Dr. Rebecca Hains
Author, professor and speaker | Children's media culture, media literacy, and media criticism
Category: marketing
What if Woody Wore Pink?
What would you think of Woody from Toy Story if he wore pink? Would you think the color choice was incongruous—that it didn’t seem masculine enough for a 1950s-era cowboy toy? Well, you’d be wrong, as these images from the 1955 Sears Christmas Book catalog attest.
Read MoreAnti-princess marketing and girls’ education: Mercy Academy vs. GoldieBlox
Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink. Princesses: They’re everywhere. Over the past decade, marketers have made “princess” a synonym for “girls. They use princesses as shorthand—a way of saying,…
Read MoreWATCH: Rebecca Hains discusses Lululemon body-shaming controversy on TV News
Yesterday, I discussed the Lululemon controversy (and the petition that Marci Warhaft-Nadler and I launched) with both FOX 25 Boston and WBZ-TV (CBS) Boston. Have a look! FOX 25 Boston: Salem State Professor to Lululemon CEO: Change Your Business Practices (4 minutes)…
Read MoreA message to Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson: Stop Shaming Women’s Bodies!
Petition cross-posted from Change.org Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson: Stop Shaming Women’s Bodies. It’s time to apologize and de-segregate your stores! Does Lululemon want women to be comfortable in their clothing, or uncomfortable in our own bodies? Lululemon keeps shaming women’s…
Read More“Princess park rangers” and “Space princesses”: Because gender stereotypes are inescapable, even on vacation.
The school year is starting. Families are returning home from their vacation travels with souvenirs and many fond memories; children are eager to tell their classmates what they did on their summer vacations. But unfortunately, many families’ travels brought them…
Read MoreStride Rite’s gendered marketing persists. But why, and what can we do about it?
Last April, I posted about how Stride Rite positions girls as pretty and boys as active. After seeing their in-store advertisements and reviewing their product descriptions online, I concluded that according to Stride Rite, girls are meant to be looked…
Read MoreCampaign for Commercial-Free Childhood fights to save Tooth Fairy from corporate makeover
For children, losing one’s baby teeth is an important rite of passage. It marks a child’s departure from early childhood and entry into middle childhood–a time when, among other milestones, a child’s belief in magic begins to recede. Because of…
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