Girls and Sex: Peggy Orenstein with KCRW’s Madeleine Brand, and Yalda T. Uhls of Common Sense
In conversation on April 17 at 3:00 PM at The Ann & Jerry Moss Theater at the Herb Alpert Educational Village at New Roads School. 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica 90404
Buy tickets here.
Forgive the cliché, but the world has changed and parents can barely keep up. In fact, in Peggy Orenstein’s great new book, Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape, teenagers can barely keep up. Peggy Orenstein is a journalist, and a devout chronicler of girls. In her groundbreaking book several years ago, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, she explored the corporate sexualization of little girls :the girly-girl culture, she wrote, is more complicated than it looks— the pursuit of beauty and physical perfection leads to a whole host of issues, from body image problems to eating disorders, depression, to risky sexual behavior and even intellectual subordination.
Peggy’s book is #4 on the New York Times Best Seller List as of this week.
Girls and Sex, Peggy Orenstein’s new book, begins where Cinderella left off. She interviews scores of smart teenagers, academics, psychologists and others, and discovers that the brave new world of social media, feminism, and our contemporary pop culture have conspired to create a most complex environment for girls. Welcome to our new cultural landscape. Girls and Sex is a must-read for parents, and for teenage girls. It prompts twinges and groans—after all, we are supposed to take feminism for granted, are we not? Orenstein tackles the thorny topic of social media and casual sex; relationships and hookup culture in high school and college, and the increased pressure of body image. Where do you draw the line between provocative dress and individual expression? What impact does internet porn have on teens and sex? Sexual assault is rampant, and her dialog with teens about this subject is astonishing. She explores the new meanings circling around virginity. She gives parents, teens and educators insight, ideas and talking points about choices, sex, relationships, and new waves in sex education.
Yalda T. Uhls is an award-winning psychological scientist, and is the author of the new book, Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact Not Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age. Yalda is a leading expert on how old and new media affect children. Her former career as a film executive informs her perspective that media content has great power to socialize, inspire and teach children. She works with Common Sense Media, and does research with the Children’s Digital Media Center, based at UCLA.
The conversation will be moderated by Madeleine Brand, host of Press Play, an hourlong daily show on KCRW. Madeleine walks us through cultural trends and news topics with brilliance, easy and great questions. Following the program, Peggy and Yalda will be on hand to sign their books, which will be available for purchase.
This event is co-sponsored by Common Sense, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. Common Sense provides FREE resources for parents and educators, advocates for the safe, responsible and ethical use of technology, and helps all families harness the positive power of media and technology for learning and life.
