A very good discussion of current problems in this area. It gives parents of teenage girls a useful basis for opening up conversations with them about self-esteem and social acceptance issues. I'm photocopying this article for that purpose. Thanks, Dannielle Miller.

I have an admission to make. I have got hooked on the show from laddettes to ladies. I really do feel sorry for the girls in the show and the sort of lives that they have led.

<This incident is also a sad reflection of a society that makes our girls feel lonely.>

From my understanding of female bullying behaviour is that being critical of other people has been going on, perhaps since the garden of eden.

One paper on female bullying said that it did not take long with new technology for girls to expand their reportorie on bullying behaviour.

It is easy to blame society for the behaviour of teens, yet I suspect the liberalism has contributed in a large way. Or perhaps modern technology has just made us more aware of the female bullying behaviour which was always there but hidden.

Oh what a great article. And not a feminist rant or male blaming dig anywhere to be found!

'Many of us tell our daughters they do not need to change in order to be beautiful while we rush for botox. We tell them inner beauty counts while we invest in plastic surgery and devour magazines that tell us that it is really only about air brushed perfection after all.'

This goes back to the other thread about the Bimbo site and what I was saying about parents deciding the values to teach their children rather than expecting the government to censor. Children can see the world around them and how it works, and know when their parents are lying to them.

I fully agree with the author regards the need for girls to develop a better body image and the need for less bullying amongst girls, but I find it difficult to understand how Women’s Day was linked to in the article.

It is yet another magazine that has glamour and gossip as its main priority (or reason for existence).

Dannielle

Excellent article. I concur with absolutely every word.

tonykevin 1

"A very good discussion of current problems in this area. It gives parents of teenage girls a useful basis for opening up conversations with them about self-esteem and social acceptance issues. I'm photocopying this article for that purpose. Thanks, Dannielle Miller."

Tony, you might also be interested in filing away the name, Indigo, which is a new girls' magazine designed to counter the likes of Dolly and its ilk. It's minimalist and selective in its choice of advertising and its ethos is very much about letting girls be themselves. It promotes and celebrates diversity and aims to really open up the world to all the choices out there for young girls. I haven't seen a copy of it (my daughter's past the target age group) but I've heard and read about it and would definitely recommend it as something to at least have a look at. (www.indigo4girls.com)

HRS

"I fully agree with the author regards the need for girls to develop a better body image and the need for less bullying amongst girls, but I find it difficult to understand how Women’s Day was linked to in the article. It is yet another magazine that has glamour and gossip as its main priority (or reason for existence)."

Good point. I don't buy women's magazines and haven't seen the article, but it would be very interesting to see if there's any acknowledgement of the hypocrisy you're referring to here. My guess is there wouldn't be. The article would no doubt be flanked by ads and editorial urging women to buy or try this that or the other, in order to achieve the latest look or to emulate the models and celebrities featured on practically every page. They probably wouldn't even recognize the double standards, let alone refer to them!

Usual Suspect

"This goes back to the other thread about the Bimbo site and what I was saying about parents deciding the values to teach their children rather than expecting the government to censor. Children can see the world around them and how it works, and know when their parents are lying to them."

Doesn't reading Dannielle's article cause you to doubt at all your argument that it is entirely up to the parents to counter the negative media and marketing images presented to girls today? Don't you at least acknowledge that it's a huge ask, and that many parents are too busy and/or too poorly equipped themselves to meet the challenge? As pointed out by Dannielle, so many women themselves are caught up in the same trap. How can they possibly help their daughters?

Surely you can see some role for government in ramping up the levels of community education, and in introducing regulatory controls to reign in the unparalleled freedom of multinationals to mass produce and indiscriminately push this stuff onto our kids, and all the other kids around the world, when they are at their most impressionable age. I'm sympathetic to your libertarian views but on this issue I feel your anti-censorship line is outdated and unhelpful. As a society, we're all paying in one way or another for the detrimental effect this stuff is having on the minds and health of our young girls. Club 21 is just one more sad example. I think it's time we all got involved. Leaving it to parents is no longer enough in my opinion.