: How do you handle Megan’s cuteness on a daily basis????
May 18th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I must not be seeing what everyone else is seeing. I don’t see anything wrong with the Dereon ad. I think the girls look adorable; it looks like they are supposed to be playing dress up with the heels and feather boa. Obviously she is not really selling high heeled shoes to for little girls and feather boas. I went to the dereon website and the clothes for girls were regular clothes like tshirts, shorts, dresses
May 20th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This is one of the problems with marketing to and with kids. If the clothes are just regular kids’ clothes, then why is the suggestive advertising necessary?
Deesha, thanks for the tip about shapingyouth.com.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Margie:
Agreed. Companies advertise to send a message about their product. Why would anyone pay big money to send a message that’s counter to what they’re actually selling?
What next? Speedo putting their models in winter coats? That kind of advertising uses irony as a marketing tool. I highly doubt that’s what the House of Dereon is doing here.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Whorses? SMH.
And are those little girls really in heels??? SMH… What a mess! This is the kind of shit that Beyonce and her mama are pushing? Urgh! Regardless of real intent, the ad speaks volumes, and sends unfortunate messages to little girls who are already inundated with images influencing their behavior. Beyonce and her mama should know better than to add to the deluge.