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My “I Love My Hair” Journey

For those of you who are new to my work, I created this blog to highlight issues of interest to young women, girls, and their advocates.  At my workshops and speaking engagements, girls often ask me how I have the confidence and courage to stand up and speak in front of hundreds of girls.  I assure them that I did not always feel confident, courageous, or self-assured.  In fact, I felt self-conscious and insecure throughout my pre-teen years (ages 9-13).  As a young girl, I struggled to develop … [Read more...]

Sesame Street’s “I Love My Hair” Video & Conversation Guide for Parents

I love the Sesame Street "I Love My Hair" video because it aims to teach young girls about self-acceptance while building positive self-esteem.  However, my initial reaction was, "Where was this video when I was struggling to figure out why my dolls didn't look like me?"  NPR reported that the video aired on the October 4 episode of Sesame Street and was created by Joey Mazzarino, an Italian father of an Ethiopian daughter, who is the head writer at Sesame Street.  Mazzarino created the video to … [Read more...]

Dr. Carla’s Pioneering Research on Girls & Social Media Published in “Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity”

I am excited to announce that my book chapter on how Black American teen girls coming of age at the intersections of hip hop and social media navigate identity, sexuality, sexualized images, and beauty ideals online (based on my research at the University of Michigan) has been published in "Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity" (edited by Sharon Mazzarella). The original volume,  "Girl Wide Web: Girls, The Internet, and the Negotiation of … [Read more...]

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