Girls are saying “Stop It!” to Harmful Advertising

The inappropriate and unhealthy nature of much of what’s being marketed to our children is a hot topic these days.  Today’s kids are online and plugged in, and are exposed to a record number of advertisements, many of which include harmful messages that promote negative body images and the objectification or sexualization of girls and women.  Some companies have decided that in order to grab their audience’s attention they need to be shocking, and often it’s young girls who are being used as material.  Ranging from JC Penney’s misguided attempt to catch the almighty tween girl dollar by printing shirts that say “I’m too pretty to do homework”, to disturbing images of young girls in make-up, very little clothing and suggestive poses used by companies to sell everything from shoes to Halloween costumes to video games.  The accumulation of all of these images sends a strong negative message to our children, girls and boys, and undermines what we’re trying to do as parents to raise healthy, happy kids.

It’s frustrating that no matter how often or how loudly we tell our daughters: You are valuable because you are smart, you are kind, you are strong, you are YOU, they are being told by the outside world that they would really be valuable if they were skinnier, prettier, talked less and posed more.  We also try to teach our boys to respect themselves, respect their female counterparts, and to do what’s right.  And yet the message they get from many companies is that girls are to be valued by their appearance and are here for our visual enjoyment.  It’s a constant battle, working to instill a sense of self-worth and respect into our children, in the face of relentless imagery that perpetuates the opposite.

So what can we do to stop this?  We as parents can directly express our opinions to the companies marketing to our children (I’m looking at you, Abercombie), and we can support companies who help to enforce positive messages.  But we can also involve our children in the discussion.  What would happen if we gave them the power to take a red marker to today’s ads to express their opinions about what they’re seeing and how it makes them feel?

A magazine and on-line resource called New Moon Girls, founded in 1992 by a mom in Minnesota with the goal of empowering girls to create their own media messages based on respect for self and others, has done just that.  In a new campaign called “Girl-Caught” they ask kids to literally put their stamp of approval or disapproval on the ads and images they see every day.  Kids can download a digital stamp or print out stickers that say “Stop it! This disrespects girls and women” or “Thank you! This respects girls and women”.  This allows kids to actively voice their opinion about harmful ads and messages as well as applaud the ads that actually get it right.  Kids all over the country have picked up the gauntlet and are uploading their Girl-Caught images to NewMoonGirls.com to show the marketing industry and the world examples of acceptable and unacceptable ways to use girls in the media.

Author Katie Mardigian

Giving kids a voice in the debate is a powerful tool in this fight against harmful advertising.  It opens up discussions between kids and adults about the consequences of objectifying girls and women, placing value on unhealthy and unrealistic body types, and downplaying girls’ strength and intelligence.  It also shows our kids that they can be a part of the solution and make a difference in this world.  Go to Newmoongirls.com to check out the Girl-Caught campaign.  It’s encouraging to see the ads that girls view as negative, stamped with the big red “Girl-Caught” logo, and lets in a flicker of hope that maybe the kids of today are going to be the ones to finally hold companies to a higher standard.