“Disney Princess Makeover Sparks Outrage: Merida Petition Goes Viral”

Taken from: http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/disney-princess-makeover-sparks-outrage–merida-petition-goes-viral-175251230.html

May 10, 2013

So is turns out that Merida, the rebellious redhead star of Disney’s Pixar film “Brave,” is true princess material after all, and Disney is coronating her as its 11th official princess on Saturday at Walt Disney World to prove it. But wait, there’s a catch.

Turns out that Merida’s only joining the royal lineup after a corporate makeover that’s rendered her skinnier, sexier, and more glamorous than her original spunky, tomboyish self—stripping her, at least in some images, of her trusty bow and arrow, and putting her into the very dress that her character detested in “Brave.” It’s sparked outrage among thousands of mothers for whom Merida offered, finally, an empowering Disney role model for their girls. 

“Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for—a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready,” reads a Change.org petition, “Keep Merida Brave,” asking Disney to reconsider the character’s redesign. The petition, created Saturday by “A Mighty Girl,” a blog and online girl empowerment marketplace, had already surpassed 50,000 signatures by Friday afternoon. 

“She had a uniqueness that people really loved, so when they took that away, it was a real affront to a lot of people,” Carolyn Danckaert of “A Mighty Girl” told Yahoo! Shine. Danckaert solicited opinions from her Facebook followers before starting the petition, and said she was quickly bombarded with more than 800 comments, “overwhelmingly negative and very passionate.” 

Signers of the petition, who include Peggy Orenstein, author of “Cinderella Ate My Daughter,” object to what they’ve called the sexualizing of Merida’s image, in which the character now appears older, with a tinier waistline, sultrier eyes, a coquettish expression, tamed curls, and more exposed skin peeking out from a bedazzled, off-the-shoulder version of the constricting teal dress she so resented in “Brave.” 

A Disney spokesperson offered the following official statement about the controversy to Yahoo! Shine: “Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate, and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world.”  

But the makeover—put in place, at least in part, to lend Merida more easily to product designs, according to a report in “Inside the Magic,” which covers Disney news—was still inspiring impassioned criticism at a rapid clip as of Friday. 

“My little girl has unruly curls, wants to climb trees, run with wind, and challenge stereotypes everyday AND she is only 4 years old,” writes one petition signer, Kerri Gaskin of Canada. “How can I possibly tell her that her favorite character has given in and given up to become an overly sexualized pin-up version of her former self?” 

Other signers call the new Merida “arm candy,” “unrealistic,” “vacant looking,” “too sexy,” and “vapid.” 

“Merida was the anti-princess for all of us who don’t wear makeup, let our hair rampage free, and prefer to wear real clothes that let us hike, climb mountains, and ride horses,” wrote petition signer Kris Dorman of Utah. “Please allow Merida to remain the fiercely confident young woman who doesn’t need glitter or skin to know she is of incredible strength and worth.”

Orenstein wrote about the redesign on her blog with a tone of resigned disgust, noting that, “in the end, it wasn’t about being brave after all. It was about being pretty.” She continued, “I’ve always said that it’s not about the movies. It’s about the bait-and-switch that happens in the merchandise, and the way the characters have evolved and proliferated off-screen. Maybe the problem is partly that these characters are designed in Hollywood, where real women are altering their appearance so regularly that animators, and certainly studio execs, think it’s normal.”

For the parents who say that Merida is “only a cartoon,” asking, “Why does it matter?” Danckaert says, “It’s sending a message,” which is one that puts forth a very narrow definition of beauty. “This is how children pick up cultural messages about what is important,” she adds. “Young children don’t really distinguish between reality and fantasy, and these characters are their role models.”

“Gay Dads Sue; Health Club Reverses Stand on Memberships”

Taken from: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gay-dads-son-banned-roanoke-athletic-club-swimming/story?id=16717179

July 5, 2012

After a lawsuit was filed against the Roanoke Athletic Club by a same-sex couple for offering them a “family membership” then revoking it, the club today changed its policy.

Will Trinkle, 54, and his partner Juan Granados, 40, filed a lawsuit against the club on June 27 for breach of contract and were seeking to have their family membership reinstated. The Virginia couple, who have been together for eight years and have a 2-year-old son Oliver, said the club had discriminated against them because they are gay.

But today, the RAC posted a new policy on its Facebook page:

“A household consists of a primary member and up to one additional household member that permanently lives in the household, and any of their dependent children under the age of 22 who also reside in the household on a permanent basis …Club dues will not change; dues for the Household Membership will be the same as the Family Membership it is replacing.”

“It is really defined on Facebook,” an RAC club spokesman told ABCNews.com when asked if they now offer discounted memberships to gay families. “That is definitely what it says — for public knowledge.”

The athletic club is owned by Carilion Clinic, one of the region’s largest medical providers. They have a company-wide nondiscrimination policy that bans bias on the basis of sexual orientation. Eric Earnhart, spokesman for the parent company, Carilion Fitness, told ABC today said, “We have not yet received lawsuit information and can’t comment on litigation.”

Trinkle, a real estate agent, and Grenados, a marketing director, alleged in their lawsuit that they had been mistreated because they were same-sex parents. ”Actually it was like someone punched us in the stomach,” Trinkle told ABC. “It’s from a place we couldn’t imagine that there would be this kind of discrimination and this kind of attack. We have come a long way but this shows we still have a long way to go.”

Their lawyer, John P. Fishwick Jr., said he needed to talk to them before officially dropping legal action. The couple is in Maine vacationing with friends. ”It took a lot of courage to bring this lawsuit,” Fishwick said. “Its primary purpose was for Will and his family to have a family membership. It looks like we’ve achieved that. It’s a victory for his family and other families.”

At the time, they had been told they could not have a family membership because the club defined family as “husband, wife and their children ages 21 and younger living at home.” Without the family rate of $112 a month, each of the partners would have had to pay $69 for a total of $138 and their 2-year-old child would be included, according to the club. The couple said their initial acceptance, then rejection, was the basis for the lawsuit and they are seeking enforcement and compensation under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Trinkle said he had recently moved his offices and decided to join the club so he could use the RAC on lunch breaks and his son Oliver could swim in the pool. On May 15, Trinkle applied for membership at RAC and was encouraged to sign up for the “family” option. The couple filled out the application truthfully, including listing the “member name” and “spouse name” and Oliver Trinkle Granados as their “dependent child.” ”There was no ambiguity,” he said. The initiation fee was $50 and the first month’s membership was $112, he said. Both were posted to his credit card.

The couple began to use the facilities, but on May 23 Trinkle got a call from the director of operations that the club had made a “really big mistake,” and they did not meet the definition of family, the lawsuit alleges. ”We tried to resolve this with Carilion’s leadership,” said Trinkle. “We were not only told that they were sticking with their decision to kick us out, but because of us, they were ‘tightening policies’ so no families like us would ever ‘get as far’ as we had.” The lawsuit alleges that the RAC manager in reviewing their application thought that Granados was “Juanita” and not “Juan.”

A petition on Change.org has called on the owners of the club to allow same-sex families to get memberships. So far it has 40,000 signatures. The petition author, 38-year-old Mark Lynn Ferguson of Washington, D.C., has never met the couple, but he said the story, “hit home for me on a lot of different levels.” ”I am a Roanoke hometown native and the Appalachian south region is important to me,” he said. ‘I am also a gay guy. I felt I needed to do something to help? There’s no room for this kind of discrimination.” Ferguson had seen publicity on the couple and set up the petition last week. “I had never done it before,” he told ABCNews.com. “Our original goal was 10,000 signatures and we blew past that on day four or five.”

“Teen Girl Petitions Seventeen Magazine to Stop Airbrushing Models”

Taken from: http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/teen-girl-petitions-seventeen-magazine-stop-airbrushing-models-130000558.html

May 2, 2012

Julia Bluhm, 14, is an eighth grader from rural Waterville, Maine. She loves ballet and attends class six days a week. She is also gaining national attention as an activist who is challenging the media to take responsibility for the way it warps girls’ self-esteem.

“I’ve always noticed how a lot of the images in magazines look photo-shopped,” Bluhm tells Yahoo! Shine. She wants all girls to feel comfortable in their own skin. “Girls shouldn’t compare themselves to pictures in magazines,” she says. “Because they are fake.”

Eleven days ago, she launched a petition to ask one of her favorite magazines, Seventeen, to feature one un-retouched photo shoot a month. “They have already done a lot to help girls improve their body image. TheirBody Peace feature is great. I thought that they could take it one step further with an unaltered photo spread.” This morning, she is leading a protest outside of Seventeen’s offices in Manhattan which will include a mock fashion shoot.”I’m a little nervous. But excited.”

Julia BluhmBluhm started blogging about girls and self-esteem a year ago when she joined SPARK, a non-profit organization for 13 to 22 year-olds that calls itself a “girl-fueled activist movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media.” One of SPARKS’ recent accomplishments was to get a meeting to with top LEGO executives to discuss, among other issues, the LEGO Friends line of toys which they say are demeaning to girls. However, the petition is, as Bluhm puts it, “my first big action.”

Her petition on change.org reads:

“To girls today, the word ‘pretty’ means skinny and blemish-free. Why is that, when so few girls actually fit into such a narrow category? It’s because the media tells us that ‘pretty’ girls are impossibly thin with perfect skin.

Here’s what lots of girls don’t know. Those ‘pretty women’ that we see in magazines are fake. They’re often photo-shopped, airbrushed, edited to look thinner, and to appear like they have perfect skin. A girl you see in a magazine probably looks a lot different in real life….I’ve been fighting to stop magazines, toy companies, and other big businesses from creating products, photo spreads and ads that hurt girls and break our self-esteem….I’ve learned that we have the power to fight back.”

The American Medical Association (AMA) backs up Bluhm’s assertions. In June 2011, they issued a press release stating, “A large body of literature links exposure to media-propagated images ofunrealistic body image to eating disorders and other child and adolescent health problems.” Board member Barbara L. McAneny, MD, added, “We must stop exposing impressionable children and teenagers to advertisements portraying models with body types only attainable with the help of photo editing software.”

So far, in the United States, only Glamour magazine has responded to the AMA’s call to action. In its March 2012 issue, the popular women’s magazine told readers, “And while our policy has always been not to alter a woman’s body shape, we’ll also be asking photographers we hire not to manipulate body size in the photos we commission, even if a celebrity or model requests a digital diet (alas, it happens).”

Some stars are also refusing to “go under the brush.” Notably, Jessica Simpson appeared without makeup or retouching for a Marie Claire photo shoot in 2010 and more recently, actress Cate Blanchett revealed her natural 42-year-old face for the online magazine morentelligentlife.com.

As of today, May 2, Bluhm’s petition has nearly 24 thousand signatures. She is surprised how quickly it’s taken off. “I didn’t think it would get this big,” she laughs. Even though she hasn’t quite reached her goal of 25 thousand signatures, editors are already listening. Bluhm says Anne Shoket, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, has reached out and asked to see the petition. Fittingly, the current cover features Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss Everdeen, the ultimate girl-power heroine, in the box office smash “The Hunger Games.”

Meanwhile, the eighth grader from Maine plans to enjoy her first trip to New York City. “I want to do some sight seeing with my mom who is here with me,” she says. “Maybe visit the Empire State Building.”

“Teacher Fired over Trayvon Martin Fundraiser”

Taken from: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/teacher-fired-over-trayvon-martin-fundraiser

April 9, 2012

What do you do with a teacher who provides students with authentic learning opportunities? A teacher who invests her own resources to support students? A teacher who was voted Teacher of the Year two of the last three years?

If you’re Superintendent Jacqueline Cassell at the Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School in Pontiac, Mich., you fire her.

When Brooke Harris contacted us last week, her first concern was not her career—it was her students. She worried that she had let them down by not fighting harder for her job. She worried that their essays onTrayvon Martin would no longer be included in the school newspaper. She worried that the superintendent in charge of their education would continue to underestimate them.

We’re worried about Brooke’s students too.

Last month Brooke Harris’ eighth-grade class asked her about the “kid who was killed over some skittles;” she seized the opportunity to bring her students’ lived experiences into the classroom—a strategy we and other experts advocate. Brooke’s students identify with Trayvon Martin. Many of them are African American. Many have been stopped by police who thought they looked suspicious.

In fact, her students engaged so deeply with the issue that they asked to take it beyond essays and class discussions—they wanted to take action to help Trayvon’s family. They, like many students across the nation, wanted to show their support by wearing hoodies. Each student who participated would pay $1. Proceeds would be donated to Trayvon’s family. Again, Brooke saw a teachable moment. She and her students began the formal process of organizing a school event.

Students wrote persuasive letters to the principal and superintendent. Brooke and a co-worker filed the necessary paperwork. The principal immediately signed off on the fundraiser. Superintendent Cassell was less enthusiastic. She refused to approve the proposal, despite having supported many other “dress down” fundraisers. Brooke’s students took the disappointment in stride, but asked to present their idea to Cassell in person.

And that’s when things got weird.

Brooke asked that a few of her students be allowed to attend her meeting with Cassell. Outraged by the request, Cassell suspended Brooke for two days. The explanation given—she was being paid to teach, not to be an activist. Those two days morphed into a two-week, unpaid suspension when Brooke briefly stopped by the afterschool literacy fair (she had previously organized) to drop off prizes (paid for with her own money) and to pick up materials for several students whose parents were unable to attend. Supporting her students was insubordination.

The final offense? Brooke asked Cassell to clarify her original transgression so she could learn from her mistake. Cassell referred her to the minutes of their first meeting. Still confused, Brooke again requested an explanation. Cassell fired her.

The Pontiac Academy for Excellence is a nonunionized charter school. According to Superintendent Cassell, Brooke’s contract makes no provisions for formal appeal, and Michigan is an “at will” employment state. What does this mean to Brooke? She has no right to an explanation of why she was fired. She just was.

There is a reason Michigan’s English Language Proficiency Standards call for students to “engage in challenging and purposeful learning that blends their experiences with content knowledge and real-world applications.” Students learn better this way.

Real life is not clean. It is not clear cut. It is not safe. But it is the world our students live in and they will be required to navigate it as adults. Teachers must bring this outside world into the classroom. The only way this will ever happen is if we create an environment in which teachers feel safe discussing controversial issues with their students. Stories like Brooke’s are outrageous in their own right, but even worse, they create an atmosphere of fear among teachers.

This fear is choking our educational system, but we can pry its fingers loose if we work together. In Brooke’s forced absence, her students held their own, unsanctioned hoodie day. They made their voices heard over the fear. So can you.

Sign our change.org petition calling for Brooke Harris’ reinstatement at the Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School and tell administrators we will not tolerate the silencing of our nation’s best teachers.

12 Year-Old Cristian Fernandez Being Tried as an Adult

A 12 year-old is being tried as an adult. The question is, is it fair? For those against Cristian Ferandez being tried as an adult, you can sign the petition below. 

Taken from: http://www.change.org/petitions/reverse-decision-to-try-12-yo-cristian-fernandez-as-an-adult

Cristian Fernandez is a juvenile and should be treated as such in the criminal justice system. A gag order was placed on his case, preventing the public from accessing information pertaining to his circumstances and the events surrounding his brother’s death. That order needs to be lifted and the decision to try Cristian as an adult, subjecting him to a sentence of life in an adult prison, needs to be reversed.

***

Cristian Fernandez was born on January 14th of 1999 to a mother who was as old as he is today. Cristian is 12 years old. On March 15th he was arrested relating to the alleged beating of his 2 year old brother David. At the time of his arrest, David was under the care of St. Luke’s hospital, receiving treatment for injuries he sustained the day before.

David died on March 16th as a result of injuries to the head. Doctors who took care of the young child indicated that if his mother had brought him to the hospital when he was first injured he might not have died as a result. However, the child’s mother waited for six hours or more before taking him to the hospital. She did not call 911 before taking her son to the hospital.

12 year old Cristian was left in the apartment to care for his 2 year old brother even though he had broken the child’s leg while wrestling in January of the same year. Cristian’s arrest report indicated that Cristian was worried about the condition of his brother and was also concerned about what would happen to him as a result of his hurting his younger brother.

Cristian’s mother was arrested on the 15th as well. It is documented in the arrest report that she failed to immediately seek medical attention for little David and that she spent time researching his injury online before she took him to the hospital. David was unconscious while this occurred. Biannela also admitted to leaving Cristian alone with David.

On June 3rd, Cristian was indicted for first degree murder in his brother’s death. On the 8th of the same month he was arraigned in court for this charge. The prosecution requested a gag order placed on the parties involved in the case. Prosecutor Mark Caliel stated, “We have a concern that any comments being interpreted by a potential jury pool could inhibit our ability to fairly and adequately try this case.”

Their request was granted.

On June 5th, media outlets reported that Cristian had been examined by two separate forensic psychologists. Each concluded that he was “emotionally underdeveloped but essentially reformable despite a tough life.”

On July 22nd, Cristian appeared for his pre-trial hearing. At this hearing he was charged with first-degree murder in adult court. As a result of this charge, Cristian faces life in prison.

Cristian’s life has been very difficult. When he was just two years old he was found wandering the streets naked in a hotel parking lot. He was dirty and neglected. Cristian’s grandmother was acting as his guardian at the time and was charged with possession of drugs and neglect. Cristian and his 14 year old mother were placed in foster care.

In October of 2010, months before David’s death, Cristian and his younger brother were home during the suicide of his violent and abusive stepfather. Authorities found Cristian’s brother David covered in the stepfather’s blood after he shot himself with a 9mm gun. The stepfather committed suicide to avoid abuse charges stemming from his having punched Cristian in the face, giving him a severe injury to his eye.

Cristian’s mother would later claim in a letter to the Florida Times Union that DCF placed her children on a waiting list for counseling, denying them access to the therapy they needed to cope with the trauma they endured. DCF has not responded to these claims. However, the Florida state attorney’s office issued a subpoena to have the letter turned over to them on September 1st. The Florida Time Union argued in court on September 9th that they had a right to refuse to turn over the letter, citing the first amendment.

Cristian is scheduled for his next hearing on October 5th to evaluate the results of a third psychological examination.

Cristian is a child who has been physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. The system failed him his entire life and now it stands to repeat history by refusing Cristian the right to be tried in juvenile court. Cristian has demonstrated he is amenable to rehabilitation. There is no logical reason to deny this child his right to the programs and treatment provided through the juvenile court system. Help Cristian receive the justice he deserves as a juvenile.

ONE

Taken from: http://one.org/us/

ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers.

Here is a look at one of its recent projects:

Fight the Famine, Feed the Future

Drought is inevitable, but famine is not. The current crisis in the Horn of Africa is the result of a tragic combination of factors that are man-made, including abnormally high food prices, lack of governance and security in Somalia, and a historic lack of investment in long-term agricultural development in the Horn. Over the past few years, we lost the political will and public support necessary to prevent the famine – and its causes. As a consequence, tens of thousands of children have died.

We have also missed the opportunity to help 200 million people from poor farming families lift themselves out of poverty. Communities in Africa can cope with droughts and natural disasters. But we need donors to put resources toward seeds, irrigation and teaching farmers new growing techniques. We need leaders to invest in early warning systems and national social safety net programs.

Congress can help keep our commitment to farmers in developing countries by fully funding Feed the Future— a life-changing USAID initiative that is investing in long-term agricultural development and could help put an end to famine for good.

Please sign our petition to Congress calling on them to fund this vital program:

http://act.one.org/sign/hungry_no_more_us?referring_akid=.5599347.mM8Gaz

Thank you!