hara who? and other things...
i'd like to share one of my daily reads, mizz cho's blogs. i've never seen a stefani video, actually, i don't watch music videos, period. i've seen part of a review of the stefani show (i think it was 2 weeks ago in San Jose), and the author mentioned the backup girls. i checked out the harajuku website... and i have to say i don't get it either. full grown women calling themselves girls, presenting themselves as... whatever it is they are supposed to be. i do not think this is a website i will want my daughters to see. nor will i want them to see the stefani music video's.
i think it is important, necessary for our daughters to see positive, strong, female role models. but who exactly are the role models? and what makes them a role model? the ability to take on and manipulate what is essentially a stereotype (as in the thin, beautiful actress/model/rockstar, who talks tough and acts strong... but still is an object to be looked at)? looking for female role models in popular media, specially female women of color, would be like trying to look for the little pearl earring you lost in a beach... good luck finding it! i opt to protect my daughters from such images.
i let my kids watch the simpsons (some parents deem it too mature for children), i let them watch spongebob. we all watched the hitchikers guide to the universe this weekend (we all loved the movie! and the kids kept singing the song... "so long and thanks for all the fish...") we saw the latest wallace and gromit flick. (we are huge wallace and gromit fans since "a grand day out"). we are all excited to see the latest Harry Potter installation. we love the book series "a series of unfortunate events" (loved the movie too). by the way, lemony snickett is doing a reading and book signing in town this coming Monday, promoting the latest book (The Penultimate Peril). Lemony lives in SF, so he often reads and does stuff. the kids don't know it yet, but i'm taking them. we take the kids to nights out at jazz clubs, late night diners, zoo's, fundraisers, the symphony, camping... all sorts of things. we even let them smell and taste wine (they usually hate it). but one thing i will not allow, is music videos/films/pictures depicting violence and degradation of women. i believe in letting my kids make up their own minds. but there are some things i simply will not allow while they are this young. like, for example, any of the past, present and future work of britney spears, paris hilton, and donald trump. those shows are simply banned.
there are lots of scary things in the world for kids... food with too many chemicals and coloring that poison our bodies, maladjusted psychopathic people who haven't worked out their issues and instead are bent on hurting little children and other unsuspecting adults, crazies that run huge corporations and the country, horrifically bad art. but there are also lots of cool things in the world. for now, i'd like to dwell on the good stuff. sometimes it's confusing to sort out the good from the bad, because they can look deceptively similar... like shoes... they can look so good and desirable, but might be really bad for your feet, knees, hips and back. or glitzy girls who wear amazing outfits and dance really well... until you realize they are grown women and you begin to wonder what message they are trying to get across.
the best i can do, is to make sure they know that in our society, a lot of things are masked by packaging. it's what's inside that counts. do you really need it? will it enrich your life? and after you get the stuff out of the plastic, paper, foam, glitz, botox, silicone, packaging comes off, you have to wonder what happens to all that waste, and was it worth it? i tell them someone's always trying to sell you something, whether it's an object, a technology, a concept, an image. and most of the time, what we truly need is already within us.
childhood is short. when they were born, i decided i'll do what i can to keep theirs as sweet as i possibly can.
i think it is important, necessary for our daughters to see positive, strong, female role models. but who exactly are the role models? and what makes them a role model? the ability to take on and manipulate what is essentially a stereotype (as in the thin, beautiful actress/model/rockstar, who talks tough and acts strong... but still is an object to be looked at)? looking for female role models in popular media, specially female women of color, would be like trying to look for the little pearl earring you lost in a beach... good luck finding it! i opt to protect my daughters from such images.
i let my kids watch the simpsons (some parents deem it too mature for children), i let them watch spongebob. we all watched the hitchikers guide to the universe this weekend (we all loved the movie! and the kids kept singing the song... "so long and thanks for all the fish...") we saw the latest wallace and gromit flick. (we are huge wallace and gromit fans since "a grand day out"). we are all excited to see the latest Harry Potter installation. we love the book series "a series of unfortunate events" (loved the movie too). by the way, lemony snickett is doing a reading and book signing in town this coming Monday, promoting the latest book (The Penultimate Peril). Lemony lives in SF, so he often reads and does stuff. the kids don't know it yet, but i'm taking them. we take the kids to nights out at jazz clubs, late night diners, zoo's, fundraisers, the symphony, camping... all sorts of things. we even let them smell and taste wine (they usually hate it). but one thing i will not allow, is music videos/films/pictures depicting violence and degradation of women. i believe in letting my kids make up their own minds. but there are some things i simply will not allow while they are this young. like, for example, any of the past, present and future work of britney spears, paris hilton, and donald trump. those shows are simply banned.
there are lots of scary things in the world for kids... food with too many chemicals and coloring that poison our bodies, maladjusted psychopathic people who haven't worked out their issues and instead are bent on hurting little children and other unsuspecting adults, crazies that run huge corporations and the country, horrifically bad art. but there are also lots of cool things in the world. for now, i'd like to dwell on the good stuff. sometimes it's confusing to sort out the good from the bad, because they can look deceptively similar... like shoes... they can look so good and desirable, but might be really bad for your feet, knees, hips and back. or glitzy girls who wear amazing outfits and dance really well... until you realize they are grown women and you begin to wonder what message they are trying to get across.
the best i can do, is to make sure they know that in our society, a lot of things are masked by packaging. it's what's inside that counts. do you really need it? will it enrich your life? and after you get the stuff out of the plastic, paper, foam, glitz, botox, silicone, packaging comes off, you have to wonder what happens to all that waste, and was it worth it? i tell them someone's always trying to sell you something, whether it's an object, a technology, a concept, an image. and most of the time, what we truly need is already within us.
childhood is short. when they were born, i decided i'll do what i can to keep theirs as sweet as i possibly can.
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