Girls Inc. of Chattanooga

 In an online video that recently went viral, a young girl, Riley, is standing in front an incredibly pink toy display,  emphatically explaining to her dad how “the companies who make the toys try to trick the girls into buying the pink stuff.” She argues that “some girls like superheroes and some girls like princesses”: 

At such a young age, Riley is already picking up on an issue that Girls Inc., both nationally and locally, has been effectively educating girls about for a long time.

Girls Inc. designed in 2002 the highly regarded Media Literacy® curriculum which teaches girls to decipher and resist media messages that promote gender stereotypes and encourage harmful behavior. The curriculum has age appropriate components for girls ages 6 to 18. Media and Me, the component for girls ages 6 to 8 (around Riley’s age) helps girls understand how messages about gender stereotypes, like “pink is for girls” or “only boys play with trucks,” are used in advertising.

As girls grow older, Media Literacy® teaches them how to navigate media messaging that glamorizes harmful behaviors like sex, substance abuse and violence.  The activities taught in program components such as Media Smarts (ages 12-14) and Girls Get the Message (ages 15-18), provide hands-on opportunities for girls to redesign examples of harmful ads into more positive messages about girls and women.

Girls Inc. of Chattanooga has delivered our Media Literacy® program to Hamilton County girls through our afterschool programs and during school break camps, most recently during spring and summer in 2011. In April 2012, the curriculum will be taught as part of our Design Girl Spring Break Camp.

We are proud to be part of an organization that is helping girls recognize their rights to be themselves and grow into healthy, educated and independent women – strong, smart and bold ®.It is our hope that one day all girls – and boys -- will understand and react to gender messages in advertising in the same way that Riley does.