Quotable Quote

"There is a pattern here and it will not change as long as we don't recognize that our little girls are being used. The mass marketers of Hollywood hype know that today's youth spend some 200 billion dollars a year of their own money on trinkets, music and all the accessories that go with it. They also know that pre-teen girls are easily manipulated and that more than anything else, want to be popular as they grow into young adults. So, they discover cute, talented young girls, make them superstars by playing on your daughter's dreams of glitz, and morph the 'wholesome' starlets into trampy sex stars as they grow older, hoping to take the dollars of your girls with them. ... History repeats itself. You know what happened to teen idol Britney Spears. America's little girls and their moms swooned and spent millions on Britney fashions. However, just as the Britney wannabes reached critical mass, the star's light started to short circuit. Her sexy ways quickly turned into bizarre behavior, drug problems and a raunchy attitude. Not to worry, High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens was there to take her place. But just as Vanessa hit her zenith in the eyes of our little girls, nude photos and other sexual revelations about her captured the headlines. Down came Vanessa and up went the posters of the twinkling, sparkly Miley Cyrus. Now Miley has made the transition to tramp too. And millions of preteen girls have, once again, been manipulated into believing that being trampy is not only normal, but is the only way to succeed. It's time for moms to wake up and protect our little girls from being used. Find other moms who are sick of the abuse -- it only takes a few friends to create your own sub-culture within the madness of the crazy pop culture. Finding allies is one of the most effective ways to fight back and win." --columnist Rebecca Hagelin Full article here

First Lady: Girls' Mentor?

"While the president was away in L.A., the first lady played mentor, with the help of some stars. She organized a round-robin of visits to Washington D.C. schools and a White House event for young girls, to demonstrate to them they could grow up to be anything they chose in America. (You know, that country she had no pride in before her husband's nomination?) ...Michelle, judging by the stars she presented as role models, wants the young women to aspire to be singers and actresses, athletes, 4-star generals and astronauts. There was only one woman CEO or entrepreneur mentioned by media -- Debra Lee, the CEO of the Black Entertainment Network; no women small business owners, no top women sales professionals -- not even difference-makers like school teachers or nurses and caregivers or stay-at-home moms raising successful families. Or even political leaders, like, say the successful governor of a fiscally stable state. Like, say, Governor Sarah Palin. She was one of only two women ever to run for vice-president on either of the two major parties' tickets, and a mom. ... No, Michelle presented Alicia Keyes and Sheryl Crow, actresses Fran Drescher and Phylicia Rashad; a couple of athletes; the first black woman to travel in space; and a celebrity make-up artist. What is so significant here is that nearly all the examples-to-aspire-to presented are primarily supported by the economy; not supporters of the economy. Not creators of innovative products, of companies, of jobs. Not women who started some sort of enterprises from scratch and built them into successful businesses. Heaven forbid we should encourage these girls to grow up to be business owners. Better for them to hope for a spin of the wheel of celebrity via American Idol. Particularly appropriate given our celebrity-president." --author Dan Kennedy