Secret Keeper Girl is a Christian organization: its founder, Dannah Gresh, has authored such books as
And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity and Lies Young Women Believe. (Said lies involve Immodesty, Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll, and, presumably, forked-tongue sexytalk from The Media.) And it wears its Christianity on its sleeve; purity is fun and godly, seems to be the pastel-tinted message. Indeed, SKG is described as "the most fun a girl will ever have digging into God's word." (Talk about damning with faint praise.) But SKG is clearly eager to appeal to modern young women - hence the org's slick, poppy web-site and line of mainstream-looking tween books.

What, you might ask, is a Secret Keeper Girl? (Well, you can probably guess what the "secret" is, and it's not that secret):

A Secret Keeper Girl values modesty, she surrounds herself with wise friends and she embraces Godly beauty. But, the most important thing for you to know is that a Secret Keeper Girl is a masterpiece created by God. So whether you are new to our site or a SKG pro who's been to an event, read "Secret Keeper Girl" or already had eight great dates with your momma, you, sweet girl, are a Secret Keeper Girl because you are a true masterpiece created by God's hand.

SKG organizes mother-daughter events that focus on wholesome bonding and age-appropriate activities like wacky fashion shows. Because fashion, you see, is a big part of SKG's mission. The organization is committed to getting more age-appropriate clothes for tweens out there, and with this in mind, has launched the "Bod Squad Petition," which they've presented to the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Apparel and Footwear Manufacturer's Association, and which protests the "marketing of sensual clothing to tweens." They've also organized the "Shop Til You Drop" event, that encourages the patronage of those stores - Old Navy, Gap Kids, Lands End - that provide stylish and age-appropriate clothes.

Here's the thing: I totally support this in principle. And it's good that SKG focuses on healthy body image for girls and recognizes the correlation between overly sexualized kids and EDs. But why is there no happy medium? Why does this "mission" have to be twinned with God's Plan and chastity belts and what seems to be a generally retrograde and abstinence-only approach to sexuality? Look, this is an openly Christian organization that can promote whatever it likes. My point is, why aren't there more options for young women - why does it have to be Purity Ball or Slutoween? It's depressing that the only voice I've seen publicly calling for any kind of not-slutty kids' clothes is politicized and somewhat problematic, making it easy for us - and certainly the CFDA - to dismiss any good sense within the rhetoric. Eight-year-olds shouldn't have non-slutty clothing options because God Loves Modesty, but because they're little kids who shouldn't be sexualized - and who aren't, by nature, until they're told that's what's appropriate.

I'm not saying 12-year-olds should dress in oversized flannel dresses (YES, MOM, I'M LOOKING AT YOU) but let's say you want that option: it would be nice if other kids, looking at you, then didn't have to assume you spent your weekend hanging out with your mother attending modest fashion shows and discussing how you're a true masterpiece created by God's hand. Because Gresh is absolutely right about one thing: it's a pivotal time for a young woman.

SecretKeeperGirl.org
Christian Group Hosts 'Modest' Fashion Event [WWD]

• Eric Ienco, Madonna's former house manager and cook, alleges that Madonna's kids are lucky if they get to spend a half an hour a day with her; "It's a puzzle she wants to adopt again."

• "She's hardly ever with her children. She's got two full-time nannies and one part-time nanny. So why adopt a kid if somebody else is raising them?" he said, adding, "Madonna puts herself before her kids. When she adopted little David, he arrived at her home from Africa - and three hours later, she left to do Pilates. Wouldn't you think she'd want to spend the entire day with her new son?" [The National Enquirer]
• Madonna's rep says the police didn't question her properly after she fell from a horse over the weekend in the Hamptons. Madonna claims the accident occurred when the horse was startled by the paparazzi. "Madonna was barely conscious and had fainted twice, right after the fall and when she was in the ambulance," said the rep. "She only remembers giving the police her name. They never asked her what happened. This could have been a very dangerous situation and we're just all grateful that she wasn't hurt more seriously."
  [Access Hollywood]
• Madonna's trainer, Tracy Anderson, said that even though she "fell on her bum," she'll continue working out. "She doesn't take time off," said Anderson. "I'm just going to modify [the workout] a little bit and get her moving again." [People]
• Channing Tatum says of says of his Fighting co-star Terrence Howard, "The more I hung out with Terrence, he would constantly talk about the craziest shit. Like he told me about how there's no cell that could ever hold him because he'd make acid from his urine and his feces." [Movie Line]
• Terrence Howard says he thinks the title Fighting is appropriate for the film. "This isn't necessarily about fisticuffs, it's about emotional battles that everyone goes through," he said, "Fighting, you know, is more of a synonym for the human condition." Co-star Channing Tatum wasn't as enthusiastic. "Trust me ... I gave them a thousand different other options for it," he said, like, "God, eh, ‘Last Chance,' eh, ‘Scared'…. It's about relationships," he said. "The whole movie is about relationships." [The Observer]
• Channing Tatum won't reveal details of his upcoming wedding to Jenna Dewan, but people can't help but notice her gigantic engagement ring. "Almost everybody goes, 'Oh my God, that is so big,' " said Dewan. "And I'm like, 'I know, I feel the same way.'" [People]
• The mother and stepmother of Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali had a brawl in the streets of Mumbai over reports that Rubina's father was trying to sell her. Sadly, there is a video clip of the two women choking each other. [TMZ]
• Unsolicited uterus update: Jennifer Hudson's rep says she is not pregnant. [Extra]
• After a four year hiatus the VH1 Divas concert will return in September. VH1 is asking for diva suggestions. [PR Newswire]
• A Russian tabloid claims that Oksana Pochepa, one of the women claiming to be Mel Gibson's lover, is a nymphomaniac. "Sex is the most important thing for her. She had a great deal of partners, although she was not like a prostitute," a friend said. "She just loved sex. She had her first experience when she was in the ninth grade and could not stop afterwards. It was like fitness for her." [The Daily Beast]
• Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler wrote on her blog that she doesn't hate Miss California Carrie Prejean because of her anti-gay marriage remarks, "But she lost the crown because she wasn't able to convey compassion for ALL the people that as MISS USA she would be representing. and if YOU like it or not, gays and lesbians make up this country as well. THIS is why we have judges so they can find the RIGHT woman who obtains these qualities. they are crucial in my eyes when holding a honor and title as big as being Miss USA. The panel of judges was qualified and did their job, they represented all of us, men, woman, black, white, gay and straight." [Perez Hilton]
• There's a rumor going around that Cher and her daughter Chastity Bono are pitching a reality show that would follow Chastity's sex change. Cher's rep said they are not currently shopping a reality show, and that if they were it would not be about Chastity getting a sex change. [E!]
• Lakers center Andrew Bynum is denying that he took Rihanna out on her first post-Chris Brown date last weekend. [TMZ]
• Actress Natascha McElhone has pledged to continue her late husband's work with his charity Facing the World, which offers surgery to third-world children with facial disfigurements. [The Daily Express]
• Project Runway will debut on Lifetime on August 20. Also premiering that night: Models of the Runway a half-hour show about the competition among the models. [Time]
• In keeping with the title Relapse the cover of Eminem's new album is a portrait of Slim Shady sculpted with pills. [Rolling Stone]
• LeAnn Rimes says even though tabloids are reporting that she cheated on her husband, she's doing great. "It's something that I'm not going to back and forth in the press about, because it does hurt me and my loved ones, and I'm really not going to address tabloid rumors and I'm sticking to that," she said. [Yahoo]
• Jamie Foxx said he almost quit his role in The Soloist because of the mental strain. "It was something that I enjoyed, but it shredded me. I went to places that I never thought I would ever go. I just remember being in my bathroom broke down, talking to my manager like, ‘I don't know if I'll be able to finish this ... You had to lose your mind every day you're on set, and sometimes you didn't have enough time to get your mind back before the weekend." [Bossip]
• The jurors for the Tribeca Film festival have been announced, and they are a diverse bunch. For instance, the Narrative Short jurors are Thomas Haden Church, James Franco, Mary Harron, Debra Messing and Mary-Kate Olsen, which The Times points out is "the entire leading cast of Ned and Stacy and about half the cast of Spider-Man 3." [NY Times]
• Jade Goody's mother, Jackiey Budden, says while she was dying of cervical cancer Jade asked her to smother her. "If she was on a machine we'd have to turn it off, but when you've got cancer you don't have a machine. She wanted me to put a pillow over her head," said her mom. "I really didn't want to see her go that way." [The Star]
• Whoopi Goldberg says friend Patrick Swayze is keeping busy as he fights pancreatic cancer. "He's kicking butt," said Goldberg. "And, you know, he's sick. And he, like the rest of us, doesn't know when it's going to happen — because it will happen, that he is going to go — but he doesn't know when or where. ... His attitude is, why wait for it to happen? So he's busy as hell."[UPI]
• Uma Thurman is supposedly planning to marry her fiance, Arpad Busson, on Saturday. [The Sun]
• Billy Bob Thornton says of his new action film Eagle Eye, "Every now and then you have to do a big action movie, so you can pay for the house. And you have to pick a good one, because most of them are just crap. And this one is really good." [The L.A. Times]
• Michelle Rodriguez went to the Dominican Republic last weekend to be a bridesmaid in her friends wedding. She reportedly pushed clothed guests in the pool, and at the bachelorette party she called the male stripper "fat" then said, "This is the kind of thing that brings out the bisexual in me." [Perez Hilton]
• On April 17 Dave Grohl and wife Jordyn Blum welcomed their second daughter, named Harper Willow Grohl. [People]
• Dawne Wilson, who allegedly threatened to kill Tyler Perry in an email, has been charged with felony aggravated stalking. [TMZ]
• After returning from a weekend trip to Las Vegas, Lindsay Lohan went clubbing in Hollywood last night with a male friend. [Perez Hilton]
• Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag will be holding the rehearsal dinner before their wedding this weekend at Wolfgang Puck's Beverly Hills restaurant Cut if you care. [People]
• Noel Gallagher says Oasis may be taking a five year hiatus from recording and touring. [NY Magazine]
• In an interview Paula Abdul called Simon Cowell a "masterful bully" and said she almost quit seven times during the first season because she, "couldn't believe that someone was actually getting away with crushing fragile kids. This happens behind your back, not in front of your face ... And when someone attacks you with criticism that isn't constructive, sometimes it's hard to take. [ABC News]
• In her new book, Tori Spelling talks about worrying that her son Liam had a big nose after seeing the ultrasound. She says: "I did speculate about that because when I saw the sonogram, all I could think about was, 'Oh my God, does his nose look large?' Obviously, that comes from what I experienced myself growing up. But when you get your sonogram, it's the last few months of the pregnancy and your kid is running out of room in there-they're all squashed up. So the features are greatly exaggerated. But I didn't know that then. They look a bit scary. So I just put the question out there-is that reaction a characteristic of someone living in Hollywood? Or do moms everywhere think the same thing? Do they all worry about what their kids will look like? I think they do." [The Daily Beast]

Unruh's journey from hippie to anti-abortion activist began, she says, with her late-seventies abortion of her fourth pregnancy — an abortion that she claims her doctor encouraged for less-than-accurate medical reasons. Unruh's public story departed from the truth of the situation some time long before Robb got to her — in the course of the research, she admits that Allen Unruh was not her first husband. By her accounting, she met him in 1976 — though a she told the Washington Post they married in 1972. Actually, she married her first husband, Larry Kutzler, in 1973 (while she was, apparently, already pregnant), divorced him in 1977 and it was his child that she aborted "sometime in 1978 or 1979." She married Unruh in late 1978 and had two children with him after that.

In 1984, Unruh opened a crisis pregnancy center, followed by a home for unwed mothers in 1986. In 1987, she pled "no contest" to charges that she paid young women not to have abortions and arranged adoptions without a license. But she'd apparently already decided that the best way to stop abortions was to prevent unwanted pregnancies — but not through birth control. She got into the chastity movement, which started eating from the federal trough after Bill Clinton signed into law his 1996 welfare reform bill — the first time abstinence-only education was federally funded. Like many other government programs, it's only gotten bigger.

Unruh's obsessions include pedophiles, rape, molestation, pornography, disease, peer pressure to have sex and the idea that having multiple sexual partners automatically makes sex less intimate. She swears her daughter never even kissed her own husband until her wedding day. She thinks that taking birth control pills that limit menstruation is an effort to turn women into men. She also loves to hand out dolls of baby fetuses.

It would be — and often is, if you Google Leslee Unruh — easy to mock her politics, her religious beliefs, her fanaticism for her causes and her looks**. But if you're an advocate for reproductive freedom, then mocking her doesn't help your goals any more than demonizing us helps her achieve hers. Leslee maintains a memorial garden for women (and men) to commemorate their abortions and doesn't go off on rants about how women who've had abortions (or premarital sex) are going to hell and — when she's not ranting about Big Pharma wanting to control our uteri, not that any Jezebel would ever hate on the pharmaceutical industry — it's why she's effective. Sometimes, when you're tired or scared or whatever, part of you wants your mom to tell you what to do. And Leslee's apparently very effective at playing Mom and telling you to have the baby.

So who's the Leslee Unruh of the left? Do we even have one? Or in the midst of talking about "safe, legal and rare" to try to convince the right that we're all sort of vaguely in agreement, did we forget to talk enough to scared women about why it's okay to be scared and to have an abortion?

**Please don't body snark her here. There's enough to discuss without that.

Leslee Unruh's Facts Of Life [More]

So here are some questions: Is this right? Banning jewelry? And does a "chastity" ring belong in the same category as a head scarf or a Kara? Because a chastity ring isn't a part of actual religious practice. And how is it that non-Christians are always being sent the message that their customs and faith are, literally, unacceptable? Does preventing the wearing of "symbols of faith" does make for religious equality? And what do you think would happen if this girl — or her parents — took this issue to court?

Sikh Schoolgirl Excluded From School For Wearing Bangle [Guardian]
Sikh Pupil Excluded Over Bangle [BBC]

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New Risks Discovered For HPV [Seattle Times]
Related: HPV — STD Information From CDC [Centers For Disease Control]