Professor M. Gigi Durham's acclaimed study of the media sexualization of young girls will be available in a new paperback edition next week. The Lolita Effect includes a fascinating new introduction from the author in which he discusses the Miley Cyrus/Vanity Fair fiasco that occurred just as The Lolita Effect rolled off the presses and into bookstores.
Drawing is Thinking by Milton Glaser is reviewed in the new issue of the Sacramento Book Review: "If you don’t recognize the name of Milton Glaser, you defi itely would recognize some of his commercial work—probably the most widely known one is the I love NY logo. Drawing is Thinking is a collection of his art, none captioned or explained, just there to be experienced. The introductory interview between Glaser and Peter Mayer explores some of Glaser’s thought process and his belief that “art is aform of meditation for both maker and witness.” For the viewers of Drawing is Thinking, there are many hours of reflection ahead. The art ranges from black-and-white pencil and ink work to full color completed designs. There are several pieces that are shown in stages, from sketch to fi ished work. Usually, when you have a collection of an artist’s work, there is extensive commentary about each piece; here, you are left to ponder the what Glaser was thinking as he drew them. And, that is the point. Interesting, thoughtful, and, as he says, meditative."
M. Gigi Durham, author of The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It, talks to Katharine Miezkowski of Salon.com about the "many ways that young girls' sexuality is shaped and exploited by a marketplace where younger is better and the line between child porn and art gets ever blurrier." In a wide-ranging interview (podcast is available on Salon), Professor Durham comments on the marketing of grown-up sexuality to little girls, the Miley Cyrus fiasco, and ways parents can open up the conversation with their daughters about images of girlhood sexuality.
CNN.com reports on the latest episode of teenage girls gone wild: the controversial photographs of Miley Cyrus being published in the next issue of Vanity Fair. Gigi Durham, author of The Lolita Effect, is quoted extensively in the article. On her blog, Durham offers this appraisal of the Miley fiasco: "Miley Cyrus’ semi-nude photographs in Vanity Fair are sparking controversy because of the supposed smear on her squeaky-clean Disney image. Of course she’s following in the footsteps of former Disney child-stars-turned-sex-symbols like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera: there should be no surprise here.The photographs by Annie Liebovitz are undoubtedly beautiful and artistic. But the raging controversy about them is not about their artistic merit, it’s about 15-year-old Miley’s sexuality. To me, the entire situation points to the way we insist on polarizing girls’ sexuality: it’s either repressed or exploited for profit. All teenage girls need to be able to express and enjoy their sexuality in intentional, healthy, safe ways. But Miley’s reported embarrassment and shame, and the press’ lurid interest in the pictures, indicates that there’s much amiss here. Not because Miley, at 15, is sexual — but because we can’t accept that as a normal, completely natural part of her life that needs neither to be ogled nor denied."
