Quick reminder: if you’re in New York City, Hunter College is the place to be tomorrow, as media literacy activists, media makers, youth educators, girls’ rights advocates, scholars — and, importantly, girls themselves — will be coming together for the SPARK Summit (Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge).
On behalf of Women In Media & News, I’m […]

On Saturday, I introduced you to six people in the Reality Bites Back readers gallery: Andrew from Brooklyn, Veronica from Chicago, the interns of Reel Grrls in Seattle, and a very precocious (or, well, hungry) kid in Los Angeles.
Today, it’s time to meet four new members of our reading community:
Straight from the belly of the […]

The 4th Gender and Media Summit ended in Johannesburg on Friday with a strong statement linking the findings of recent global and regional studies on the representation of women in the content of news media with issues relating to freedom of expression, democracy and citizen participation, and pointing out that, while more blatant forms of censorship may be subsiding in southern Africa, the region’s media daily silence large segments of the population, notably women.

Though my book, Reality Bites Back : The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, officially launches on November 1, I’m thrilled to announce that pre-orders began shipping last week. Around the country, folks like you have begun reading it — and amazing feedback has already been pouring in via Twitter, Facebook, and email.
Making it […]

For the first video in our new investigative series, GRITtv Digs, we’re looking into the “Freedom Rides for Life” and the anti-abortion movement’s targeting of women of color, particularly black women in the South, using racially divisive tactics.

The following is a transcript:
Laura:
An attack is ratcheting up on women’s reproductive freedoms with an […]

Today at ColorLines, Neelanjana Banerjee looks at race, representation and reality TV and asks, as per the story’s headline: “Is Reality TV a Revolution for Race or the New Minstrel?”
A smart, nuanced and well-reported piece, Banerjee notes that:
“A series of NAACP reports have tracked the dismal representation of African Americans and other […]

The most recent example of that comes from the BBC website where a story about an Internet survey has the title “Mothers ‘Harder on Daughters Than Sons’, Poll Suggests.”

The survey, carried out by a U.K. website called Netmums, is based on self-selection, not a random sample. This means that the results cannot be generalized beyond the respondents of the survey, but that is exactly what seems to be happening, from the BBC to Fox News!

But that’s not all that is wrong with the popularizations of this survey or the survey itself. The most glaring error:

More than half of the 2,672 mothers questioned (55%) said they had formed a stronger bond with their boys

Let’s have a look at the actual study results:
2. What gender are your children?

* All girls - 23.2%
* All boys - 30.8%
* Both girls and boys - 46%

9. If you have children of both genders, did you find it easier to bond with one of your children than the other(s)?

* Yes - 27.8%
* No - 72.2%

10. If yes, please specify whether you found it easiest to bond with your:

* Son - 54.9%
* Daughter - 45.1%

Another October has rolled around, and with it pink-ribboned Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Seemingly more than with any other cause, businesses hop on the bandwagon to lend support for this all-too-common women’s cancer through various rosy-hued promotions. Some can seem frivolous (pink M&Ms) or downright suspect (Sutter Home Zinfandel—consuming alcohol is considered a […]

A group of Latina moms in Chicago are engaging in one of the most inspiring and sustained protests in years, far from the corporate media (and even feminist media) spotlight.
For more than three weeks, these mothers have been occupying the field house of the Whittier Dual Language Elementary School. Their goal: prevent the […]

The Breast Cancer News You’re Not Hearing