In praise of feminist fathers
The following guest post is by my friend and colleague Nina Funnell. It was first published by Mamamia. Nina is a Sydney based journalist, author and speaker. Her writing has…
Parents
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“Sprouting” a new internet safety concern you need to consider
I was pleased to have had the opportunity to provide a context for why young girls might chose to send their images to online Instagram pages that invite others to…
Help – my daughter is a “Mean Girl”!
It’s been wonderful to be back at Channel 7 this week on both The Daily Edition (discussing cyber bullying and the pressures placed on schools to address this), and The…
Cyber Myths – Busted.
The following post is by my friend and colleague Nina Funnell. It originally appeared in the Term 3, 2014 NSW Parents Council Newsletter. Nina is a journalist, author (she co-wrote…
“Pink is for girlie girls” – more things we should never say to girls.
Last week I shared three of the five things I, and the other noted Feminists I asked to contribute, believe we need to stop saying to girls now. You can…
Constant over-praising is damaging our kids.
I’m thrilled to be sharing this brilliant post by a colleague I adore; the always-wise Dr Karen Brooks. This was first published by The Courier Mail, 26th May. I had…
At what age should girls start dating?
My writing buddy Nina Funnell and I have spent a busy week doing media for our new book Loveability – An Empowered Girl’s Guide to Dating and Relationships. A highlight…
No More Blurring The Lines – I’m Talking To You Mr Bruno Mars
Back in 2008 I blogged about my concern music no longer loved women: Song lyrics have always been filled with sexual innuendo and pushed societies boundaries but this in-your-face mainstream…
So Much To Tell You
The last few weeks have been something of whirlwind. I have been presenting to hundreds of teen girls in Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney – and am off to Melbourne and Singapore…
All About Women – Bringing Up Daughters
I am thrilled to announce I will again grace the stage at the Sydney Opera House; you may recall last year I joined Germaine Greer, Eva Cox and Tara Moss…
Thank You!
On Christmas Day I logged on to Facebook to wish my on-line Friends all my love and was immediately struck by how many teen girls I am connected to were…
I’ve started telling my daughters I’m beautiful
I first read the following post on US site Off Beat Mama. I was not alone in being stunned by its powerful message and the exquisite writing; within days the…
A 21 Day Challenge- for mothers and daughters
Actress Kate Winslet recently made a powerful statement on the importance of modelling positive self image for our girls: “As a child, I never heard one woman say to me,…
Diet Crazy Mums
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;…
High School, High Anxiety: How to support teens with anxiety disorders
Last week’s inspiring post by Jane Caro on overcoming an anxiety disorder struck a chord with many readers who have been through the same thing. Many of our girls are…
Amazing Grace: One woman’s story of overcoming anxiety
I am fortunate to regularly be a panelist on Channel 9’s Mornings with Jane Caro, self-described novelist (Just a Girl), author (The Stupid Country, The F Word), writer, feminist, atheist,…
On “targeting” little girls who wear shorts as “trampy”
Do short shorts = trampy? Does a short skirt = slutty? The American Psychological Association (APA) defines “sexualisation” as occurring when a person’s value is believed to come only from…
Rage and despair: Positive, helpful ways to support girls in crisis
Trigger warning: This blog post contains references to suicide. If you or anyone you know has suicidal thoughts or behaviour, seek help immediately. These help lines are open 24 hours…
Dr Jekyll and Mrs Hyde
I had a revealing conversation with a single parent of a 12-year-old girl the other day. His daughter had been feeling particularly moody, he said, as she was just about…
Generation Cleanskin: Part 2
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…
Girls in crisis: self-harm, and what you can do to help
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…
Sexism dovetails with hypocrisy
Nina Funnell and I wrote the following Opinion piece, which was also featured in The Age newspaper today. Accusing Lynx of peddling sexist advertisements is like informing Kyle Sandilands that…
Towards safer schools: How teachers and families can work together
In light of figures showing that there were almost 70 serious incidents in state schools in the NSW Hunter Central Coast region in the last half of 2011 – some…