It was inevitable that Madonna‘s eldest, Lourdes Ciccone Leon, would be a style icon by the time she became a teenager. Well, now we know what’s in the closet of the 13-year-old celebuspawn, thanks to the tell-tale red soles of Christian Louboutin shoes, which tend to retail at about $600 per pair. Here, Lourdes was recently spotted wearing a pair of these must-have studded flats. Of course, the children of celebrities are naturally predisposed to be well-dressed in luxury goods, and they’re some damn lucky kids. But for the rest of the “normal” world, at what age should girls be allowed to wear high-end designer labels? It seems like more and more, there’s a growing culture of teens and pre-teens who are just really, really well-dressed. Honestly, it does make us a little jealous. When we were 13 years old, we would have given anything to live in Cher Horowitz’s closet. How old were you when you started wearing more high-end goods? At what age is it appropriate (if any) for the younger set to start sporting Louboutins, Chanel purses, or whatever happens to be hot these days on Shopbop? [Style Frizz]

Gossip is to high school as dry kindling is to fire—it doesn’t take much for things to get heated. And now with technology and the internet, we can only imagine that it’s like throwing kerosene on the blaze thanks to IM, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. That’s where ThatsNotCool.com steps in, a rad website for teens looking for help with uncomfortable online disrespect or textual harassment. In the mix: videos of “Crank Yankers”-type puppets considering questions like, “What should I should I do if my girlfriend texts too much?” and “My boyfriend keeps asking for nude photos, what should I do?”

Uh ... OK, so maybe we’re reading That’s Not Cool because we have the same issues, too. We’re especially loving on the Callout Cards section which features cheeky sendables, à la Someecards style, with phrases like, “Now that you’ve violated my e-mail account, I won’t feel bad dumping you,” and “You must be proud to have nothing to do but IM me all day.” Like, yeah. [ThatsNotCool.com]

As a former high school teacher, I know intimately how unpredictable the behavior of a human teenager can be. I’d often bang my head against my classroom door half laughing, half crying, at the end of a long day. No age group could make me so amused, excited, and utterly frustrated all at the same time. One minute my students and I would joke and converse like adults and I would marvel at their creativity, depth, and humor. Five minutes later I’d have to confiscate 20 bags of Fire Hot Cheetos and scold them for smearing dirty fingers all over my classroom walls like three-year-olds.  In short, those dang teenagers are a mystery. But did you know that in addition to being a behavioral anomaly, teenagers are also a scientific one?

I found this report so disturbing that during our daily meeting here at Frisky Headquarters, when everyone clamored for more info on the whys and the hows, I protested. According to this news story, teens in Phoenix, Arizona are doing some things so disturbing I’m putting them after the jump.

Remember those drunk driving PSAs we were forced to watch in Driver’s Ed? The plot was usually the same—a friend is at the funeral of a friend who was killed in a drunk driving accident and then we see a totaled car wrapped around a pole. While these were always a bit on the cheeseball side, they had the intended effect: to instill a healthy dose of fear into the hearts and minds of reckless, invincible, idiotic teens. Well, apparently we need to terrify, not just scare, the teens of today. This British PSA, which warns about texting while driving, is hands down the scariest, most graphic video I have seen in my life. In the first 30 seconds, there is a gory accident complete with necks snapping, blood flowing, glass shattering. I don’t want to spoil the end—but almost everyone dies. If you ask me, this is really taking it too far. The point of a PSA is to discourage the teens, not to give them vicarious post-traumatic stress disorder. Save the horror for horror films, please. [BuzzFeed]

Aww, F-Bomb, a new blog about feminism for teenaged girls, is like a baby Feministing! Hooray for Julie Zeilinger, a teenager from Pepper Pike, Ohio, who has her s**t together, her fingers on the keyboard and her heart in the right place.

Julie’s interview with Gloria Steinem and her smartypants post on the feminism in Lily Allen‘s lyrics have us totally convinced we’ve found our next intern! [F-Bomb]

After school was never this cool for us: We Are Photogirls, a London-based creative institute for teenage girls, shows youngsters everything they’d ever want to know about fashion photography, from styling and makeup to technical details and art direction. Students end up learning life skills through workshops, shooting a “Mutual-Respect Calendar” between teen boys and girls, and a “Fashion Shoot Battle” between youth groups. The results are stunning and professional—nothing we ever snapped with our Kodak disposables. And while the fashion world can be a treacherous place for self-respect, Photogirls aims to project a wholesome image: According to their site, “At We Are Photogirls we strongly believe that being beautiful is not about being a 6ft tall, size-zero model; rather that everyone has a unique style and beauty that should be encouraged and celebrated!” That’s cool. [WeArePhotoGirls.com]

Teen Vogue got the scoop on the latest from Marc Jacobs: Everybody’s favorite desginer is launching a moderately priced bridge collection in August called “Don’t Miss The Marc.” The small line includes some solid pieces like pleated denim skirts, three-button blazers, and some loud (but ‘80s-trendy) t-shirts. The rest of the goods look to be targeting a younger audience via wacky leggings and cartoon-y tees. It would seem that Marc is heading in that direction, by giving a teen publication the first look, and pricing everything under $200. Yet, is the low(er) price point enough to capture a younger audience?

Ahh…to be young again. Not that we’re old here at The Frisky, but recently we’ve been wishing we were back in high school, and it has nothing to do with the wars between the popular kids, acne, or peer pressure. Rather, now more than ever, teens are making headlines for being awesome. While we were awesome teenagers (“awesome” as in “slightly weird, awkward, smart kids who turned out better”), we’d kill to go back and use the Internet to promote our talents. Like these kids, who have already made names for themselves as bloggers, writers, and chefs. Jealous? Obvi.

After the jump, the teens we’re most envious of (and our predictions for their futures), and the ones who can suck it.

Is this what 15 looks like these days? The other day, I came across this post on Fashion Copious, one of my favorite fashion blogs. It was titled: “The Lips! & The Sphere Of Her Stomach.” Its subject is Lindsay Wixson, a bee-stung-lipped, baby-faced, up-and-coming model who could be the Next Big Thing. She’s 5’10” (or 5’11”, depending on the site). She has blond hair and blue-green eyes. And she’s 15. I was kind of, well, astonished. To call her precocious would be a bit of an understatement. She looks both very young and very mature at the same time. Which made me wonder: Is this what 15 looks like in 2009? Anyway, is it just me, or do you, too, think 15 is looking very grownup, indeed? [Fashion Copious]

Slated to premiere later this month, Bravo’s “NYC Prep” is already stirring up drama off the airwaves. And modeled as a reality “Gossip Girl,” it’s easy to see why—the preview episode checks off just about every controversy box, from underage drinking caught on camera to bitchy admissions about wealth and sex. Just how long did everyone think this would last before the slew of legal headaches presented themselves? The head of Nightingale-Bamford, an all-girls school where one of the show’s characters is enrolled, has already sent a letter to parents and alums criticizing the exposure. Time Out published the letter in full, but here are a few excerpts…

Parents! Lock your teenagers in their rooms! Especially the girls! “Good Morning America” has discovered that blow jobs are the new goodnight kiss! All across the country, teenagers are giving head and having sex parties! It’s not just the Catholic high schoolers (who are having anal sex in order to maintain their chastity) we need to pray for—it’s every single pubescent teen who’s figured out that you can have sex using just your mouth!

Sigh. Yet another morning show segment designed to scare the crap out of parents by declaring a “new” trend that’s taking our nation’s youth on downward spiral towards hell. Teens having oral sex—is it really so new? I was a late bloomer so I didn’t give my first beej until I was 19 (in a stairwell at a bar!), but what about other 20 and 30-something women? Their teenage oral sexploits, after the jump…

The country is up in arms over teenagers shamelessly groping each other, or, as some like to call it, “hugging.” The New York Times reported today that hugging is the new teenage greeting of choice. “The high-five is, like, boring,” says Katie Dea, an eighth grader in San Francisco. Hence, the hug.

“There is the basic friend hug, the bear hug, the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out. There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace. There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once. ‘We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug,’” said Danny Schneider, a junior, in The New York Times

Straight males embracing? Triple hugging? Good lord, SOMEONE HELP THESE POOR CHILDREN!!!

Last week, The Guardian published a heartfelt letter that writer Stephen Fry had penned to his 16-year-old self in which he wrote : “Tears splash on to my keyboard now. I am perhaps happier now than I have ever been and yet I cannot but recognize that I would trade all that I am to be you, the eternally unhappy, nervous, wild, wondering and despairing 16-year-old Stephen: angry, angst-ridden and awkward but alive. Because you know how to feel, and knowing how to feel is more important than how you feel. Deadness of soul is the only unpardonable crime, and if there is one thing happiness can do it is mask deadness of soul.” Hundreds of readers responded to the letter with notes to their own 16-year-old selves, warning of everything from fast-approaching baldness, unfulfilled dreams, and death of friends and family. Some gave advice: “Marry that fab posh girl in about three years, not seven. Life’s too short to wait, but any sooner will freak her out.” Others gave hints of good things to come: “Amazingly, not only will you get a boyfriend but he is lovely and you will live together in London on the other side of the world.” What would you say to your 16-year-old self? After the jump, a letter to myself at half the age I am now—and, yes, that makes me 32.

It seems Judy McGuire’s fantastic piece, “Girl Talk: How To Avoid Dating An Abusive Freak,” was eeirily and unfortunately timely. The New York Times reports that due to a rise in teen domestic violence, many states are instituting programs designed to educate young people about the signs of abuse and the dangers those in abusive relationships face. [NY Times]

Anal sex is on the rise amongst teenagers. Not so coincidentally, so are STDs, specifically HIV/AIDS, among 13-29 year-olds. According to ABC News, teens just don’t find sex and its kinks as taboo as previous generations—which we suppose is sort of good news. It’s important for teenagers to have a healthy relationship with their sexuality and to not feel shame about their urges. But the bad news is, with a lack of sexual education, they’re being stupid about how they do it.  Since teens aren’t worried about pregnancy when they’re going through the back door, they often don’t use condoms. There are life-changing risks involved, especially with anal sex, where the walls of the rectum tear easily—just ask our own Dr. V. So, as we tackle sexual taboos as a society, we have to be responsible enough to teach the next generation what we know. 

Any physical activity is good activity is the message behind the federal guidelines for physical activity, which the Department of Health and Human Services released this month. The core guideline is that Americans should get at least 150 minutes of moderately intense activity per week, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend that time in the gym. For the first time, a variety of activities, including daily chores and physically-demanding occupations, count toward physical activity, which can lower the risk of early death, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. But thankfully, the feds have realized that physical activity isn’t one-size-fits-all, so after the jump find recommendations for adults, seniors, children and teens. [New York Times]

Some sex-ed teachers don’t seem to be doing their jobs very well, especially when it comes to teaching young women about emergency contraception. According to a small study of 30 English-speaking black girls between 15 and 19 years old, 94 percent of those who are sexually active said they had at least heard of the morning-after pill, but 40 percent of them were unable to answer follow-up questions about how the pills work. Among the girls who were not sexually active—14 in total—50 percent had never heard of the morning-after pill. Only four of the girls who had heard of it know when to use it and how to obtain it, and just seven girls had heard of the non-prescription, brand-name emergency contraceptive Plan B. [Reuters]

The current issue of Rolling Stone features the Hotness Award-nominated band the Jonas Brothers. I was a nanny for an 8-year old not too long ago and while she introduced me to the magical world of Miley Cyrus, I have never been able to like the Jonas Brothers because she sang that song “Year 3000” at the top of her lungs 24/7 and let me tell you, it was annoying. But I did learn something new from reading RS’ profile of the hugely, insanely, mega popular band. According to Dr. Louannn Brizendine, author of The Female Brain:

“There’s a thing in biology we call synchrony. Basically, one girl affects another affects another, and it becomes a domino effect building up to that level of hysteria. They are getting all these brain hits of dopamine, and also oxytocin, which is a love-and-bonding hormone. Teenage girls have so much estrogen, which just catapults the level of dopamine and oxytocin in the brain, creating this sort of ecstatic rush in themselves and others. It truly is a state of ecstatic love.”

That explains the masses of crying teens whose fingers graze against Nick Jonas’ arm or the hoards of fans who welcomed the Beatles to America in 1964. It also explains why I contemplated suicide when I didn’t get Pearl Jam tickets in 1992 (my dad eventually forked over money to a scalper and saved my life). So, if the statement above is true, who had that ecstatic power over your teenage heart?

The sad, sad results of a national survey showed that about 3 percent of girls between 12 and 17 said they had been the victim of dating violence, which includes physical abuse, sexual assault, and being threatened with a weapon. In the same age group, 0.6 percent of boys said they’d been a victim.

According to the findings, certain factors, such as a history of stressful or traumatic events, seemed to put teens at great risk for dating violence, and older teenage girls were at greater risk than boys or younger girls. The last bit is interesting because it seems that as we get older, we should understand more about what is okay for people to do to us, and what crosses the line, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Either that, or the guys get more aggressive around that age, too. [Reuters]