Dear Danni, My daughter is worried about her friend who has started dieting in order to lose weight fast. She has tried explaining to her friend that she is making…
Parents, please do not tell your child they are fat. I recently had a mother tell me she wanted to buy my book on parenting girls as she suspected she…
Along with all the spray tans and fancy frocks comes advice for girls that ranges from well intentioned but misguided, to outright dangerous.
Worried that your little girl is 10, going on 15? You’re not alone. When I first started working in schools with young women to give them the skills they need…
Mental health issues are taking a terrible toll on our teens. It’s time we also acknowledged the damaging ripple effect may be having on their peers too.
Since 2003, Enlighten Education’s in-school workshops for teen girls have been at the forefront of promoting positive body image. We know that despite the fact that girls are excelling in…
This week I am sharing a guest post by my colleague Nina Funnell. Nina is a freelance writer, social commentator and author. This post was originally posted by RendezView. Well…
The following guest post is shared with permission from the author, the wonderful Matt Glover from MGA Counselling Services. Matt wrote this following a discussion I had with him and…
I had the opportunity to discuss this issue on ABC Radio, Gold Coast, with Nicole Dyer. The following is from the ABC web site. The audio may be listened to…
US retailer Target recently made the ridiculous choice to (poorly) photoshop an already svelte teen model in order to give her a thigh gap and alien-like limbs. On-line news site…
This week I am sharing a guest post by my colleague and friend Nina Funnell which first appeared in The Age. In this Nina attempts to make sense of alarming…
1. Fat shaming. I have voiced my concerns over channel 10’s “Biggest Loser” in the Sydney Morning Herald before here: The burden of treating girls’ bodies as the enemy and…
I am always incredibly honoured when I receive correspondence from women who want to meet with me to discuss more about my work, and their vision for girls. Unfortunately, it…
Frequently when I speak at conferences I am asked what our company, Enlighten Education, is doing to support young men. My response? Whilst we recognise boys also need positive, proactive…
As a follow on from a number of posts I’ve featured on dieting and body image*, I thought I’d share this recent segment I did on channel 9’s Mornings Show;…
This week’s guest post is by Lydia Jade Turner. Ms Turner is a psychotherapist and the Managing Director of BodyMatters Australasia. In this research article she explores the connections between…
I work with thousands of teen girls across Australia every year. So I am always interested to note online trends as these provide an insight into their emerging interests; and…
In the final instalment of Susan Johnson’s exceptional piece on teens and body image that we have been running here for the past few weeks, teen girls speak frankly about…
In part 2 of Susan Johnson’s excellent investigative piece on teens and body image that I introduced here last week, she looks at the effects of the unprecedented pressure on…
I am excited to be able to share with you an outstanding article on teens and body image, for which Australian journalist Susan Johnson extensively interviewed leading experts and kids…
Increasingly I am being asked by concerned parents and girls about the issue of self-harm, so this week I’m bringing you an abridged version of the section in my book…
I had an amazing experience last week at the ADC Summit, where I accepted an Australian Leadership Award and got to share ideas with leading thinkers in a whole range…
Last week was a big week in girlworld. Unless you were recently deposited back on earth by aliens, I doubt I need to tell you that One Direction arrived in…
The following guest post is written by Nina Funnell and was first published in The Age newspaper, 28th March. Nina is a sexual ethics writer, author and women’s rights advocate.…
