Yo Mamas Media's blog

We recently came across a blog entry decrying a new game invented by ChampagneforLadies. In it girls are invited to “Lie, bitch, flirt your way to the top of the high school ladder” in order to “Become the Coolest Girl in School.” The inventors say, perhaps tongue in cheek that Coolest Girl in School is Grand Theft Auto for girls. Now the blogger made some good points, for example, how are 10 year old girls going to get the satire? And how is this different from other video games like Grand Theft Auto?

Counting is so simple, so basic, so important. We counted the numbers of boys and girls on sugary cereal boxes, on the covers of board games, in the action section of toy aisles, in Newbury Award winning books, and we reported studies that counted the number of boys and girls in G-rated films, and other forms of media. This was our way of showing where the girls aren't, sure, but more importantly we did this because numbers give a clear and present message to girls (and boys) about who should be doing, wearing, listening to, reading, and playing with what.

Multiple reactions abound to the youtube video showing Miss South Carolina, contestant for the Miss Teen USA pageant, fumbling over an answer to the question she received in the pageant's nod to intelligence. Some saw a scared teenager who couldn't find her words and these people rushed to protect her, as one would one's own child. Some saw the failure of the U.S. education system. Some saw stupidity, and compared her to our fumbling president. Some just felt sorry for the poor girl and depicted her as simply dealing with a brain white-out. Why so much attention?