Juxtaposed against the recent uproar conservative provacateur Ann Coulter caused recently by calling John Edwards the same word, you can see how far we've come in terms of our sensitivity to the reality that words can hurt.

We've also come amazingly far when it comes to the visibility of gay and lesbian teens. Gay/straight alliances have proliferated in high schools across the country and popular teen dramas like The O.C. and South of Nowhere (and others) have had gay or lesbian storylines. But as visibility has increased so has harrassment and bullying of gay, lesbian, bi and transgender youth at school.

The media is buzzing about the new season of The Simple Life in which scary skinny rich girls Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton take on the role of camp counselor, including counseling kids at a fat camp (or as E! prefers to call it, a weight loss/ fitness camp).

From the Boston Herald: "So what on earth will Richie, who has admitted to having weight issues, promote to the roly-poly kids? Bulimia? Anorexia? And the only fitness Hilton seems to get is walking the red carpet."

OK, so probably almost every parent of a girl under 5 is getting pretty tired of the whole Disney princess phenomenon. How many tiaras and sparkly wands does one child need?

But when Disney announced last week that it created its first black princess -- the star of the New Orleans-based animated musical The Frog Princess, we said: Phew. It's about time.

In a world where kids spend an average of 45 hours per week with the media when they are in school, it’s a sure bet that kids on Spring Break are going to look to fill their extended free time with even more television, movies, video games, Web sites and text messages.

The American Academy of Family Physicians put out a tip sheet for parents concerned about preventing obesity in their kids. Among the tips: Limit T.V. watching, and limit fast food to once a week.

We'd like to add something else to that list: Teach your kids to deconstruct media messages. Here are some question to ask your kids, from media education consultant Frank Baker.

I’ve always loved the SmartMouth interactive site for kids, but my new discovery is the U.K.’s “Which?” site, revealing kids’ food marketing ploys in a fabulously engaging digital ditty called “The Interactive Bedroom.” The cartoon door entices, “Knock, Knock! Open the door to find out who’s manipulating our children’s diets!”

From the catty and vacant girls on shows like America’s Next Top Model and Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll to the sexed-up, lingerie-clad corpses on C.S.I., women mostly get short shrift on TV. A new trend is making females even more one-dimensional. The names of the shows say it all.

But over the last five years, the number of scenes of torture and abuse our kids see has grown into the hundreds, with regular appearances on TV shows like 24, Lost, and Heroes -- which are watched by millions of teens and tweens.

Need more evidence that obesity is becoming a big problem with kids? According to new research, American teens are having obesity surgery at soaring rates.

The surgery rates for 12-19 year olds tripled between 2000 and 2003, and as many as 1,000 teens may have obesity surgery this year. (Read the full story from the Associated Press here)

Since 1960 the number of kids who are overweight has tripled; childhood obesity is now described as "epidemic" by the medical community. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls the costs associated with childhood obesity "staggering."

• 92 percent of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look.
  
• 86 percent of the approx. 10 million American girls and women who suffer from an eating disorder report the onset of their condition by age 20.
  
• 74 percent of girls say they are under pressure to please everyone.

Girls don’t have to let disrespect and unrealistic ideals get them down. They can get REAL instead…

This October, I'm teaming up with the amazing Audrey Brashich, author of ALL MADE UP: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype & Celebrating Real Beauty, to deliver an empowering workshop for teen girls.

I found this really interesting -- obviously Gates is communicating to his daughter that spending time hanging out or playing games online should be done in moderation. It's a pretty strong message and a fairly restrictive limit. It would be so easy to spend two hours online just IMing and playing games as a 10-year-old.

In the parenting chapter of Totally Wired, I emphasize that every parent is different in their values, philosophy and style/approach to these issues. Today a reporter asked me if I had some blanket advice for parents of tweens, and as I spoke to her, I realized, yes, I do.

College students are more self-centered and narcassistic than ever, according to a new study released last week.

The authors of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory say that while these characteristics may help young people meet new people -- and shine on reality shows -- they can hurt their relationships with others.

What's to blame?

Once again, models are taking center stage. Two new model-focused reality shows are currently airing -- and they send very different messages.

With the eighth cycle of America's Next Top Model, Tyra Banks continues her crusade to broaden America’s definition of beauty beyond the current super-skinny standard -- while simultaneously crowning a "Top Model" with a fierce walk, dynamic personality, good looks, and an inspirational story. This time around, the contestants include two plus-size models.

And Banks, who has become a spokesperson for the "normal"-sized woman, will revisit her original 1993 Sports Illustrated cover (for which she weighed 140 pounds, versus her current 161) in an effort to drive home the message that you don't have to be unhealthily skinny to be beautiful.

The Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood is cheesed off about Pizza Hut's BOOK IT programs, which the CCFC says promotes unhealthy eating rather than reading.

“BOOK IT! epitomizes everything that’s wrong with corporate-sponsored programs in school,” said Dr. Linn, author of Consuming Kids. “In the name of education, it promotes junk food consumption to a captive audience of children; turns teachers into Pizza Hut promoters; and undermines parents by positioning family visits to Pizza Hut as an integral component of raising literate children.”

BOOK IT! reaches 22 million school children in 900,000 classrooms each year. Because of its reach, the CCFC calls BOOK IT! "one of corporate America’s most insidious school-based brand promotions." The annual BOOK IT! Beginners program -- which allows Pizza Hut to target preschools -- begins next week.

Read on for the CCFC's complete press release -- and share your opinions about BOOK IT! -- or other coroporate-funded curricula in our comments section.h

Launching March 1st, in time for National Women’s History Month, the new readergirlz Web site bonds gal pals in Sisterhood of the Travellin’ Pants-style friendship, as YA books turn into a full blown digital media experience.