New Book Extract: 'Turning Children into Consumers' by Sharon Beder

[This book report is from Media Lens- "Correcting for the Distorted Vision of the Corporate Media" www.medialens.org, please sign up to their emailed 'media alerts' to receive more info about media-related books like this one]

Introduction

Sharon Beder, visiting professor at the University of Wollongong, Australia, is one of our favourite political analysts. Her book ‘Global Spin’ (Green Books, 1997), is a devastating exposé of corporate, including corporate media, manipulation of politics and culture. Like Mark Curtis’s ‘The Ambiguities of Power,’ it is a book that defies attempts to underline the interesting bits - it’s all interesting! The title of Beder’s new book is self-explanatory: ‘This Little Kiddy Went To Market- The Corporate Capture Of Childhood.’ (Pluto Press, 2009)

Once again, this is a must-read analysis explaining how people and planet are being systematically subordinated to profit. We were so impressed by the second chapter, ‘Turning Children Into Consumers,’ that even before finishing the book we wrote to Beder asking if we could use some of it in a guest media alert. She has very kindly agreed. You can order a copy of ‘This Little Kiddy Went To Market’ at a specially discounted price from Pluto Press here: http://www.plutobooks.com/beder/ Sincere thanks to Sharon Beder and Pluto Press for letting us publish this tremendous material.

We invite you to imagine a world in which Beder’s work was “on every school curriculum”, as John Pilger recommends. Imagine if children were provided with tools of intellectual self-defence to counter the relentless campaigns of corporate manipulation. It is simultaneously depressing and heartening to consider how much happier, healthier, more compassionate our society would be as a result.

David Edwards and David Cromwell
Media Lens
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TURNING CHILDREN INTO CONSUMERS
Sharon Beder

Extracted from “This Little Kiddy Went to Market: The Corporate Capture of Childhood”, Pluto Press, London, 2009.

Children are naïve about advertising and can easily be manipulated and exploited by marketers to want and demand their products. Corporate marketers believe that overtime they can be shaped into lifelong consumers with brand loyalties and that can be profitable for decades to come. What is more, children influence family spending decisions worth hundreds of billions of dollars on household items like furniture, electrical appliances and computers, vacations, and even the family car.

Corporations began targeting their marketing messages directly to children during the 1980s, as affluent adult markets became saturated with consumer goods. Large firms established ‘kids’ departments and smaller firms specialised in marketing to children. A number of advertising industry publications were created such as Selling to Kids and Marketing to Kids Report. The academic literature began to feature studies of children as consumers. In the US the amount corporations spent marketing to children under twelve increased by five times between 1980 and 1990 and ten times more during the 1990s. In 2004 around $15 billion was being spent marketing to children.

Conferences on the best ways to market to children are held all over the world. There are also awards for the best advertisements and marketing campaigns with hundreds of entries. Much marketing to children now consists of sales promotions such as direct coupons, free gifts and samples, contests and sweepstakes, and public relations exercises such as using celebrities and licensed characters to visit shopping centres and schools. These additional forms of marketing have supplemented rather than replaced advertising as the importance of the children’s market has grown. Their aim however is the same as advertising.

The international children’s market is increasingly attractive to transnational corporations who seek to make their brands and products popular in different cultural milieus. The food industry was a pioneer in these efforts. In 1997 Brandweek magazine noted that McDonald’s was the favourite fast food all over the world and Coca-Cola the favourite drink.

To read the rest of this media alert, please go to: http://www.medialens.org/alerts/index.php

'Fallen Princesses': Anti-Disney Art

Disney.

What images and emotions does this word conjure up for you?

For years now, I've been wanting to create a visual image- a piece of artwork- that sums up how I feel about the sexist, racist, capitalist, (add your own 'ist' here), Nazi-funding empire that is 'Disney'.

Finally the life-long dream was fulfilled when, thanks to a photoshop-savvy friend (view her online news and culture mag here: http://www.labouchemag.com/), the image of TinkeREBEL burning down the pink Disney princess castle appeared within the CRAP! Collective's 'Raise Some Hell!' zine (see PDF in sidebar, or email the Collective for a copy of the zine). The Collective is planning to create a series of these images- probably as more of a cathartic remedy for ourselves, rather than a political statement! (Get in touch with us for collaborative possibilites, or if you know of any great anti-Disney art out there that would satisfy our bloodlust)...

Anyway, when reading the blog 'blue milk' (http://www.bluemilk.wordpress.com/), I saw this series of wickedly stunning photographs entitled 'Fallen Princesses' by Dina Goldstein (See 'Cinderella' photo opposite; more photos from the project here: http://www.jpgmag.com/stories/11918), and they totally hit the spot! Although they're not anti-Disney, and also aren't empowering images of the women, they are certainly thought-provoking, and it's refreshing to see the Disney facade stripped away. As Dina describes them: "These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues...such as illness, addiction and self-image issues".

Have you created feminist anti-Disney art? Send us a photo here!

URGENT: Lewisham School Eviction Order Tommorrow!

Parents in London have been occupying their children's empty primary school in protest at Lewisham councils plans to demolish the (now grade 2 listed building) school to make way for an exclusive school run by the ancient society of Leathersellers (the society sounds more akin to the Illuminati and their secret handshakes, than those selling tanned hydes...)

An eviction order has been served for tommorrow wednesday 24th june at 10.30am.

They need as much support as possible to resist eviction: please head down there tommorrow in support of the parents, kids and their community campaign.

Lewisham is in South-East London. See this link for more info: http://london.indymedia.org.uk/events/1670

This link is to their blog: http://defendeducationlewisham.wordpress.com/

In support and solidarity.

Home Education after the recent Badman Report

Hi all

I just wanted to let people know about the changes to Home Education after the Graham Badman Report came out this week and how it compromises the rights of all children in the UK.
Ed Ball wants to go ahead and implement changes immediately... this means we have got very little time to stand up against this.
I have put together the website to be user friendly and specially aimed at anyone that has missed the report or thinks that because their child is not home educated this does not effect them, it actually has serious implications for all children in the UK and their right to privacy and their life decisions.

This is the link to the website: Home Education after the Badman Report.


The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Article 16: Children have the right to privacy. The law should protect them from attacks against their way of life, their good name, their families and their homes.

Graham Badman report on Elective Home Education.

Reccommendation 7: that designated Local Authority officers should have the right to access the home and to speak with the child alone without parents present and without their consent...

There has been a lot of bad press lately about home educated children being at risk of abuse, but as there is no evidence or any cases of this Graham Badman has had to state this in his report, however he still went on to change the law as if this was the case.

The NSPCC apologised publically recently about associating abuse with home education, you can find a link to this on the webpage.

Please try and consider Graham Badman's proposals and the wider implications and the loss of rights due to this report, if you feel strongly enough then please do write to your MP's, fill in the survey, write to Ed Ball or reply to the consultation. (links can be found on the website.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please do forward this information, so many bills are passed these days without people being aware of the changes in their rights.

Peace and Love
Christine, Jonathan and Cherry.

Carnival of Feminist Parenting

This Sunday 14th June sees the first online blog-carnival of feminist parenting!

The blog hosting this carnival is Mothers for Womens Lib (http://feministmums.wordpress.com/carnival-of-feminist-parenting/ ), so log on this Sunday to read fab posts, and link with other like-minded people, blogging about many different issues related to feminist parenting.

The carnival will take place every month, and anyone is welcome to submit a post related to the topic. See http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_7216.html for more details about this and other carnivals.

URGENT: Early Day Motion to keep Income Support

Dear friends,

John McDonnell MP has put an Early Day Motion (EDM) to keep Income Support, which the Welfare Reform Bill would abolish. Please ask your MP to sign the EDM and circulate this EDM to your friends and colleagues suggesting that they also urge their MPs to sign. You can find out who your MP is here (http://www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/). The more MPs who sign from every party, the more seriously it will be taken. Many in the House of Lords oppose the harsh measures in the Bill which would make many destitute and first of all women and children, and they have put down amendments to change or delete the worst clauses. They are discussing these in Grand Committee, starting today. One amendment is to leave out Clause 7, which would abolish Income Support. See briefing on the amendments.

Kim Sparrow


EDM 1609 INCOME SUPPORT 08.06.2009 McDonnell, John

That this House condemns the proposed abolition of income support which is a crucial lifeline against destitution and poverty for parents, carers, those they care for and other vulnerable people; further condemns the requirement contained in the Welfare Reform Bill that claimants with children over seven years old must find a job or work for their benefits for £1.73 an hour if they are unsuccessful in finding work after two years; notes that unemployment has risen to over two million and that many parents cannot access affordable childcare in their area; deplores this erosion of the principles of the welfare state and the minimum wage, and regrets the hardship that many families will now face; and calls on the Government to maintain income support in recognition of society's collective responsibility for childrearing and the important work of carers and parents for society.

PLEASE PASS ON.

Welfare Reform and Home Education

Campaigners in London have been exposing and protesting against the government's shameful pushing through of their 'welfare reform bill'- otherwise known as their welfare ABOLITION bill. please see www.lcap.org.uk for more info (london coalition against poverty).

The government has been wanting to push through these changes for a long time, and is using the excuse of the economic crises as a cover. The bill will adversely affect those in the most vulnerable groups, and those on benefit eg. single parents on income support, are being scapegoated for cash grabbing, all the while that the government is bailing out the greedy bankers and politicians are claiming tax payers money for moat-cleaning!

The bill will mean eg. single mothers on income support will be forced back to work when their child is still very young.

I’ve been wondering what this bill will mean to those of us home educating/planning to.

Thankfully this issue has not gone unnoticed, and the home ed charity ‘Education Otherwise’ (www.education-otherwise.org) have been looking into this issue also and are lobbying parliament etc. Please see the website below for more info on what this bill will mean for home education in the future: http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/welfarereform.htm

It is really important that we all inform ourselves and keep up-to-date on issues relating to the freedom and autonomy of educating our children, otherwise legislation will be against us before we know it. Even if we have chosen to send our children to school or do not have kids at all, we still must recognize that this is a CHOICE, and Home Ed is legal (despite what some may think), and respect other parents’ decisions to provide independent education for their kids outside out the mainstream system. Obviously the 'choice' to home educate is made more difficult for those with less money, less support, less time etc. But everyone who wants to home educate should be facilitated to do so, and it is discriminatory not to support this. However, the implementation of the Welfare Reform Bill will do exactly that- not only discriminate against the less privileged in this society, but force upon them a system of education that they do not agree with, and will make it even more difficult for them to home educate their kids.

We must also dispel the common myth that Home Educating means keeping your kids at home with no friends for company! There are many Home Ed community groups, so kids have continuous 'class' mates, and an amazingly varied and rich education. It can be really empowering and an educational experience for the parents too, by being involved in their children's 'curriculum'. Children can also opt to take GCSEs, A-Levels, and progress to University if they wish. There are many support groups out there, and even a Home Ed Camp once a year in the UK, to get together and have fun with other like-minded people from all across the UK (see http://www.home-education.org.uk/ and (http://www.hesfes.co.uk/).

And finally.... a brief thought for those who accuse single parents on income support of being daytime-telly-watching money grabbers: if those of us on income support all home educate, just imagine all the money we are saving the government on school fees! Surely then, it is THEM who should be paying US for home educating? Home Educators would like a 30grand salary too cheers!

Mayday Kidsbloc: Kids and Adults Unite Against the Arms Trade

On 4th May 2009, groups of parents and kids came together to form a ‘peace garden’ themed kidsbloc as part of the ‘Smash EDO’ Brighton street party (May the Fourth be with you!) against capitalism, war and the arms trade.

For the past five years, ‘Smash EDO’ has been a relentless and successful campaign against Brighton’s local arms manufacturers (EDO MBM/ITT make bomb components used against people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine): “Every bomb that is dropped, every bullet that is fired in the name of this War Of Terror has to be made somewhere. And wherever that is, it can be resisted” (http://www.smashedo.org.uk/). A film has also been made of the campaign: ‘On the Verge’, despite many failed attempts at banning its’ realise. The truth will out, as they say…

The Mayday! Mayday! Street party saw around 2,000 people from all over the country come together to protest not just about the bomb manufacturers, but also other war profiteers such as Barclays bank, HSBC, RBS, Lloyds, and McDonalds (see http://www.indymedia.org.uk/ for more info).

The main demo started at 12 noon in front of Brighton Pier, with protestors dressed mainly in red on foot and also bikes, sporting banners, sound-systems and a massive red carnival dragon, which the kids loved. The atmosphere was calm but excited. The autonomous Kidsbloc (which probably consisted of over 35 adults and children) had met up beforehand, for dressing up, face painting, meeting each other, checking food drink and kiddie supplies, and preparing the ‘peace garden’ theme. Children were dressed and face-painted as flowers, bees, butterflies (including the obligatory tiger and dinosaur, but veggie anti-militarist ones, of course!), and adults were also dressed up for the occasion. Huge colourful crepe-paper flowers and bees were held up, along with more specific anti-war banners: “War is not healthy for children and other living things” and “War is very, very naughty”. Drums, horns, bells and all types of instruments were used to make noise, and a continuous stream of bubbles were floating peacefully in the air. The kidsbloc even had an in-buggy soundsystem (patent pending!) which blared out Smash EDO radio (on pirate Radio 4A 101.4fm) throughout the demo to energise and update the kidsbloc crew!

As the march moved off towards town, the kidsbloc hung back and formed a visible family-friendly section. Adults without kids also came to support the kidsbloc on the day, and it is important that this is acknowledged and kidsblocs aren’t always left to parents to arrange. Any event can be easily made more parent-and-kid-friendly, and children shouldn’t be excluded from going to events that matter to them, or from showing solidarity with other children in war-torn countries throughout the world. After all, it’s often women and innocent children that suffer the most from war and poverty.

Despite a heavy police presence, the cops operated a relatively stand-offish approach, probably still smarting from the G20 in London a few weeks before, and bad press they got surrounding the murder of Ian Tomlinson and manhandling of peaceful protestors. Prior to the Mayday streetparty, people thought long and hard about whether children should be a part of this demo. Would an off-site kidspace be a better option? Many decided that they wanted a visual kids-and-parents presence on this demo, and that this demo was likely to be relatively relaxed as opposed to previous Smash EDO events (see Carnival Against the Arms Trade last summer). Once this decision was made, the main emphasis was on how they could make the kidsbloc as safe as possible and kid-friendly, as well as making an impact. Legal Observers and First Aiders were called upon, and tactics for supporting others within the kidsbloc were discussed.

The first half of the march was relatively peaceful and uneventful (being at the rear of the streetparty, the kidsbloc didn’t realise there were banner drops and actions all along the way!) and as it wound down underneath Brighton station, shouts of “Whose streets? Our Streets!” reverberated through the Brighton station underpass. The first kick-off point was when the march reached McDonalds on London Road. Here, protestors and riot cops started their first major scuffles. Being on high alert, the adults in the kidsbloc saw the riot cops preparing to move in from afar, and so they all moved swiftly and easily out of the way.

However, it was at this point that the kidsbloc, as well as other protestors from elsewhere in the demo, seemed to disperse in different directions. The kidsbloc in particular seemed to split in two directions, as well as some parents deciding, understandably, that it had been fun so far, but it was now time to take the kids home. A group of the kidsbloc crew never managed to regroup with the main demo, mainly because it was moving so fast that little legs and buggy wheels just couldn’t keep up! Instead a refreshment break was called for- strawberries, grapes, juice, milk, nappy changing, and a sit down on picnic tables outside a local pub. When everyone had re-energised, the decision was made to head straight to Preston Park to see if the march had ended up there and find out more info about what was still happening.

Once arriving in Preston Park, people settled down for a picnic on the grass, more face-painting (kids can never get enough!), and playing games in the playground. Others had already settled there with soundsystems and a band was playing an acoustic set. The demo seemed to have split up quite rapidly into many affinity groups. Those with kids decided to call it a day (it was around 4pm by this point) and just happily chill, and it was only fair on the kids to do this.

The kidsbloc would probably have benefited from more planning/meetings prior to and on the day, which, in this case, was not possible due to other commitments from people and general other mini-crisis’s of parenthood (those with kids know what they're talking about)! Would a kidsbloc that had greater cohesion within its members would have regrouped more easily after dispersing? Or have all taken the same route away from the action? However, this issue seems to be more general of how the whole demo ended up on the day, rather than specific to the kidsbloc. Other ideas and points were raised and discussed. It’s all a learning experience, and one that’s relatively unpredictable due to the nature of protest and the police. However, it was great to see such a positive turn out for a kidsbloc, and it all went really well- they all stayed safe, had fun, and had their say against war and greed. It would have been more satisfying to have regrouped with everyone that had been on the kidsbloc at the end of the day to discuss how they felt it all went, and how it could be improved next time, but unfortunately this wasn’t possible as people were spread across Brighton by this point and the kids were getting tired.

Well done everyone, kids and adults, who participated autonomously on the kidsbloc!

“We can bomb the world to pieces, we can’t bomb it into peace”

Anti-copyright: Text and Photos by Tracy Beaker (interviewed by Tumbleweed)

Children and Parents in Feminist Activism

“We expect to struggle against the world; we don't expect to struggle in our own community.” Radical Anarchist Mom and Baby League

In this vast metropolis that is London, it is sometimes hard to feel a sense of community. Caught up in the rat race that is survival in this city, we can sometimes feel isolated from our near neighbours and may not feel a sense of belonging to the area in which we live.
Fortunately there is a strong feminist community in London. We share some common values, we struggle together, we socialise together, we look out for each other, we care for each other and it is a community that I feel privileged to be part of.
However as a mother of young children I’ve got to say that I do feel that just like I struggle in the wider community, I also struggle in this community of ours.
I don’t know how many times I’ve raised the issue of childcare when we organise, I don’t know how many emails I’ve sent asking whether there will be childcare available or whether children are welcome at certain meetings and events, I don’t know how many meetings or actions I’ve just not gone to because I feel that I cant bring my children, I don’t know how many workshops I’ve walked out of coz my children start getting loud and I can see that it’s just not appreciated. But the thing I notice most is that, unlike most other communities, within the feminist community there just aren’t many children around.
Maybe it’s just I’m going to the wrong meetings, but I don’t think so because I speak to other mothers and they seem to feel the same way too.
We want to spread this movement of ours yet we don’t make our activism accessible to parents. Many of the women in this country are mothers yet we don’t provide childcare at our meetings. Is feminism for everyone or just for a small clique of childless women?
We rally en masse for abortions rights (rightly so!) but where are the rallies to protest against single-parents being forced back to work, for better childcare for working parents, for better maternity services, for recognition of the unpaid work parents do raising children and what exactly are we doing in our activism to facilitate parents attending?
Sometimes I feel like we’ve fallen for the idea that mothers should be home, tied to the kitchen sink, cooking and changing nappies, voiceless and uncomplaining and that children should be seen and not heard. I suppose it’s so ingrained in all of us that there is a time and place for children that meetings aren’t seen as one of those times or places. I think like that too sometimes, but its ageist against children and sexist against mothers and we all need to address and confront it within ourselves and as a group. Maybe a meeting isn’t the most suitable place for young children but if parents are going to be there we need to accept that children will be too and sort out ways to deal with it.


Everyday as mothers we challenge patriarchy; a system, society and culture that sees us as just women with children, needing and worthy of little space besides the home, school and playground. We’re not welcome in the workplace, in education, on public transport, in the pub, yet we still go there. Capitalism places no value on our work, but we know the true value of what we do, and as such we see the fallacy of capitalism, we feel its injustice in our bones. Even though its difficult we leave our homes to work, we educate ourselves, we realise the value of the work we do raising children and we celebrate it, thus challenging false notions of true fulfilment through career, we find ways to support each other, we find solidarity through motherhood, we know in a very real way the strength of women and we know true exhaustion yet keep on going. Many of us became feminists at the same time as we became mothers, because it was then that we truly collided with patriarchy. Feminist parenting is a truly political, radical and effective form of direct action and is an everyday form of feminist activism.
That’s why I find it so weird that feminism in London does not seem to be welcoming parents with children or addressing our needs or campaigning for our wants. Parents are political, passionate, caring, strong, organised people, used to working for free and dealing with frustration, we are an asset to any movement.
Mainstream feminism like mainstream society and culture is (I think) hierarchical, with value, respect and power being given to those who are the most “active”, the most educated, with the best jobs, the loudest voices, the most money, and unfortunately mothers are near the bottom of this hierarchy. Sexism isn’t just something that exists out there in the big bad world; it also exists in each one of us. It isn’t our fault but it is something we must accept and try to unlearn and dealing with sexism in activism in this context means recognising the value and needs of parents and children.

We also need to think about children and the benefits they gain from being involved with feminism and what we gain from them being involved. Personally I am so glad that my children know feminism and feminists. It’s all very well me talking to them about gender roles, stereotypes and sexism but for them to actually see feminism in action, positive female role models and alternative ways of working and being together privileges them and reaches them on a much deeper level. I want my children to understand feminism on a day-to-day level, so that for them it is the norm.
Feminism has so much to gain from children being involved. Children can bring creativity, imagination and freshness to activism and a definite impetus to dissent, protest and organise against the status quo. Why are we feminists if not for future generations! At the end of the day if we really want to end the cycle of sexism and sexist oppression then socialising our children in a non-sexist way, as well as educating them about feminism and showing them how it can work is the only way.

Butterflea 2009
Copyleft (original article published in Raise Some Hell - A Feminist Childrearing Zine for Everyone)

We will not be Sassified! a poem for grrls

We are Girls.
We are Sassy Girls.
Are we Sassy, Girls?

We are wild!
We love rainbow colours!
We wear dungarees and get all muddy!
We ride bikes- faster than the boys!
We play pirates, spaceships and pretend to be dinostegleosauroctopusses!

Girls, we aren’t Sassy.
Sassy is Silly!
We are …

Smart
Strong
Successful

Scary

Skateboarders
Sorcerers
Special
Solar-powered
Super
Splendid
Subversive
Supportive
Survivors
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

We are Sweet Sea-faring Songstresses Sizzling Soya Sausages for Sunday Supper with our Sisters.

But…

We will Slingshot you into Space with our Self-made Scuzzle-guns if you dare Step aboard our Ship!

So.
Screw you!

We ain’t Sassy, Sir.

anti-copyright (taken from Spratz! a feminist kidzine. For those of you that haven't heard of 'Sassy Girls', they are a cheaper Bratz doll substitute. But they sting just as bad)