Candie's Foundation gets spanked by activist moms #NoTeenShame

The Candie's Foundation recently launched an anti-teen-pregnancy campaign in which a who's sho of Millennial celebrities  — Hayden Panettiere, Carly Rae Jepson, Hillary Duff, Lea Michelle, Fergie, Vanessa Minillo, Ciara, Teddy Geiger and the band Fall Out Boy — tell teens how much parenthood sucks.

According to Feministing, the campaign has really offended the Strong Families Movement for its shaming approach towards teen pregnancy. Allied blogger Natasha Vianna puts it plainly:

At the age of 17, I gave birth to a little girl. When the Candie's Foundation launched a teen pregnancy prevention campaign with the tagline "You're supposed to be changing the world... not diapers," I was outraged by their attempts to shame young parents. Although I was changing diapers at age 17, I am changing the world – and so are Lisette, Consuela, Jasmin, Gloria, Marylouise, Christina, and so many other young parents like us across the country. Our activism has been shaped by our experiences as young moms; we are working to change the world because we are young parents.

The organization has launched a petition to Candie's and encourages the use of a hashtag, #NoTeenShame, to draw eyes to the cause.

This controversy is similar to what happened when NYC's Human Resources Administration put up ads  in which young children shamed their teen parents about getting pregnant.

The problem lies in the strategy of shame. This is an organization that previously used wealthy teen mom (and born-again abstinence advocate) Bristol Palin as a spokesperson for what a burden young parenthood is. They describe themselves as " a non-profit organization that works to shape the way youth in America think about teen pregnancy and parenthood." 

And sex:

Research has shown that teen girls who have been exposed to the foundation and its messages are more likely to view teen pregnancy and parenthood as stressful and negative, and they are more likely to be skeptical of the media's portrayal of teen pregnancy and parenting. They also think teens should wait longer to have sex than girls who are not aware of the foundation and its messages.

But where does that leave the teens (especially girls) who have become pregnant? Ashamed, if the campaign has its way with them. But even if their own feelings of self-worth are not important to you, do you actually think that teens are unaware of the fact that unplanned pregnancy is a big deal? 

It would be really refreshing to see someone pony up for a pleasure-positive, choice-positive teen sexuality campaign that helped young people get and use contraception without vilifying those who do not, and who decide to have a baby. The Candie's Foundation's pro-abstinence stance reflects a conservative culture of sexual shaming, in which people who consensually give in to their natural curiosities and pleasures are seen as morally weak. (And the shaming can affect victims of rape as well.)

As much as I don't want to be a grandparent too soon, neither would I want to raise my young son to believe that teen parents are lesser people than him. Not only for their sake, but possibly for his own. 

F'd Ad Fridays: The Pope shills for cocaine wine

Via Cracked

19th century Pope Leo XIII was such a big fan of Mariani wine (a patent medicine made of Bordeaux and coca leaves) that he awarded a Vatican gold medal to the wine, and also appeared on a poster endorsing it.

Talk about high holiness...

F'd Ad Fridays: Sly Stallone directs flying children, has some soup

Yes, it's a Japanese ad. Why do you ask?

Imagine you never saw this ad

I have a confession to make: I never really got over John Lennon's murder.

Some kids have sports heroes. At 10 years old, mine was a Beatle. A damaged, but brilliant musician who had just recently come out of retirement to transform himself from one long anger management case study to a domesticated urban dad.

Even at my tender age, I was put off by how many people cashed in on his death. But as I grew up and fell in love myself, I became an apologist for the one person most vilified in the examination of his life: Yoko Ono.

John loved Yoko. Understanding what that means, now, brings tears to my eyes when I hear the songs he wrote about her. And while she is often (erroneously) blamed for breaking up the Beatles, John always insisted that she "saved" him. And modern accounts of his life seem to indicate that he did need saving — from profound depression and abandonment issues.

John's music has appeared in commercials since his death. "Revolution" for Nike. "Merry Xmas (War is Over)" on a children's charity appeal. But no posthumous endorsement has been as cynical as this:



What's even worse is that it is not a misappropriation, but authorized by John's heirs, Yoko and "Beautiful Boy" Sean.

New Music Express quotes Sean from his Twitter feed"

"She [Yoko] did not do it for money. Has to do w hoping to keep dad in public consciousness. No new LPs, so TV ad is exposure to young," Ono Lennon said, adding: "Look, TV ad was not for money. It's just hard to find new ways to keep dad in the new world. Not many things as effective as TV."

Who knows what John Lennon would be like, had he outlived George. Maybe the '80s would have seen him mellow out to the point of total commercialism. But when someone dies relatively young, they get the benefit of having their principles trapped in the amber of the day.

I can't see the John Lennon of my childhood hawking cars with his revolutionary words. To my mind, the best way to keep John relevant is not to twist what he said but to just let young people hear the actual words.

So kids, for your benefit, here's some social marketing that matters from the man I remember:





And the controversial one:



I wonder why, if she wanted to make John's message relevant to today, Yoko didn't just buy her own ad space somewhere, as she and John did for their NYC "War is Over" billboard back in the day:



We miss you, John. But you probably would've forgiven Yoko anyway.