Dr. Rebecca Hains
Author, professor and speaker | Children's media culture, media literacy, and media criticism
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Why boys should play with dolls
No one is surprised about seeing dads with strollers anymore, yet biases with toys persist.
Read MoreTarget will stop labeling toys for boys or girls. Good.
Yes, your daughter can play with blocks, and your son can play with dolls.
Read More“Slap her”: Fanpage.it video objectifies girls, exploits boys, and trivializes domestic violence
Fanpage.it’s video has been tugging at people’s heartstrings, but upon closer examination, the message isn’t so charming after all. Let’s take a closer look.
Read More“Is my son smart?” “Is my daughter skinny?” Google Searches Reveal Parents’ Gender Biases
According to a recent New York Times op-ed, “Google, Tell Me, Is My Son a Genius?”, parents’ Google search trends teach us a lot about parents’ biases towards their sons and daughters. Specifically, parents tend to search the internet for…
Read MoreDoes the “War on Pink” need to stop for boys’ sakes? No, and here’s why.
In a recent blog post on Girl w/Pen, professors CJ Pascoe and Tristan Bridges—sociologists whose work focuses on masculinity—make a strange request of their fellow feminist scholars and activists. “Stop the war on pink,” their headline pleads; “let’s take a look…
Read MoreSchool suspends teen boy for carrying purse. Why???
For several weeks, an eighth-grade boy outside of Kansas City has been expressing his individuality by carrying a floral-print Vera Bradley purse. But yesterday, his assistant principal demanded he remove it. The boy refused, and he was immediately suspended from…
Read MoreBoys and girls and baby dolls
I am supposed to be working, but instead, I am eavesdropping as my four-year-old son, T., and his friend, N., play together with his two baby dolls, Sully and Buddy. T. is walking around with Sully under his shirt. N….
Read MoreA response to Mrs. Hall: Teaching our boys respect and self-control
“FYI (if you’re a teenage girl)“* came up in my facebook news feed a lot yesterday. It’s being shared with such enthusiasm that I was eager to read it. I hoped its advice for teenage girls about their facebook activities…
Read MoreMore on teaching boys not to rape
The Christian Science Monitor picked up my post on teaching boys to understand “consent” and “respect” from an early age. Here’s the link: “Steubenville rape trial: How can I raise my boy not to rape, nor be a bystander?” by…
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Dr. Rebecca Hains 
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