The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
“ The companies that make  these try to trick the girls into buying the pink stuff, instead of what the boys want to buy, right?…So, why do all the girls have to buy princesses? Some girls like superheroes. Some girls like princesses!…Why do all the girls have to buy pink stuff and all the boys have to buy different color stuff?”  – Riley, a precocious, young girl, on the marketing of toys

Ah, the wisdom …

Reprinted with the express permission of The Huffington Post and the author. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
When I first picked up “Sex and the Single Girl,” I assumed that since it was published in 1962 and written by Helen Gurley Brown, a woman famous for crafting cover lines about the 500 best ways to give blow jobs, it would be filled with a lot of antiquated and crass crap.
I was wrong.
Or rather I was partially wrong. There’s …

The following post is cross-posted by Erin McNeill’s blog Marketing, Media, and Childhood. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
Watch this trailer from the Media Education Foundation, which highlights the powerful messages boys are getting from current popular media. Or, as they put it, “Takes aim at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women.”
The issue with negative media messages to our children, as I see it, is not so much how those …

Have you seen the recent t-shirts marketed by major retailers like JC Penney to teenage girls?  Here’s the messaging: “Allergic to Algebra” and “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.”
Can you believe it?  Disgusting.
Well we’re doing something about it!
The New Agenda is teaming up with Girl Talk to offer a line of Girls’ Empowerment T-Shirts!
We say:  TAKE THAT JC PENNEY!
Today is Day of the Girl, and in honor we invite you to purchase an empowerment t-shirt for your daughter, niece, sister, …

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
NASCAR is divided into three parts: the Truck Series, the Nationwide Series (much like a minor league) and the Sprint Cup (the Major leagues). Although there are women competing in each level, none has more fame than Danica Patrick.
Patrick formerly was a competitor in “Indy” style racing, but announced a few days ago that she would be concentrating all her efforts next year towards competing in the Nationwide Series. Along with Jo Cobb, …

Exposing the dark and corrupt ring of sex trafficking that comes hand-in-hand with the Super Bowl.

The opinions expressed herein and those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
In a Mad Men inspired move, Newsweek is running a series of ads that reflect the evolving notion of masculinity in sales:
Sure, we haven’t invented a time machine yet. But at least we have ads. As Don Draper, the macho marketing maven at the center of AMC’s Mad Men, once put it,”advertising is based on one thing—happiness.” Ads don’t so much create desire as reflect it, showing us who we are and what we want—even when …

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
Yesterday NBC Universal released the results of their survey tallying the most important brands for women. WalMart, Target, and EBay are women’s favorite brands:
September results for its new monthly brand index rates — in order, after Wal-Mart, Target, and eBay — Verizon, Ford, Coca-Cola, iPhone, AT&T, Honda, Pepsi, iPod, Amazon, Toyota, Sears, Similac, Bank of America, Microsoft, Netflix, Tylenol, McDonald’s, Sprint, Kohl’s, Chevrolet, Samsung, and Comcast.
Perhaps more interesting than which brands women prefer …

For me, this video reaches new heights in the creepy use of women’s sexuality.

 
Huh? Could this be any creepier? Does this remind anyone else of the recent creepy Reebok ad?  I know I keep using creepy as a descriptor, but until the hair on the back of my neck goes down, that’s the best I can do.  CREEPY! 
This video is degrading to both women and men. The implication is that women are too stupid, lazy, or uninformed to argue issues and explain their position - better they just show their cleavage and threaten to withhold sex. …

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
Every now and then, usually when I’m least expecting it, I am hit in the face with an ad campaign that absolutely stuns me with its misguided offensiveness.  That happened last week when I was watching Vampire Diaries with my girls and had the latest Reebok Easy Tone ad campaign shoved in my face.  If you are lucky enough to have missed this series of ads here is how it was described by the …