Here are some of our favorite webpages for girls and parents/guardians/allies of girls to browse. These all contain information & entertainment that we find relevant to girls and young women. We hope you'll enjoy expanding your online community. Let us know which links you enjoyed, and send us any of your favorites that aren't listed here, too!Send your comments to: kyrakelly@opheliasplace.net

NEW... SPEAK OUT!!! section: At the bottom of our "Links" list, there is also a LIST of addresses and contact info for MANY different advertising agencies, TV Stations, magazine publications, and fashion designers. We've also attached someTEMPLATES for writing letters to ad agencies and companies whose ads and products you may find offensive. Feel free to amend these letters to suit your own needs and preferences, and let us know about any letters you've written!

Gurl.com: www.gurl.com Funny, practical information & advice for growing up female and feeling great about yourself.

Healthy Relationships Website: www.takecareonline.org Learn to recognize signs of healthy vs. unhealthy relationships.

Teen Voice: www.teenvoices.com An online and print magazine by, for and about teen girls.

New Moon: www.newmoon.org A Magazine for girls and their dreams. Edited and created by and for girls ages 8-14.  Commercial-free!  Young writers & artists’ submissions welcome.

A Girls’ World: www.agirlsworld.com     

Health and Relationship Tips for Girls 10-16: www.4girls.gov

About Face:  www.about-face.org  Media awareness-building, activism, and self-esteem for girls and women of all ages, sizes, colors and backgrounds.This site is full of important info, resources, and ways for you to talk back to the media!!!

Culture of Modeling: www.cultureofmodeling.com A former teen model explores the truth about real beauty.

GirlZone: www.girlzone.com All kinds of great articles, advice, facts and info about everything from sports to music to women’s history, feminism, careers, money, books, etc.

Girlsite: www.girlstart.com Math, science, games, stories about cool women, job information, etc.

Smartgirl: www.smartgirl.org Surveys, creative writing opportunities, opinions, etc. This is an interactive site. 

GirlPower: www.health.org/gpower Information on growing up informed and empowered.

GoGirlGo: www.gogirlgo.com Created by the American Womens’ Sports Foundation, encouraging and inspiring young female athletes.

Mind on the Media: www.motm.org Promoting healthy body image in girls and women.

Girls, Women & Media Project: www.mediaandwomen.org Find out more about media literacy. Speak up about distributing/sexist advertising and images.  An e-mail listerv network helps you stay informed & take action.

Young People’s Press: www.ypp.net Writing opportunities for youth to cover the news they care about.

Media Literacy: www.pbskids.org/dontbuyit How the media operates and the importance of being mindful.

Girl Scout Teen Empowerment: www.studio2b.org Teen articles and info by the girl scouts, these are still interesting and useful for other girls as well.

Research for Girls Internet List: www.sdsc.edu/~woodka/resources.html Lots of information and links to websites that will come in handy for school research projects.  Scientific information, facts about animals, & education enrichment.

For Older Teens: www.facetheissue.com Facts, resources and online support in a live chat community for various emotional and physical health issues/difficulties: drugs, anorexia, bulimia, abuse, alcoholism, etc. 

*Tween Empowerment & Information Websites:

(* Pre-Teen girls ages 10 and up!)

Gurl.com: www.gurl.com Practical information & advice for growing up female.

New Moon: www.newmoon.org A Magazine for girls and their dreams: Edited and created by and for girls ages 8-14.  Commercial-free!  Young writers & artists’ submissions welcome.

A Girls’ World: www.agirlsworld.com       

Health and Relationship Tips for Girls 10-16: www.4girls.gov

GirlZone: www.girlzone.com All kinds of great articles, advice, facts and info about everything from sports to music to women’s history, feminism, careers, money, books, etc.

Girlsite: www.girlstart.com Math, science, games, stories about cool women, job information, etc.

Smartgirl: www.smartgirl.org Interactive surveys, creative writing opportunities, opinions, etc.

GirlPower: www.health.org/gpower  Information on growing up informed and empowered.

GoGirlGo: www.gogirlgo.com By the American Womens’ Sports Foundation for young female athletes.

Media Literacy: www.pbskids.org/dontbuyit How the media operates and the importance of being mindful.

Research for Girls Internet List: www.sdsc.edu/~woodka/resources.html Lots of information and links to websites that will come in handy for school research projects. 

Zoey’s Room: www.zoeysroom.com An interactive, educational website for girls 10-14.  Math, science & technology.  A $15 member fee ensures safe, private access for each girl, and one-on-one attention. (Ask your parents to sign you up!)

Girls, Inc.: www.girlsinc.org/gc/  This great interactive site features games, quizzes, survey-of-the-month, book reviews, information and stories on cool girls and women who make things happen. 

For Girls and Their Dreams: www.forgirlsandtheirdreams.orgPen pals, book clubs, and information about girls around the world.

More Cool Web Sites

Here are some of our favorite Empowerment and Information Websites web resources for parents, guardians, educators and adult allies of girls…

Daughters Magazine & Parent Network: www.daughters.com

National Partnership for Women & Families: www.nationalpartnership.org

Dads & Daughters: www.dadsanddaughters.org A great resource for dads.

Families First/ Homeschooling Zone: www.families-first.comorwww.homeschoolzone.com.Articles, resources, book reviews, health info, arts & crafts, recipes, online magazines & discussion groups on topics such as homeschooling, special needs, family support, help with reading.

Help Girls Achieve their Academic Potential: www.academic.org

Whole Family: www.wholefamily.com Issues and solutions for common concerns.

Femina Web Search: www.femina.com Girl and women-specific resources and information.

See Jane: www.seejane.org Organization founded to improve gender portrayals in children’s media.

Girls, Incorporated: www.girlsinc.org A national organization that provides research-based after school curriculum and programs to help girls become smart, strong and bold. 

The Empowerment Program: www.empowerprogram.org Training on relational aggression.

Empowering Books for Girls: www.deebest.com

Zoey’s Room: www.zoeysroom.com An interactive, educational website for girls 10-14.  Math, science & technology.  A $15 member fee ensures safe, private access for each girl, and one-on-one attention.

Hardy Girls, Healthy Women: www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org For parents, teens & educators.

Helping Kids Thrive: www.helpingkidsthrive.org Offers education materials & resources.

For Parents: www.4parents.gov Help for guiding healthy-decision-making and discussion

NEW... SPEAK OUT!!! section: Below you will find a LIST of addresses and contact info for MANY different advertising agencies, TV Stations, magazine publications, and fashion designers. We've also attached some TEMPLATES for writing letters to ad agencies and companies whose ads and products you may find offensive. Feel free to amend these letters to suit your own needs and preferences, and let us know about any letters you've written! Last but not least is an actual petition in response to a recent advertising campaign launched by American Apparel that you can sign and pass on to others. Have fun using your words!

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Question the Motives of the Media!
Remember that the main objective of the fashion, cosmetic, diet, fitness, and plastic surgery industries is to MAKE MONEY, not to make you the best person you can possibly be. The ultra thin ideal is working for them. But is it working for you?
Here are some people you can write to. NOTE that in this alphabetical listing, we have included both "positive" and "negative" companies. *** Please note: “Positive” sites and publications are marked below with asterisks. It's important to let the positive companies know that they are doing a good job also! For examples of positive images in advertising, please see the much-deserved Gallery of Winners at www.about-face.org.

How to Write an Effective Complaint Letter about an Ad or Other Media
(from website: www.about-face.org)

Opening paragraph:

• Say why you’re writing. Specify the ad or other media (use the name of the ad if you know it)
• Write one VERY SHORT sentence about your problem with the ad
• Briefly say what your action is going to be (see below)

Following paragraphs:

• Go into more detail about why the ad is problematic for you, for society, for women, for men, for people of color, or whatever. Be productive and descriptive. Do not say “I think” or “I believe” or “I feel” — be strong! Do not go off on a rant, even if you are angry. You will be dismissed as a crazy person if you do rant, and the company will not read your letter or take it seriously.
• Tell them again what your action will be. Always say you will not buy their product until the ad is “pulled” (no longer published, on TV, etc.). Even if you were not a customer before, tell them you were a formerly loyal customer. If you’re planning to stage a protest, say that, but don’t state the date.
• State what the company will need to do to earn your business back. Issue an apology in a press release? Pull the ad from TV/radio or magazines, or take the billboard down?
• Tell the offending company you will spread the word to other customers and to all your friends and acquaintances. Then go send your letter in an e-mail to all your friends, post it on your MySpace or Facebook page, etc. and urge your friends/family to take action too.
• Sign your real name and write your city and state below your name.

Take more advanced action
If you have more time and/or incredible amounts of ire about your ad/media, here are more steps you can take that will make a difference:

• Send the letter/e-mail to the ad agency that created the ad. Find out who the agency was and send them the letter as well. Do not call them. Why? The advertiser (company whose products are being sold) made the final decisions about the ad’s content. It’s hard to tell how much was the advertiser’s doing and how much was the agencies’.
• Use more modes of communication. Make phone calls and write a real, paper letter too (not just an e-mail). Media outlets pay attention to this stuff!
• Send it to the editorial body. If the ad was on TV, send a letter to the TV station or cable channel, and specify the date you saw the ad and what show was on. Similarly, if the ad was in a magazine, pull out the ad and mail it to the magazine with your letter. Send it to the editor-in-chief and also the sales director. (When I was a magazine editor, our readers’ opinions mattered more than you want to know.)
• Post a flyer on or near the local retail store of the business that details the problems with the ad. Again, use productive communication.

When you’re done
Once you write your super-cool, pointed letter, just save a copy and change it a little each time you come across an ad. Make it easy for yourself to write these suckers!

Why complain in the first place?
Here’s why: It makes a difference, even if you never get a response. When a company’s sales go down, the people at the company wonder why that’s happening. You want to hit them over the head with a hint so they will change their tactics. Also, remember that consumers have the most power over companies, since, as a for-profit corporation, their main concern is — duh — profits. When we don’t buy the products, the companies have less money and thus less advertising power. And, when you raise a stink (even a little stink), companies get humiliated, which is usually the only way to get them to change.

Petition to American Apparel, February 2010:

The Petition

American Apparel is looking for the best bottom in the world to be the "face" of their new ad campaign:  http://i.americanapparel.net/storefront/UGCStyle/BestBottom2010/index.asp
They're inviting girls and women to upload pictures of their butts to the website (wearing AA underwear or body suits, of course) and then asking people to judge the submissions with a score of 1-5 and the option to add snarky comments. It’s low budget and lowbrow. For girls, however, it’s high stakes.

Here's their invitation: "Confident about the junk in your trunk? Show us your assets! Post a photo of your booty's best side for judgment. We're looking for a brand new bum (the best in the world!) to be the new "face" for our always expanding intimates and briefs lines. The winners will be flown to LA, photographed and featured online. Send in a close-up photo of your backside wearing American Apparel panties, bodysuits or briefs for consideration and vote for your personal favorites."

Geez, American Apparel, try listening to girls instead of objectifying them. As Thalia, age 19, says, “You don't need to exploit us to benefit your company. Someone who is a CEO should have more common sense, don't you think?”          We do.

So, here’s our reply – grow up and get someone on your marketing team who’s got some brain cells and some principles. Sign our letter to AA’s CEO and Corporate Relations people to add your name to the protest. Sign and help circulate this petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/americanapparel/

Joseph Teklits and Jean Fontana, Corporate Relations
Dov Charney, CEO
747 Warehouse St.
Los Angeles, CA 90021

Dear American Apparel:

The sexualization of women and porn-inspired media have infiltrated the everyday culture of the youngest girls. According to the 2007 APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls in Media, the negative impact on girls and women is indisputable: the sexualization and objectification of girls and women in media wreak havoc on our psychological, emotional, cognitive and relational lives.

Your recent campaign is a perfect example of the insidious ways marketers and media promote sexualization and body obsession as “girl power.” American Apparel is directly and unconscionably undermining girls’ healthy development by equating confidence with looking sexy, winning with being judged on their appearance, and personal value with 15 seconds of fame. The objectification of girls’ and women’s bodies is a real concern in a country where 1 in 4 women is a victim of violence, and sexual harassment is rampant. This ad campaign invites girls to self-objectify, inviting girls to post pictures of just one body part, and inviting others to comment and rate it is demeaning and dangerous.

By launching this campaign at a time when sexting is in the headline news, American Apparel is literally placing girls in jeopardy of prosecution by inviting them to post highly sexualized images of themselves online.

Don’t insult us with the usual defense: this is not real girl power; this is
not just girls feeling good, making choices or feeling confident in their bodies. American Apparel is selling girls for parts, and we’re not buying.  We demand that you stop this ad campaign today and commit to more responsible marketing practices.
To sign and help circulate this petition, go to:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/americanapparel/

You may also cut/paste/copy/use this Ophelia's Place template, below:

March 13, 2010
Joseph Teklits and Jean Fontana, Corporate Relations
Dov Charney, CEO
747 Warehouse St.
Los Angeles, CA 90021


Dear American Apparel:
I was very disappointed to become aware of your recent ad campaign, “The Search for The Best Bottom in the World.”  I am aware that your company holds itself to high standards of quality and maintains ethical business practices around sustainability, diversity, and human rights. I am also aware that your company makes a conscious effort to help raise public awareness about such important human rights issues as immigration reform and support of marriage equality. I wholeheartedly applaud your efforts in these departments and have been likewise impressed with your commitment to sustainable, environmentally-conscious business practices.

The “Best Bottom” contest, however, is offensive and damaging to girls and women, and is hence doing absolutely nothing in support of their basic rights as human beings. The sexualization of women and porn-inspired media have infiltrated the everyday culture of the youngest girls. According to the 2007 APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls in Media, the negative impact on girls and women is indisputable: the sexualization and objectification of girls and women in media wreak havoc on our psychological, emotional, cognitive and relational lives. This “contest” is also therefore fiscally unsound as it alienates a substantial portion of your potential customer base.

I request that you remove this offensive imagery from your website and any/all print publications. I intend to loudly boycott your products until this advertisement is removed and will advise my friends, family, and fellow community members to do the same.

While I greatly appreciate the many fine things your company does to advance the social justice and environmental causes mentioned in my first paragraph, I find it both appalling and unnerving that your company also produces and directs such a harmful and deliberately targeted ad campaign to and at young women.

In a media-saturated age where ALL women are being repeatedly given the message that appearance is what matters most, advertisements such as this are harmful.  If young women are encouraged to think of themselves as body parts or seek to find a sense of self-worth and social recognition/success via sexualizing themselves, they are at risk of developing low self-esteem. People with low self-esteem who also feel marginalized may be reluctant to reach out for social support and thus can become vulnerable to larger social problems such as risky sexual behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, disordered eating, violence and involvement with the juvenile justice system. The after-effects of this can last a lifetime, and affect the self-esteem of future generations to come. As you are obviously aware, media is a powerful medium, and to use it to further oppress an already marginalized social group is truly a disgrace.

As a young woman and a former enthusiastic customer, I will be publicly and loudly boycotting your products until this advertisement is pulled. Additionally, I will be encouraging my friends, family and other young people in my community to follow suit.

Before I will consider purchasing your products again, I will need to be assured that your company has taken appropriate action to remove this offensive advertisement from all forms of public media and carefully consider the impact that such ad content has on your customer base.

I would greatly appreciate seeing the faces of the young women who are selected to model your clothing, and perhaps hearing more about who they are as human beings. This would be far more interesting and empowering ad copy. My friends and I would likewise be heartened and far more inspired to purchase your clothing, knowing that we were being fairly represented as complete human beings, as opposed to being reduced to porno-style butt shots.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I will anticipate your response to my complaint as soon as possible.

Sincerely Yours,

c/o Ophelia’s Place                                                                                          

Young Women’s Action Network                                                                                                                   

1577 Pearl Street                                                                                                                                 Eugene, Oregon, 97401

Here is a general template for ads that represent women or girls in an offensive way. You'll need to fill in the blanks to make it specific, but please feel free to use this template and encourage others to do the same:

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing you today to express my concern regarding your current advertising campaign, which features

Images such as this are offensive to girls and women and additionally are fiscally unsound as they alienate a significant portion of your potential customer base.

I request that you halt this offensive advertisement and remove it from your website and any/all print publications.

I intend to boycott your products until this advertisement is removed and will advise my friends, family, and fellow community members to do the same.

In a media-saturated age where young girls are being repeatedly given the message that their self-worth should be based on their physical appearance, images such as this are contributing to the lowering of girls’ self–esteem.  Young women who suffer from low self-esteem can become vulnerable to larger social problems such as disordered eating, risky sexual behavior, drug abuse and becoming the victims of violence. Media that encourages these unhealthy behaviors in young women affects our entire nation in ways that are dangerous, irresponsible and unacceptable.

As a formerly loyal customer, I will nonetheless be boycotting your products until this advertisement is pulled. Additionally, I will be encouraging my friends, family and other young women in my community to follow suit.

Before I will consider purchasing your products again, I will need to be assured that your company has taken appropriate action to remove this offensive advertisement from all forms of public media and carefully consider the impact that such ad content has on your customer base.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I will anticipate your response to my complaint as soon as possible.

Sincerely Yours,

c/o Ophelia's Place

Young Women's Media Action Network

1577 Pearl Street, Ste. 100

Eugene, Oregon, 97401

Please note:

If you'd like more examples or templates for more letters, please send us an e-mail: info@opheliasplace.net.