Open her mind. Expand her horizons.

In my book Feel Good, Girl!, I have an exercise called Mind Twisters where I challenge the girls to look at everyday things in a different light. For example, the concept that "pink is for girls" and "blue is for boys" is generally accepted by most people. But why are we so quick to conform to the pink/blue rule?

My daughter loves blue and has lots of blue elements in her room. When she brings new friends over to visit someone is guaranteed to ask, Is this your brother's room?.

And don't let a little boy get caught wearing a pink shirt or hat. In certain places he could be teased right off the playground. That's a lot of power for a color, no?

The way we view other people is another area that can be twisted up a bit. How much do our perceptions of people who look or act a certain way, impact how we feel about them? For example.

But my favorite twist-able topics cover the areas of gender cues and sexism.

Mind Twisters are a great way to get girls (and adults) thinking about the unwritten rules in society and the ways that we conform to them ... for better or for worse.

I recently came across a site with a huge collection of thought provoking images that definitely qualify as Mind Twisters. Sociological Images is a blog on the website for Contexts, a magazine published by the American Sociological Association. It features a collection of images (taken from magazines, television, videos,and even store shelves) and commentary that encourage a deeper look at our societal norms from marketing to beauty standards, to the way toys are sold.

SO interesting. I'm hooked!

Illustrations courtesy of Feel Good, Girl!