Jezebel: Tweens

The Dramatic Reenactment of a Tween's Facebook Wall That We've All Been Waiting For

Madeleine Davies — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:20:00 EST

"I get pretty girls all the time and you've never kissed anyone ever so you shut up." This is modern Shakespeare. More »

The Simpsons Know The Secret For Writing The Perfect Tween Novel

Whitney Jefferson — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:20:00 EST

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Last night's Simpsons dove into the world of fiction writing in an episode titled "The Book Job." Lisa was disgusted with Homer's periodical of choice — JetSki Wanter magazine — which was written by a committee of writers. So Homer got the idea to gather Springfield's best and brightest and work on a YA novel! The group discussed all of the elements that make such a series successful: Orphans, vampires, and trolls. And! As we all know, the troll needs to be played by Robert Pattinson in the flick for true success — perhaps that'll come in The Book Job, Part 2: The Movie Deal. More »

All The Cool Moms Lie To Get Their Underage Kids On Facebook

Erin Gloria Ryan — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:45:00 EDT

Age requirements are in place to protect some of society's youngest members from the ugly side of social networking and comply with federal privacy laws, but some parents don't find them necessary. A new survey shows that a surprising amount of totally awesome parents lie to make sure their precious underage snowflake can interact with all the wonderful wholesomeness that Facebook has to offer. More »

An Adorably Precocious Fashion Chat With Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:30:00 EDT

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Last week, Kiernan Shipka made us hanker for the return of Sally Draper with her uncannily good performance as an adult child psychologist. Now she continues to prove that she's simply too much with a feature on Lucky's website in which she shows off eight of her favorite outfits. Though she's only 11, Kiernan is already reading Tavi Gevinson's blog, using terms like "detachable peter pan collar" and "stretchy pant," and saying things like: More »

If Your Parents Loved You, They'd Buy You A Locker Chandelier

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:45:00 EDT

Move over, Silly Bandz; there's a new inscrutable youth fad in town — it's fancy crap designed especially for the inside of lockers. And parents of tweens can't spend money on them quickly enough! More »

A New Way For Eight-Year-Olds To Rouge Their Tender Cheeks

Jenna Sauers — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:17:00 EST

Wal-Mart is replacing the Olsens' tween makeup line with one called GeoGirl, which has an "environmental" theme and is aimed at girls ages 8-12. Tweens spend—or get their parents to spend—around $24 million on cosmetics per year. More »

Need To Know: Who Is Booboo Stewart?

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:06:00 EST

There comes a time in in the Hollywood lifecycle when the grizzled, aging heartthrobs totter away, and the new young whippersnapppers step up. Move over, Taylor Lautner. Hit the road, Justin Bieber. It's Booboo Stewart's turn. More »

A History Of Tween Fashion Icons

Sadie Stein — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:35:00 EDT

New York Magazine talks about the new trend in tween clothes: "adult-girl fashion," in which, inspired by girls like Noah Cyrus and Lourdes Leon, pre-teens dress like tiny women. Which prompted us to look back at tween fashion! More »

Over-40 Actresses Are So Hot Right Now

Irin Carmon — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:00:20 EDT

While W is going for the up-and-comers this September, its bigger peers have discovered a rather different flavor: the Olds. And by old, we mean over 40. How could something like this happen? More »

Sixth-Grade CEO Runs Her Own Dance Bus

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:20:00 EDT

11-year-old Amiya Alexander puts my 6th grade self to shame with her job as a CEO and president of her own company: Amiya's Mobile Dance Academy. Click through to see a video of her traveling dance studio. [CBS] More »

Painted Little Ladies: Moms Help Tweens Apply Their Mascara

Sadie Stein — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:40:00 EDT

What's the modern mom to do when her 11-year-old asks for grown-up makeup? Says the Times, "Mrs. Pometta's first instinct was to send her daughter to her room, but she reconsidered. Instead, she took her for a makeover." More »

Axe, Stridex, And Malibu Musk: Entering Adulthood Through The Drugstore Aisles

Hortense Smith — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:55:00 EST

I was approximately 12 years old when my mother bought me my first stick of deodorant. She gave it to me right before I entered sixth grade, and it was, at the time, the most grown-up product I'd ever owned. More »

"Morbid, Dead-Girl Lit" Is Hott

Sadie Stein — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:20:00 EDT

A look into the minds of teens - who are actually adults thinking like kids, but stay with me - is really, fascinatingly scary: More »

Lindsay's Birthday Cash; Angelina Earns More Than Jen

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EDT

Lindsay Lohan turns 23 tomorrow, but she's allegedly already been paid $70,000 by the MGM Grand for hosting an all-day "pre-celebration" in Las Vegas last Saturday.

The Tweens Tire Of Bratz-Influenced Styles

Hortense Smith — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Tired of the slinky, Bratz-esque fashions that have been shoved upon them over the past decade or so, tweens are finally moving back toward fashionable but age-appropriate clothing. The reasons: Hannah Montana and parental approval. More »

Breaking: The New Dora Has Been Spotted, Described

Sadie Stein — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:30:00 EST

Despite the fact that no one's even seen it, a new, tween Dora the Explorer doll is panicking parents who worry. Mattel won't "reveal" the actual doll, but luckily CNN has a full description. More »

The Birds And The B-List: How Do You Talk To Your Child About Sex Scandals?

Sadie Stein — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:40:00 EST

It seems that when you allow your children to deify young women who have been in show-business since childhood, sometimes these role models disappoint them. Apparently the latest good-girl rep to bite the dust is that of someone named Adrienne Bailon of The Cheetah Girls, who's just had a Hudgens-like incident involving the exposure of "semi-nude" photos. And, as the Daily News tells us, the real question now is: how do you talk to your tween about it? More »

Tampax has announced that it will launch...

Maria — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Tampax has announced that it will launch a group called the "MonthlyGiftClub" (as in a menstrual period is a "monthly gift") for the tween social networking community Stardoll. For those of you over the age of, oh, 13, Stardoll is basically just a really watered-down version of Second Life, where girls can create avatars and join clubs. Anyway, the MonthlyGiftClub will provide members with white clothing (taking a "visual cue" from tampon ads that signal that a brand's products are "safe and absorbent") and members can sign up to receive free samples of Tampax Pearl tampons. Sounds okay, but maybe a better "visual cue" would be to give non-members sweatshirts to wrap around their waists and eventually have one girl run to the locker room in tears after some idiot boys point out spots on her backside? [Brand Week] More »

Cliques Push Brand-Obsessed Teens • Queen Of Hip Hop Soul Starts Foundation For Girls

maria — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:40:00 EDT

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Tween Clique books link popularity/boys with brand name items. Prepare for disappointment, 7th graders of America! • Texas graverobbing teens and one adult make bong out of child's skull. • Professional British wedding planner doesn't believe in marriage. • People spend almost $2,000 a year on "pissed-off purchases," one women suggest couples kiss instead. Uh, okay. • Columnist Kathleen Parker says we should "save the males," oooh because they can lift heavy things? • Reporters without Borders asks Iran nicely to stop harassing "cyber-feminists." • Meanwhile in the Mid-East, Saudi women campaign against inconvenient late-night weddings. • Pro women's boxing comes to Japan. • An antidepressant may help teens with IBS. • Being breast-fed may lower a woman's breast cancer risk. • Penelope Cruz is set to become a stunning blonde. • Mary J. Blige starts foundation to help girls with careers and self-confidence. More »

When Teens Go To Broadway Shows, Broadway Shows Start To Suck

Jennifer — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:30:00 EDT

Move over Noel Coward. And Stephen Sondheim. And Clive James. The most influential Broadway tastemakers today? Tween girls. Yes, the same demographic that drives the success of High School Musical and Hannah Montana is now the directional force in American theatre. With the runaway success of Wicked, which was adopted by adolescent girls as a favorite (despite the fact that it was never marketed to them to begin with), theatre producers are now trying to sell — and re-sell — the oldest, hackneyed, already-seen stories wrapped in some pretty, sparkly (and deceptive) packaging. See: Legally Blonde: The Musical, the number of "American Idol" losers currently having runs on The Great White Way, and the current workshopping of Clueless: The Musical. More »

'Tramps-In-Training' Author Speaks, Dodges Tween Bullets

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:30:00 EDT

Yesterday, we told you about one mom's struggle with finding appropriate clothing for her 11-year-old daughter, since so much of the fashion in stores seems to be aimed at "tramps-in-training." The Slate piece started a huge discussion on their message boards (and with our own Jezebel commenters!) Later, the writer, Emily Yoffe, went online to take readers' questions. Some highlights, from the transcript: One mother writes:

I have an almost 10 year old who has been eyeing those push-up bras. Somehow the matching bra/undie and panties set will no longer do in her mind. I have caught her in the mirror squeezing her "buds" together commenting that they are growing. We are definitely in scary territory.

Britney Spears & Jon-Benet Weren't Born In Inappropriate Outfits, You Know

Jennifer — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:30:59 EDT

Back in the day when we were kids, we wore stirrup stretch pants and Keds. Also? The word "tween" did not exist. Kids nowadays? Well, apparently there is no such thing as a "kid" nowadays, insists the Arizona Republic. As if shopping for a teen or tween wasn't difficult enough, now there's a new category: the pre-tween.

Yes, a child goes directly from toddler to pre-tween, skipping the 'plain old kid' level altogether.

In addition, the newspaper complains, the options in stores for this age-group are borderline-inappropriate, like the "white, crocheted string bikini you'd likely see Anna Kournikova wearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue" from GapKids. (Marketed, naturally, for a 12-month-old.) More »