July 2013
Sale of alcohol guidelines watered down by NSW government
Strict guidelines proposed for the sale of alcohol in NSW have been watered down to remove bans on the use of celebrities who appeal to under-18s in promotions and mention of specific events targeting women after intense lobbying from the industry. New guidelines released by the NSW government on Thursday morning show sections pertaining to [...]
How to raise boys in the era of internet porn
A great deal of parenting is timeless, but some things change so fast you can barely blink, and one of those is the rise of internet porn. For parents of both boys and girls, this is creating a surge of new dilemmas to solve. via How to raise boys in the era of internet porn.
Liquid Poison: Exposing the harms of binge drinking
Girl Mag Watch Girlfriend July 2013 Melinda Tankard Reist In my talks in schools around the country, I am told distressing stories of alcohol-related harm. Violence, sexual assault, damage to physical and mental health. My friend and colleague Paul Dillon, a drug educator with 25 years experience and founder of Drug and Alcohol Research and [...]
At last! Sagging pants banned
"I'm not the fashion police and I do realize there are societal changes," Mayor Ernest Troiano said in an interview. "But in the same breath, it's called underwear. It's not outerwear." Sagging, as the trend is called, began in prisons and spread via hip-hop artists to a wider audience of teenagers in the 1990s. Troiano [...]
Girls Get A’s Then Get Surgery
I have a saying that my teaching colleagues will be able to appreciate. Interesting kids have very interesting parents. I spent the past two years resisting invitations from schools to give parent talks. My reasoning was that whilst after 15+ years teaching, I can speak with some authority with regards to working with school students, [...]
Dustin Hoffman realises a cultural lie
Women are sold this lie daily: that beauty is simply a matter of drinking eight glasses of water a day, eating mountains of chia seeds and quinoa salad, a good moisturiser and a touch of lippy and mascara. The multi-billion dollar beauty, diet and cosmetic surgery industries are testament to the fact that much of [...]
Study: TV’s female characters are sexual targets
Teenage female characters are sexual fodder for broadcast network TV series, especially comedies, according to an advocacy group's new study. An examination of 238 sitcoms and dramas airing during four weeks in 2011 and 2012 found a third of the episodes included content that "rose to the level of sexual exploitation" of females, according to [...]
What’s in a selfie? A high school student tells us
If social media only caused narcissism, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Instagram and Facebook are social networks that not only breed narcissistic tendencies but transform relations into a sexual rat race. On these ubiquitous portals, the popularity of girls is hotly contested over one big deal: how sexy can I appear and bring it [...]
Girls gone wild
According to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics data, the number of juvenile female offenders soared by 36 per cent in the decade to June 2009, compared to an 8 per cent increase for juvenile males. There's anecdotal evidence, too. In September 2011, YouTube clips of pre-arranged brawls between girls as young as 14 in Sydney's [...]