Rebecca Hains


Professional Details

Title Professor
Department Media and Communication
Office Classroom Building 132
Phone 978.542.7411
Email rebecca.hains@salemstate.edu
Resume Rebecca Hains
Photo of Rebecca Hains

Recent and Upcoming Courses

MCO 222 How Advertising Works
MCO 303 Media and Race
MCO 304 Mass Media and Society
MCO 333 U.s. Media History
MCO 475 Critical Analysis of Media and Culture
MCO 499 Senior Portfolio
MCO 500 Directed Study in Media & Communications
MCO 505 Internship in Media & Communication
MCO 510 Experiential Learning in Advertising and Public Relations

Professional Biography

Ph.D., Mass Media and Communication, Temple University (2007)
Graduate Certificate, Women's Studies, Temple University (2007)
M.S., Mass Communication, Boston University (2000)
B.A., English/Communication Arts, Emmanuel College (1998)

Dr. Rebecca Hains is a professor of media and communication with an expertise in children's media culture. Her research focuses on girls, children, media, and marketing from an intersectional, critical/cultural studies perspective, with special attention to representational politics and identity construction. She is frequently cited in the news media on these subjects, including recent interviews with the BBC, the Boston Globe, Fortune, NPR, The New York Post, and The New York Times.

Hains’ book The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls through the Princess-Obsessed Years (Sourcebooks, 2014) critiques princess culture's consumerism and its stereotypical portrayals of gender, race, and beauty. Grounded in scholarly research on media and child development, media literacy, and parental mediation, The Princess Problem equips parents with proactive skills, such as setting limits on media use and coaching children to develop strong critical thinking and critical viewing skills. This accessible, general-audience book draws upon a wealth of qualitative data, including interviews with dozens of parents, educators, former Disney employees, birthday party princesses, and participatory and observation-based field research.

In Growing Up With Girl Power: Girlhood On Screen and in Everyday Life (Peter Lang Press, 2012), Hains presents a critical history of a precursor to princess culture: the girl power phenomenon. In Growing Up With Girl Power, Hains examines the meanings young girls derived from girl power's pop culture forms, from the riot grrrls to the Spice Girls to The Powerpuff Girls. Drawing upon more than a year of field work in public school and after-school child-care settings, as well as retrospective interviews with college women, Hains considers how girls have interpreted girl power's messages about female empowerment, girlhood, strength, femininity, race, and more. Hains' analysis suggests that commercialized girl power had both strengths and limitations surrounding issues of preadolescent body image, gender identity, sexism, and racism.

Hains has also published three edited collections on the subject of children’s culture. Relevant to her interest in princesses as a popular culture force, Hains co-edited an anthology called Princess Cultures: Mediating Girls’ Imaginations and Identities (Peter Lang Press, 2015, with Miriam Forman-Brunell), contributing a chapter exploring how women who participate in the performance and production of princess culture negotiate feminism, gender, and race as part of this labor.  

Building on her previous analyses of children’s engagement with media-oriented material culture, Hains also co-edited two volumes on children’s toys and media. Cultural Studies of LEGO: More Than Just Bricks (Palgrave, 2019, with Sharon Mazzarella) interrogates the LEGO brand’s myriad offerings, from movies to play sets and novelizations; to this volume, Hains contributed a chapter on how girls negotiate LEGO toys' gender-based marketing. This area of inquiry is expanded upon in The Marketing of Children’s Toys: Critical Perspectives on Children’s Consumer Culture (2021, with Nancy Jennings), which examines the marketing discourses surrounding a wide range of toys, brands, and product categories, including Hains' chapter on the emphasis on “Curvy” Barbie in Mattel’s Fashionista Barbie launch.

    Professional Interests

    Hains has published essays on various topics peer-reviewed journals and scholarly anthologies, including:

    • women's recollections about their childhood media use in The Journal of Communication Inquiry, The Journal of Radio and Audio MediaWomen's Studies in Communication, and the anthology Mediated girlhoods: New explorations of girls’ media culture (ed. Kearney);
    • the representation and marketing of girl heroes and girl power in Popular Music and Society, Women's Studies in Communication, Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Popular Communication, Femspec, and the anthologies Women in popular culture: Representation and meaning (ed. Meyers) and Geek chic: Smart women in popular culture (ed. Inness);
    • cross-demographic fandoms in Popular Communicatioand Feminist Media Studies; and
    • what children learn about gender from the media in 20 Questions about Youth and the Media (2nd edition, ed. Mazzarella and Jennings) and Beyond the Stereotypes? Images of Boys and Girls, and their Consequences (ed. Lemish and Gotz). 

    Hains has also written articles about media culture for publications including The Boston Globe Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Washington Post.

    On screen, Hains was featured in a double-segment of The Meredith Vieira Show and was the primary interviewee of the ARTE documentary Pink Attitude: Princesses, Pop Stars, and Girl Power.

    See also:

    RebeccaHains.com

    Rebecca's Blog

    Rebecca’s Academia.edu page

    Rebecca’s Google Scholar page

    Responsibilities

    • Professor of Media and Communication
    • Vice Chair, Academic Policies Committee

    Selected Publications

    Books

    Hains, R. C. and Jennings, N., editors (2021). The Marketing of Children’s Toys: Critical Perspectives on Children’s Consumer Culture. Palgrave.

    Hains, R. C. and Mazzarella, S. R., editors (2019). Cultural Studies of LEGO: More Than Just Bricks. Palgrave.

    Forman-Brunell, M., and Hains, R.C., editors. (2015). Princess Cultures: Mediating Girls’ Imaginations and Identities. Peter Lang. 

    Hains, R. C. (2014). The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls Through the Princess-Obsessed Years. Sourcebooks.

    Hains, R.C. (2012). Growing Up with Girl Power: Girlhood On Screen and in Everyday Life. Peter Lang. 

    Refereed Journal Articles

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2021). “I’m just here to enjoy the Ponies”: My Little Pony, Bronies and the limits of feminist intent. Popular Communication. 

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2018). Discriminating taste: Maintaining gendered social hierarchy in a cross-demographic fandom. Feminist Media Studies.

    Hains, R. C. (2014). The significance of chronology in commodity feminism: Audience interpretations of girl power music. Popular Music and Society, 37(1), 33-47.

    Thiel-Stern, S., Mazzarella, S. R., and Hains, R. C. (2014). “We didn’t have adventures like that”: The lure of adventure stories and courageous females for girls growing up in the United States during the Mid-Twentieth Century. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 38(2), 131-148.

    Mazzarella, S. M., Hains, R. C., and Thiel-Stern, S. (2013). Girlhoods in the golden age of U.S. radio: Music, shared popular culture, and memory. Journal of Radio and Audio Media, 20(1), 117-133.

    Hains, R. C. (2012). An afternoon of productive play with problematic dolls: The importance of foregrounding children’s voices in research. Girlhood Studies, 5(1), 121-140.

    Thiel-Stern, S., Hains, R. C., and Mazzarella, S. R. (2011). Growing up white and female during the American Great Depression: Popular communication, media, and memory. Women’s Studies in Communication, 24(2): 161-182.

    Hains, R. C. (2009). Power feminism, mediated: Girl power and the commercial politics of changeWomen’s Studies in Communication, 32(1), 89-113.

    Hains, R. C. (2008). The origins of the girl hero: Shirley Temple, child star and commodity. Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal1(1), 60-80.

    Hains, R. C. (2007). Inventing the teenage girl: The construction of female identity in Nickelodeon’s My Life as a Teenage RobotPopular Communication, 5(3), 191-213.

    Hains, R. C. (2004). The problematics of reclaiming the girlish: The Powerpuff Girls and girl power. Femspec, 5(2), 1-39.

    Book Chapters

    Hains, R. C. (2021). The politics of Barbie’s curvy new body: Marketing Mattel’s “Fashionista” line. In R. C. Hains and N. Jennings (Eds.) The Marketing of Children’s Toys: Critical Perspectives on Children’s Consumer Culture. Palgrave.

    Hains, R. C. (2020). “Being a female public intellectual in the age of social media: Navigating backlash, mansplainers, and trolls.” In C. Carter Olson and T. Everbach (Eds.) Testing Tolerance and Tough Topics in the College Classroom and on Campus. Rowman & Littlefield. 

    Hains, R. C. and Shewmaker, J. W. (2019). “I just don’t really, like, connect to it”: How girls negotiate LEGO’s gender-marketed toys. In R. C. Hains and S. R. Mazzarella (Eds.) Cultural Studies of LEGO: More Than Just Bricks. Palgrave, 247-269.

    Hains, R. C., and Hunting, K. (2018). "What do the media teach kids about gender?" In N. A. Jennings & S. R. Mazzarella (Eds.) 20 Questions about Youth and the Media (2nd ed.).  Peter Lang.

    Beck, S. L., Hains, R. C., and Johnson, C. R. (2017). "'PAL can just be themself': Children in the US respond to Annedroids' genderless TV character." In D. Lemish and M. Gotz (Eds.) Beyond the Stereotypes? Images of Boys and Girls, and their Consequences. Göteborg: Nordicom, 225-236.

    Hains, R. C. (2015). “If I were a Belle: Performers’ negotiations of feminism, gender, and race in princess culture.” In M. Forman-Brunell and R. C. Hains (Eds.) Princess cultures: Mediating Girls’ Identities and Imaginations. Peter Lang.

    Hains, R. C., Thiel-Stern, S., & Mazzarella, S. R. (2011). “We didn’t have any Hannah Montanas”: Girlhood, popular culture, and mass media in the 1940s and 1950s. In M. C. Kearney (Ed.) Mediated girlhoods: New explorations of girls’ media culture. Peter Lang, 113-132.

    Hains, R. C. (2008). Power(puff) feminism: The Powerpuff Girls as a site of strength and collective action in the third wave. In M. Meyers (Ed.) Women in popular culture: Representation and meaning.  Hampton Press, 211-235.

    Selected Presentations

    Hains, R. C. and Hunting, K. (2021, May 27-31). Gender, COVID-19, and the media: Girls’ and boys’ experiences during the pandemic. Paper presented as part of the Children, Adolescents and Media division panel, “Children and Media Around the World in a Pandemic: Diversity and Equity Challenges” at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, Virtual Conference. 

    Dickstein-Fischer, L. and Hains, R. C. (2019, November 10). Children, gender stereotypes, and career counseling.  Northeast Regional Media Literacy Conference, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI.

    Hains, R. C. (2019, May 28). The Politics of Barbie’s Curvy New Body: Marketing Mattel’s “Fashionista” Line.  International Communication Association in Washington, DC.

    Hains, R. C. (2018, August 7). Panelist on Trigger warnings, trolls and mansplainers: Testing our tolerance. Teaching panel sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women and co-sponsored by the Cultural and Critical Studies Division at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Mass Communication and Journalism in Washington, DC.

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2017, November 19). When men watch girls’ television: My Little Pony, Bronies, and the limits of feminist intent. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association, Dallas, TX.

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2017, May 27). If adults watch it, “Its Gotta Be Good”: Traditional taste hierarchies in the Brony fandom. International Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

    Hains, R. C., and Ostrow, C. (2017, August 9). Toy Marketing and Gender Stereotypes: A Critical Content Analysis of 40 Children's Retail Web Sites. Association for Education in Mass Communication and Journalism in Chicago, IL.

    Shewmaker, J. and Hains, R. C. (2016, August 7). Gendered marketing and promotion of stereotypes in girls aged 8-11 years.  Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

    Hains, R. C. (2012, August 10). If I were a Belle: Performers’ negotiations of feminism, gender, and race in princess culture. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL.

    Mazzarella, S. M.; Hains, R. C.; and Thiel-Stern, S. (2012, August 9). Girlhoods in the golden age of U.S. radio: Music, shared popular culture, and memory. Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL.

    Avila-Saavedra, G.; Hains, R. C.; & Cook, J. P (2011, May 28). Being a multicultural American girl: Popular communication, identity, and femininity in preadolescence. International Communication Association, Boston, MA.

    Thiel-Stern, S.; Hains, R. C.; & Mazzarella, S. M. (2011, May 29). Growing up white and female during the American Great Depression: Popular communication, media, and memory.  International Communication Association, Boston, MA.

    Hains, R. C., and Cook, J. P. (2010, August 4). Girls between cultures: Media and multicultural identity negotiation in pre-adolescent girls. Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, Denver, CO.

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2017, November 19). When men watch girls’ television: My Little Pony, Bronies, and the limits of feminist intent. National Communication Association, Dallas, TX.

    Hunting, K. and Hains, R. C. (2017, May 27). If adults watch it, “Its Gotta Be Good”: Traditional taste hierarchies in the Brony fandom. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

    Hains, R. C., and Ostrow, C. (2017, August 9). Toy Marketing and Gender Stereotypes: A Critical Content Analysis of 40 Children's Retail Web Sites. Paper presented as part of Cultural and Critical Studies Division panel “Beyond Princess Culture: The Gendered Marketing of Children’s Products." Association for Education in Mass Communication and Journalism in Chicago, IL.

    Shewmaker, J. and Hains, R. C. (2016, August 7). Gendered marketing and promotion of stereotypes in girls aged 8-11  American Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

    Hains, R. C. (2012, August 10). If I were a Belle: Performers’ negotiations of feminism, gender, and race in princess culture.   Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL.

    Mazzarella, S. M.; Hains, R. C.; and Thiel-Stern, S. (2012, August 9). Girlhoods in the golden age of U.S. radio: Music, shared popular culture, and memory.  Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL.

    Avila-Saavedra, G.; Hains, R. C.; & Cook, J. P (2011, May 28). Being a multicultural American girl: Popular communication, identity, and femininity in preadolescence. International Communication Association, Boston, MA.

    Personal Interests

    SPECIAL CONFERENCES

    2014

    White House Council on Women and Girls: White House Research Conference on Girls (April 28, 2014)
    Washington, DC

    Invitation-only conference with policy makers, leaders of girl-serving organizations, business leaders, and others to discuss improving public access to important research about girls’ lives and issues. 

    2013

    Day of the Girl “Girls Speak Out” Conference: Innovating for Girls' Education. Sponsored by the Working Group on Girls (October 11, 2013)
    United Nations, NY                                                        

    Hains attended the Girls Speak Out conference at the United Nations by invitation of the Brave Girls Alliance. The conference focused on global girls’ commitment to girls’ education and to improving their communities and was sponsored by the Working Group on Girls, an NGO Committee of the United Nations, which promotes the human rights of the girl child in all areas and stages of her life.