Though The FBomb went online in March, it officially launched last week. The site is described as:

"A blog/community created for teenage girls who care about their rights as women and want to be heard. Young feminists who are just a little bit pissed off and very outspoken are more than welcome here."

According to a press release, Zeilinger is a high school sophomore at The Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio. "Thefbomb.org is for girls who have enough social awareness to be angry and who want to verbalize their frustrations about injustice in the world," she said. "It is loud, proud, aggressive, sarcastic...everything teenage feminists are and should be today." Though Zeilinger interned at the National Council for the Research on Women and posted on the organization's blog, the FBomb is an independent project which she created herself. Other bloggers posted today, but, up to this point, almost all of the daily posts have been written by Zeilinger.

The FBomb often links to Jezebel, Feministing, and other sites aimed at adult women, and covers similar topics, organizing the posts into categories including "pop-culture," "feminism," and "awareness." Recent posts range from an interview with Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor, to an essay on Lily Allen's feminist lyrics (despite the fact that she's never applied "the F word" to herself), and a gossip roundup of all the conflicting stories about Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Zeilinger concludes that post:

"since none of them are about Robert Pattinson falling in love with a young feminist blogger just by running into her serendipitously on the streets of New York, I can't care too much."

Zeilinger is a witty, engaging writer, and not just "for a 16-year-old." As the press released claims, she probably is the youngest feminist blogger in the country, and though we often write about what teenagers go through, it's interesting to hear the perspective of an actual teen girl. Especially since Zeilinger has a lot more insight into the lies pushed on teenagers than we did at her age.

In her critique of a show aimed at teenagers, she writes:

Because, let's all face it, our lives on average would make a pretty freakin boring t.v. show. WHICH IS ACTUALLY FINE, IT TURNS OUT. I hear all these teens bitching about how boring their lives are, because whether conciously or not they're comparing it to the lives of Gossip Girl and 90210 which just promote irresponsible promiscuity, drug use and other dumbass moves. We watch these shows and we roll our eyes because most of us realize that life isn't like that. But then we go and strive to match it anyway.

And in her post on whether or not girls should date boys who don't call themselves feminists she concludes:

For me, I don't choose friends based on their feminist status, and boyfriends go the same way. It takes people longer than others to see the light, or be secure enough with themselves to use a word that makes so many others uncomfortable. I can only help by teaching them about feminism and sharing my experiences. Maybe one day they'll identify as feminists, then again, maybe they won't. As a feminist, I'm all about choice.

Unfortunately, it seems right now the site's few commenters on the FBomb are adults. Below the post on feminist boyfriends, two adult commenters got into a lengthy argument about the modern meaning of the word "feminist" and, earlier today, something prompted Zeilinger to write on the FBomb's Twitter: "older feminist readers I'm a teen its for teens can't be perfect don't have a degree. get some perspective plz & stop writing mean comments!" But those arguments are bound to come up whenever feminism is mentioned, and even without a high school degree Zeilinger is doing excellent work. Hopefully, now that the site has officially launched younger readers will hear about The FBomb and it can grow into the "community for teenage girls" (emphasis ours) that Zeilinger envisioned.

The FBomb [Official Site]

Related: 16-Year-Old Feminist Launches 'The FBomb' Blog for Teenage Girls [PR Newswire]
Dads, Dudes, and Doing It [The National Council For Research On Women]
Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor: Interview [FBomb]
Lily Allen: Closet Feminist? [FBomb]
Robsten? Stewpat? [FBomb]
Another Teen Show Rant [FBomb]
Feminism And Dating [FBomb]
@the_fbomb [Twitter]

Earlier: Teen Feminists Drop "F-Bomb"

Researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center examined 69 non-abused teens from age 14 to 17, and 104 abused adolescent girls recruited from child protective agencies, CNN reports. The girls participated in a laboratory session in which they were asked to create avatars on a fake social networking site that allowed them to choose their physical features, provocative or conservative clothing, bust and hip size, and visible navel piercings. The participants were then asked to rate how many times they had received sexual advances online, which was described as "explicit sexual chatting in virtual worlds," and how many times they'd met a person who first contacted them online in real life.

Forty percent of the girls said they had received sexual messages online and 26 percent said they had met someone after getting to know them on the internet. The study reports that "abuse status was significantly related to online sexual advances, which were, in turn, related to offline, in-person encounters." There was no direct link between abuse and online solicitation, but researchers said the abused girls were at a greater risk.

The study also found a connection between a provocative avatar, or more sexual profile pictures posted on sites like Facebook and MySpace, and the girls who had received sexual messages online. The study says:

Those adolescents who may be unaware of how their appearance might be perceived may not, from a developmental perspective, possess the social sophistication necessary to field and ward off sexual advances in ways that protect them from sexually explicit suggestions.

Though in the past, experts on children's online safety reported that some pimps are recruiting from social networking sites and looking for girls whose profiles indicate that they are vulnerable, the new study may be too alarmist. A report released in January by a Harvard University task force found that the percentage of children who received sexual solicitations online fell from 19% in 2000 to 13% in 2006. Of those sexual messages, most came from other minors, and predatory incidents occur online about as often as they do in the real world.

The Prevention study's analysis of something as innocuous as a girl creating an avatar with a belly button ring and pouty lips places too much blame on girls for inviting online predators to victimize them. However, the study's main recommendation, that parents monitor their kids' online activities and talk to them about how they portray themselves online, is a good idea for either gender.

Study: Abuse, Provocative Images Increase Internet Risk For Girls [CNN]
Percentage Of Kids Solicited Online Drops, Harvard Report Says [National Sexual Violence Resource Center]

Earlier: Pimps Finding New Ways To Recruit Women, Girls

This letter from Editor-in-Chief Ann Shoket sets the tone for the entire issue (bold-facing hers):

Hi! I have a weird Q for you: If your outfit could talk, what would it say about you? Think about it for a sec. We put so much importance on first impressions. And when you're going back to school, meeting new teachers, checking out cute guys, and seeing your friends again after a long summer, it's especially important - you're making impressions on about 150 people a second. Sure, your energy and vibe go a long way toward telling people who you are and what you're about, but your clothes and makeup are an important part of the package. That's why I'm practically obsessed with helping you get your look just right for the first day of school. So when your fourth-period history teacher sees you in class, or when your secret crush (who, BTW, got the best muscles over the summer) asks where the music room is, you'll be saying all the right things - before you even say a word! How's that for an awesome payoff from a day of shopping?

What impression do you want to make this year?
Tell me everything at ann@seventeen.com
XOXO
-A

I’m never going “back-to-school” again, and yet for some reason I’m now anxious about September. Thanks Ann!

The beauty section explains how to “tell everyone about yourself” by “picking the look that makes the right statement about you.” So, if I wear a subtle shadow with purple liner, will that tell the world “I’m serious about school” but “I don’t take myself too seriously?”
This two-page fold out chart shows how size measurements vary for different styles of jeans. Maybe I’m just feeling vulnerable after measuring my waist to 1/8 of an inch, but I think the real message in the size 15/16 row may be “Sorry! They don’t come in this size, fatty!”
In case you’re a little too flabby for those “perfect fit” jeans, the magazine's health section includes a “get your best butt” exercise plan. It also advises that you shouldn’t eat chicken Caesar salad because the dressing is fattening, but that apple rice cakes “are almost like mini apple pies.” But watch out, because exercising too much or counting calories obsessively could be a sign that your “feelings are bad for your body.” And yet, if we don’t watch ourselves everyone may “see the emotional weight we’re carrying right there on our stomachs, hips or thighs.” I guess everything about me really is wrong!
Maybe it’s not just me – there’s probably something wrong with my friends too. I’d never considered the possibility that boys don’t like me because my friends are annoying!
But think twice about ditching your friends for a guy. In “Sex Lies He Tells you,” we learn that “sometimes he’ll say anything to keep going.”

I remember there being a few non-heinous aspects of being a teenage girl, but after reading Seventeen (motto: "It's fun to be seventeen") I've realized it’s just seven years of public humiliation and ridicule. I wish that when I was growing up I had more positive role models to guide me through these difficult years — like the girls from The Hills! Who better to look to for cues on self-respect and supporting other women than Lauren Conrad?

The site run by Bliss also has an "Airbrush Me" section which will give your photos "a celebrity makeover" — taking out red eye and zits.

Another site, run by Mizz magazine, asks readers to rate "lush lads" — pictures of shirtless boys. Maybe turnabout is fair play, but the message — that only the surface matters — is what sticks. The report states that in a study of 3,000 young women, more than half of 16- to 25-year-olds said that the media makes them feel that "being pretty and thin" is the most important thing.

Fiona Bawdon, the author of the WIJ report, says, "The message that you get in the editorial sections (of magazines), if a girl was to write in saying her nose was too big, is that you are fine as you are." But the websites do not have that editorial voice of assurance. "Should a teen magazine really be encouraging young girls to think in terms of 'hating' their still developing bodies?" And we're wondering — is there anyone out there who still thinks the next generation is going to turn out okay?

Girls' Websites Criticised For 'Lad Mag' Tactics [Telegraph]
Websites Aimed At Teenage Girls Using Lads' Mag Tactics [Guardian]
Earlier: Feeling Sexually-Objectified? It Could Be Your Own Damn Fault
Sexploits

• Have you heard? This 26-year-old woman — 9 months pregnant — has been missing for almost a week. Are you as sick and tired of hearing about abducted and assaulted young women and girls as we are? [CNN]
  
• The fewer female relatives a woman has, the more likely she is to contract a certain type of breast cancer. [ABC]
  
• Women more likely to die from diabetes than men. Could this have anything to do with some of them leaving the disease untreated in order to lose a few fucking pounds? [Chicago Tribune]
  
• More adolescent girls — particularly 19-year-olds —are having abortions than ever before in the U.K; this news comes one week after UK officials announced that teens in England and Wales are "in the grip of a sexual health crisis, fuelled by a 'celebrity culture' that condoned alcohol abuse, drug addiction and promiscuity." [Telegraph]