From cable television to glossy magazines, media can be rife with problematic messages for girls. Parents have two options: clamp down on media exposure, or teach girls how to critique content. In two presentations—both part of Deschutes Public Library’s “Know Heroes” month of programming—OSU-Cascades professor Elizabeth Daniels looks at the media targeted at young people today and discusses strategies for helping youth—particularly young girls—develop skills that will help protect them against the negative effects of those repeated messages.

December 3, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
Downtown Bend Public Library

December 8, 2012, 2:00 p.m.
Redmond Public Library

“Most parents don’t ban media outright,” says Daniels. “Many of them want to help with teaching their kids how to question media.” She’ll share information about how parents can build their children’s media literacy skills, with specific suggestions on independent media that focus on presenting girls and women as multi-faceted individuals. She will discuss how we can shift the focus from girls’ and women’s appearance to who girls and women are as people and what they can do in the world.

Daniels earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles. She is currently an assistant professor at OSU-Cascades and teaches a range of courses in developmental science and gender issues as well as foundational courses in psychology. Her research focuses on gender, media, body image, and positive youth development. Daniels publishes and presents her research in peer-reviewed journals and at regional and national research conferences. She is an associate editor for Sex Roles: A Journal of Research and is on the editorial board for Psychology of Women Quarterly. She regularly gives public talks in Bend and provides guest workshops in local high schools about media.

For more information about this or other library programs, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Tina at 541-312-1034.