The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Morgan Wilson

A boy playing dress-up. A girl playing with toy trucks. Common gender expectations are swapped, but why does this seem so strange to society?

When a child asks for a toy that “isn’t for them,” such as a boy wanting a Barbie doll, parents often say “no” because the toy is gender inappropriate. But they don’t realize that they’re denying much more than just a toy.

I remember when a friend of my mom’s criticized my nephew for pushing a stroller with a baby doll in it. My mom stuck up for him and said that it was okay because he was just a kid.

When I was younger, I was repeatedly told that “boys don’t cry,” even once when my finger had been cut open. It made me feel like my feelings were invalid, and even today I try not to show any emotion when I get hurt.

Children should be allowed to be who they want without being measured against gender stereotypes. If parents want to support their kids, they should support their kids’ choices of identity.
For Youth Radio, I’m Morgan Wilson.

Two million children are bought and sold worldwide for sex. In the United States alone, between 100,000 to 300,000 children are commercially sexually exploited and sold. But despite the number being so high, many people are unaware of this issue, or simply choose to avoid it.

Rachel Lloyd, anti-sex trafficking advocate, has been fighting to educate people on the sexual abuse of minors for over 10 years. Lloyd decided to tackle this issue - after she was commercially exploited as a minor by a pimp - by founding Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), the only non-profit organization in New York City that provides support for girls - some as young as 11 - who were victimized by the commercial sex industry.

Lloyd recently released a book titled “Girls Like Us”, which includes stories about her rough childhood in England, her own experiences with the commercial sex industry, and the stories of other young girls she has encountered through her organization GEMS.

The inspiration for this book stems from the frustration of constantly hearing people refer to girls as prostitutes, when they’re not. “I was continuously saying the same thing over and over again. They're victims, it’s not their fault; they didn’t choose this… and so kind of just wanting to put that all in one place and try to really change people’s perception of girls like us. “

Lloyd was 17-years-old when her so-called boyfriend sold her for sex and repeatedly abused her.

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Morgan Wilson

As someone who’s faced a lot of bullying, I can tell you that the emotional bruises hurt worse than anything else.

During recess in elementary school, I would step onto the blacktop and hear words like “crybaby” thrown my way. The name calling and bullying continued until the beginning of high school, with few consequences for the bullies.

In the fifth grade, I hit a girl who had teased me, instead of reporting the incident. She and I were suspended for fighting, and I soon regretted what I did.

I learned that putting my hands on someone, even if just a thump on the head, would get me in trouble. Yet with emotional or psychological violence, almost no one is punished because the abuse usually goes unnoticed. Even when psychological abuse is reported, it’s rarely taken seriously.

Emotional bullies should live with the fear of getting in trouble. They need to be reported, acknowledged, and disciplined, before the victims harm themselves or others.

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The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By Rynesha Snowden

When I hear the word mother I think about a person being there, listening, and showing her children she loves them. Talking to my mom was never an option because the bond wasn’t there, she never showed affection. I didn’t know if she loved me or not because she never said it. I couldn’t bear to let Muffin experience any of that.

Muffin is my two-year-old cousin. Her real name is Jah’leah. Her mama had her young - at the age of 13. I knew her mama wasn’t ready for a baby, but her mind was set. She used to say “I’m having this baby for me.” And I’d say, “but can you handle taking care of this baby?” “Yeah I can.” I couldn’t talk her out of it, so all I could do was be there for her, and for Muffin.

For the past few months, I’ve been caring part-time for Muffin, because I’m able to provide her with things she can’t get at home. In my house there’s more discipline. I don’t let her throw tantrums, yell at me, or make demands. She’s the child and I make sure she understands I’m the adult.

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Sayre Quevedo

My friends say that even though I’m gay, I don’t act it. But lately I’ve been wondering: what does that even mean?

When I walk through the Castro in San Francisco I can see that there are a lot of different types of gay people. Some of are effeminate, some are macho, some look like they just rolled out of bed while others look like they spent hours choosing their outfits. So, how can people say that I don’t ‘seem’ gay when there are so many different people out there?

I’m not particularly into fashion and don’t act flamboyantly so I guess I don’t fit the mold of what people think of as typically gay. I’m not particularly offended when people tell me that I seem straight but it does confuse me. It feels like they’re telling me that my sexuality is an act as opposed to just a part of who I am.

I don’t expect these stereotypes to change overnight but I do hope that by just being myself I can show that there is more to a person than their sexuality, no acting involved.

Previously:

• Quitting Football and Falling In Love
• When Is Ambition Dangerous
• Marijuana Education

By: Rod and Rasam Aminzadeh

There are a lot of programs in the Fillmore district that support youth, children with their families. Sharol Davis is the director of one of those programs, "Mo-Magic". Mo-Magic is a non-profit organization that provides many programs like child improvement, field trips, science activities, and etc for children and youth. Davis's job is to make sure those programs fullfill the needs of the people in the Fillmore community.

Ms. Davis says Mo-Magic's summer programs aren't only for youth and children but it's for all ages. She said, "We do a lot of different things; we give them programs as individual children’s books. We provide an art teacher and a reading teacher, science activities, field trips, we help organize the transportation." Ms. Davis added, "We make just a lot of opportunities to get out and be active and stay busy during this summer and keep your mind growing."

Providing all of these progroms can help empower the community but if teens aren't willing to participate then it's waste of time."If they don’t do it, it’s just waste of money. It’s important to talk to the young people and do things that they want to do," Davis said. "The Young people are everything. It’s all about the young people,"Davis said.

One of their important goal is developing relationships between youths and their families. In order to reach that goal they are working together with various organizations like the Boys and Girls club, YMCA, Booker T. Washington, and the Cultural Center.

Sharol Davis is looking forward to see a couple of things in the future, "I would love to see like a youth court or teen court in the neighborhood where young people are actually helping solve issues in their community." She added, "I love to do more work with a neighborhood youth counsel where youth can come together and do more problems solving before the bad things happen."

Davis dreams that one day youths and kids will be in Booker T. Washington or somewhere else in that area and have their own radio show or TV show so they can talk about what's going on in San Francisco.

The Cool Kids bring out the slap for their performance at the Afro Punk Festival in Brooklyn. But the best part of this video is watching the behind the scene glides from the top of  Damon Dash's crib. A great look at a day in life of some of today's best hip hop acts. Funniest line in the whole video: 'New York Cabs, get your shit together."

Shout out to Creative Control

By: Zenobia West

Last month in Antioch, a seven-month old baby died after being left in her parents’ car for twelve hours. I don’t know whether to feel bad for the baby, or for the parents.

I was raised by over-protective parents who came into my room at all hours of the night to see if I was asleep. Which makes me think all parents should know where their kids are.

But I know it’s not always that easy. One time I left my little cousin at school and I didn’t realize it until I got all the way home. When I got back, there was my three year old cousin waiting alone in the park.

I know what it’s like to mess up especially after a long day. The parents of the baby in Antioch were getting home late after doing laundry and they were tired. The couple worked two jobs each, and juggled taking care of two kids.

Many people think parenting is part of human nature and that everyone should know how to do it. But not enough people grow up with good parents who teach us how to do it right.

Previously:

• Beauty Amidst Chaos
• Traditional Food is Local Food
• Senioritis Going Viral

Everybody and their mama has seen the classic film Scarface, right? Now, thanks to Lady Gaga’s video director, we have an elementary interpretation of Scarface. Marc Klasfeld remade the infamous “Say hello to my little friend” scene with an elementary--school aged cast. The scene was performed in front of cast family members, colleagues and friends.

The kids remake consists of blow-up palm trees, water guns, popcorn representing cocaine, and the classic wardrobes.
 

At least the director change the "F" word to "fudging"-- But why couldn't Klasfeld have them remake someting more age appropriate?

(via Popeater and TMZ)

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