If you go into a bathroom and see a sticky note on the mirror that says, “Great Thighs!” … you’re not on Candid Camera… you’re a part of Operation Beautiful.  I love this… girls and women are posting anonymous “You Are Beautiful” kinda notes in public places for others to find.  And here’s the best part…  I learned about it from a 12-year-old girl from Florida:

On July 1, 2009, she wrote:  Okay, so has anyone else heard of a project called Operation Beautiful? A lady named Caitlin organized it to eliminate all of the “Fat Talk” in the world. Basically, women and girls everywhere are leaving postive sticky notes and other pieces of paper with messages along the lines of “You are Beautiful.” If you go to the official website, operationbeautiful.com, there are daily updatees of pictures people have emailed Caitlin of the notes they posted. I myself woke up early and ran down to the community pool, to be the first one there. I even made it before the lifeguard : I left a message on the gate into the pool area that said “You areBeautiful” and two in the Ladies Room that said “Yes, You look GREAT in that suit” and “True beauty comes from your smile, not your hips” This project has really inspired me because when your a tween, who doesnt care about their body image? These notes remind you that there is no pressure to be anyone other than the already beautiful you I felt that posting notes at the pool was a good way to start because honestly, who doesnt feel at least a little self concious in a bikini? Well, get out there and start posting sticky notes, girls!

via I<3TaylorLautners Page – AllyKatzz.com.

Her July 2 post:  i went back to the pool today again and to notes on the mirror had been taken down, but the one over the sink in the handicapped stall was still up! my favorite note i posted is the picture!!! i’m so inspired by this so get posting girls!!!”  

The note reads: “To Kennedy’s teacher: Please excuse Kennedy’s absence. She’s with me. Barack Obama.”

Kennedy is a 10-year-old girl who skipped her last day of school to go with her dad to see President Obama at a town hall meeting in Green Bay.

[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY9793NCGxI]

I get it, President Obama has important things to do. But here’s why I posted this video… It would have been very easy for him to just answer the dad’s question and pay zero attention to the 10-year-old girl. But he didn’t ignore her… he paid attention to her. And in a world where many tween girls feel forgotten or lost, I think this is great. Maybe it’s a political play. Maybe it’s because he’s the dad of tween girls and knows how important it is to pay attention to our youth. Being the forever optimist that I am, I’m going for Door #2. I know I may be disappointed, but I’ll deal with it if and when that time comes.

The first ever National Tween Girl Summit will be held in Washington, DC on October 10, 2009.  300 girls, ages 9-14,  will have a platform – their platform -  to speak up and be heard.  If you think Jonas Brothers, clothes and boys are the only things that are important to tween girls, think again.  We asked tween girls what they want to cover at the Summit… what they have to say isn’t kid stuff:

“We should do stuff like global warming, going green, teen pregnancy, the economy these days.. Gay rights, drugs being forced or peer pressure, bullying, homelessness…”

“I think it’s important that all of us girls come together to help the world because when we grow up, we are going to have jobs, and take care of our elders.  And if we don’t do something now, then earth will be polluted, starvation won’t get any better, and it will be too late.”

“community service… abuse… teen pregnancy…”

“We need to empower girls all over the world… At school, in malls, at home… everywhere there are girls who are put down for just being girls.  That is unfair and unjust.”

“We want to let you know what we think about growing up as an American girl in 2009.  Stuff we worry about may shock you.  Everything from the environment, to personal appearance, to education, the economy and mostly our future.  What will it be like when we’re the adults?

“We should talk about how teens get left out of history!  We can’t make any decisions for our country!  We should be able to have some opinion about global warming!  Also I think we should talk about how innocent children in America have to live in SERIOUS poverty because of the economy!  How we have to live horribly just because our dads or moms got laid off!  Also the poor animals – we should get systems that help even more than now!”

“How the economy is struggling – in our point of view, of course. You should also speak about having more programs that offer a discount for extra-curricular school activities.  I know a lot of my friends had to quit, or are in danger of quitting rewarding and fulfilling activities because they cost too much money, and the really sad part is, they’re all very talented.

“We need to talk about education.  Mainly testing and the presure we face everyday.  I think we should voice our opinion of Iraq and Afghanistan… As well as our opinion on minoor issues (in comparison) such as driving limits, the legal drinking age, drugs and the pressures tweens/teens have to face these days… Most adults don’t think we have much of an opinion when it comes to politics… I don’t see a difference between democrats and republicans… I see Americans.”

Is oral sex for tween-teen girls becoming as benign and as acceptable as kissing?  According to a new book and documentary by Sharlene Azam, the answer is yes.

Middle-class Canadian girls are giving oral sex after school to pay for sweaters and handbags.

Worlds away from the poverty, neglect and drug abuse that are the hallmarks of prostitution, teenagers who appear bright and well- adjusted are prostituting themselves without batting an eyelash.

For some in Azam’s film, this ultimately leads to payment for sex because, after all, if they are doing it anyway, why not get paid for it?

via TheStar.com | News & Features | Oral sex no longer a big deal, teen girls say.

I do not believe (and neither does Azam) that all girls are giving oral sex in return for cash.  But connect the dots: Rainbow parties are becoming more mainstream for tween-teen girls… girls are seeing sex every day on TV (if you are a parent who wants to believe that you know what your daughter is doing 24/7, reality is that you do not)…  boys download pornography on their cellphones – gives an extra boost to hormones already gone wild… low self-esteem is a major problem for girls… boy approval is huge… tween-teen girls are sending, receiving and posting sexy messages and photos to their friends via cell and social networking sites… girls want extra cash to buy cute clothes… economy isn’t giving them the extra cash they need.    It’s a perfect storm for girls selling sex.

See the Video.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Kris, America’s newest idol, is one singing sensation tween girls are NOT totally responsible for.  According to tween girls on AllyKatzz.com…Before the Idol finale,  girls ages 9-15 cast their votes and gave us their pulse-check:   39% said Adam. 24% said Kris. I wasn’t surprised when I saw those numbers because tween girls will follow the leader… and in the case of Idol, the leader they were all buzzing about was Adam. But while Idol is gloating about the record breaking number of votes… here’s something they need to think about… in the same pulse-check report, 36% said they aren’t watching Idol this season. That’s more shocking than Kris winning.