Last week, in between two month vaccines (I may have cried more than he did!) and StrollFit classes to try to lose that baby weight, I was busy talking about a few different strands of my research. 1) I appeared on NECN's The Morning Show to talk about a new, disturbing trend: T(w)een girls posting YouTube videos of themselves (along with pictures, sometimes in various stages of undress) asking if they are pretty or not. Some of the comments are particularly upsetting, if you dare to look (for example, here and here).
I look better 9 weeks postpartum than I did at 9 months, but I still have a long way to go before I look like Beyonce. Then again, I don't have any of the resources (time OR money!) to exercise four hours a day. And, given, the content of this story I don't think it's very healthy for me to stress about this too much-- so long as Carston is healthy and happy! Speaking of the Little Man, he seemed to enjoy seeing me on TV (and, no, don't worry we don't really let him watch television yet...)
If you truly want to be disturbed by another young girl sexualizing herself on YouTube (apparently with the approval and encouragement of her mother), check out this story on 15-year-old "living" doll Venus Palermo, with quotes from yours truly on the matter.
2) Of course it's not just t(w)een girls who worry about their looks. Thanks to child beauty pageants, girls as young as six weeks can start to fuss over their appearances. But one French senator hopes that won't be the case for French girls; Chantal Jouanno has a proposal to ban child beauty pageants in France (among other things). Here's a French article on the subject that quotes me (extra points if you can translate my quotes!). I'll share some other French media, and my thoughts on this legislation later next week.
3) The parenting scandal of 2011, featuring Tiger Mom Amy Chua, continues to have legs. A group of teenage girls from Indianapolis interviewed me for this article that they wrote in The Indianapolis Star (they are part of a very interesting program for aspiring journalists called Y-Press). If you're interested in more of my thoughts on the Tiger Mom, check out my USA Today column, Contexts article, and book review in The Huffington Post.
4) On a parenting note, I was quoted in an article on how to ask for help with your newborn ("How to get help with your newborn: New mom survival tips." Michelle Maffei. March 11, 2012). I swear, I can't say enough about a truly knowledgeable baby nurse, like Kathy Todd-Seymour's Mother & Child. If you value sleep, and no inter-generational parenting arguments, it's worth it! Plus, it may help you return to work productivity (such as it is, especially if you are nursing) even sooner.
Have a great week, everyone!
