Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing our Daughters from Marketer's Schemes

by Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown
Review by Brynn Haley, grade 10

Packaging Girlhood is a non-fiction book about the images the media sells to girls, and the categories that it squeezes girls into at such a young age.

Packaging Girlhood explores the effects that the messages of gender roles in the media have on young girls, and those effects aren't good.  They range from low self-esteem and self-worth to underachieving and setting low standards for themselves.

According to Packaging Girlhood, girls are categorized into narrow groups such a "diva, shopper, boy-crazy, mean-girl, cute, hot, or pretty."  These concepts don't take into account the girl's entire personality, therefore they disregard girls as entire persons with unique traits and quirks.

These messages are found all over the place in our media, from movies to books to advertisements to music, sometimes in the most unexpected places.  Packaging Girlhood shows us how to recognize these hidden messages.

I really enjoyed this book and agree with its message.  I recommend this book to anyone concerned with children's wellbeing and messages in the media.