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Strollerderby
We’ve all seen the television commercials. A gorgeous model struts down the sidewalk in slow motion, showing off the latest fashion. Heads turn, until finally the model stops in front of a mirror and coos in a generic European accent, “I poo in blue.”
Okay, maybe you haven’t seen that commercial, in which the model, a two-year-old boy, is shilling the new denim diaper by Huggies. The 30-second spot ends with the visual tagline, “The coolest you’ll look pooping your pants.” Or, it does on some networks, anyway. The New York Times reports that ABC, ABC Family and Sprout “objected to screen text at the end of the spot that included the word ‘pooping,’ (so) for those networks, the text was changed to, ‘When you gotta go, go in style.’”
It seems odd to me that those networks, which air programming geared specifically toward families with children in diapers, would get uppity about a reference to poop. What’s even more bothersome, though, is that according to Newsweek, ABC flat-out refused to air a commercial for Lane Bryant featuring a plus-sized model showing “too much cleavage.” With so many female-centric shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town and The View, do they just not understand that plus-sized moms are their demographic? Or maybe they just can’t comprehend the idea that a woman might be proud of her body, whatever its size, and willing to laugh at the bodily functions of her child. My guess is networks are afraid that if we’re okay with ourselves and our bodily functions, we might stop buying the stuff that hides all of that raw humanity. Continue reading »
Forget about babies in bikinis controversy. The pre-pubescent girls who strut their stuff to Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” in this racy viral video make Madonna look downright quaint.
Dressed in skimpy two-piece costumes that emphasize their non-existent curves, the 8 and 9-year-old girls gyrate like pole dancers rather than 3rd graders. The video, which was shot at the World of Dance Competition in Pomona, California last month, has been viewed more than 1.7 million times and has created quite a stir.
Critics say the video exemplifies the sexualization of young girls in popular culture.
“These lingerie-laden girls, who are said to be about seven, bumped, grinded, shimmied and shaked their way through the hit dance song. Suggestively lip synching that ‘he liked it so much he put a ring on it’,” Famecrawler wrote yesterday.
Most of the people commenting on the video are appalled. Someone called it a “pedophile recruitment video.” But Famecrawler points out that a few commenters defend the sexy moves. One woman wrote, “The choreographer went a bit far, but it’s a dance… nothing else. These girls are obviously pretty professional and dedicated to dance at an early age. They will spend their lives in a dance studio training for competitions, not on a street corner.”
Good to know! Continue reading »
A court has ruled three police officers innocent of using excessive force after they Tasered a visibly pregnant woman pulled over for a speeding ticket.
Run that by me again? What is it about “shooting electricity into a fetus” that sounds reasonable? Continue reading »
Melissa and Tony Wescott’s 11-year-old son is ready to come home, but they don’t want him to.
The Wescott’s, who adopted the boy in 2007, want to give him back to the state. In fact they’re fighting to change an Oklahoma law so they can return their adopted son.
So apparently there’s a big controversy over Thomas the Tank, the seemingly innocuous train engine that always reminds me of a frantic bus driver trying to stay on schedule.
According to the pretty funny web site Canadian of the Week, there’s a new theory arguing that Thomas offers lessons in gender inequality and class struggles.
The site quotes University of Alberta professor Shauna Wilson, who apparently watched 23 episodes after coming to the conclusion that Thomas is a rather conservative figure and not particularly a great role model, especially for young girls. Continue reading »
It seems that the recent refund offer by Disney was the spark that reignited the flame of a decades-old controversy: Is television harmful to tots? Are we a society of lazy, selfish parents that use the screen as a live-in babysitter? And if so, are we creating a society of mush-brained mutants that call the remote “Daddy”?
Julia Pimsleur Levine, mother of 2 and creator of Little Pim, an educational foreign-language DVD series for the toddler set, has weighed in with the following letter:
Anita Tedaldi has written much about her family of five biological daughters. Despite a gaggle of children, Tadaldi felt here was room in her and her husband’s lives to adopt an additional child. The South American boy, referred to as “Baby D”, had been found by the side of the road. If anyone needed a family, it was he.
But after a year and a half, Tedaldi returned him.
Okay, maybe that’s a little coarse, but you tell me. Tadaldi went on the “Today” show and cited the baby’s inability to bond with her as the issue.
Joslyn Gray 
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Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
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Katherine Stone 
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