Joanna Schroeder

Mattel’s brand new video featuring empowered little girls will make you cry. But will the toy industry ever change?

There are a lot of women out there right now who think yoga pants are great everyday wear, even when they’re not working out. There are probably also just as many people who think that women wear yoga pants entirely too much, and that they're inappropriate.

As moms and dads, we probably don’t talk directly about rape to kids, at least not until they’re older. But we’re still sending messages about sex and consent all the time. Because of that, we need to make sure we’re not teaching them some very dangerous lessons, even if just by accident.

As I grew older, I came to rely upon dieting as a way to ease my anxiety and feel in control. I was no longer in a cycle of eating too little or body dysmorphia, but controlling my food intake made me feel less invisible in a sea of girls where I felt like I'd disappear. It was almost a form of self-medication, to know that I could go on a diet and lose a few pounds.

No, it’s not the presents. It’s all the little things.

There are about a zillion things I could say about what Patty Jenkins was able to accomplish with this movie, but for now I just want to touch on a few of the singular aspects of this film that were game-changers for all of Hollywood (and kids everywhere).

We're not saying you need an excuse to have wild, crazy, satisfying and fully consensual sex... But if you did, what could be better motivation than to piss Ted Cruz (and his ultra-Conservative cronies) right the fuck off?

That’s the thing: I love sex.

The biggest news in feminist parenting lately has been about portrayals of powerful girls and women. Mattel’s new partnership with DC Comics is a big step forward in this, creating a new set of dolls and action figures that feature the female characters in the classic DC comics stories.

If we as women get to define for ourselves what beauty looks like, then the power will no longer rest with those who pad their fortunes with our self-loathing.