Miss Representation Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom presents some disturbing realities about our relationship with media and ignites a call to action to hold our media more accountable.
The messages being sent to our children: Girls – You need to be pretty and skinny and boys – the world is your oyster; anything you want is possible.
We have literally gone backwards in our women’s movement – and NO ~ this is not an “Anti-men” campaign but when 96% of decision making positions are held by men in all major influential industries then why are we surprised when it’s men’s perspective and stories that we get sold every day. It’s time for us all to demand better.
Remember when Jamie Lee Curtis bared it all for More Magazine in 2002? She allowed the cameras to show her TRUE self without all the air brushing perfection illusion it created. This week there was a related blog in Huffington Post titled: Challenge: The Authenticity Risk where digital retouching artist Roy Cui is quoted bravely as saying
“I’m a part of the media machine that has suckered you into thinking that you need to look like this flawless person who does not exist anywhere in the world. You then feel unhappy with how you really look, so you buy the products that the person of perfection is using in the image that I retouched.”
Boy have we ever bought into that! But Seventeen Magazine made a bold move this week creating a “Body Peace Treaty” after a young 8th grade reader/activist garnered 85,000 signatures demanding more untouched photos of REAL girls!
Jen Siebel Newsom – @JenSiebelNewsom
.RT @RepresentPledge: Building on success of #KeepItReal today, we’re asking others to follow @seventeenmag’s lead: http://t.co/KWwRFoSF
Here’s our opportunity to exercise our voice by holding Seventeen Magazine accountable and supporting that decision with our purchases and social mentions!
Finally hear Jen Newsom share her emotional journey as she had her epiphanies that led to her social movement Miss Representation at TEDx Women and let me know what you think! I’d LOVE to hear your feedback on this one!
About Teri Conrad
I agree with everything you mentioned. It isn’t just the media though. My wife doesn’t work and doesn’t want to work because I do, so her teenage daughters (my step daughters 19 and 21 yrs old) see a role model who married someone who makes a decent living so she doesn’t have to. The result? Neither of the daughters are motivated to work hard and they both throw it back in my wife’s face that they just need to find a “rich guy”, (which by the way I’m not.) Outside of the media for the women’s movement to really get rolling, I think they have to spend more time on careers, (no hate mail please
, many women are very serious about their careers and are great in professional roles). The more women who choose a lifetime of employment and the work force and less time spending thousands of dollars in beauty salons and yoga and pilates studios and shopping as a frivolous activity , the more their children will use them as role models and strengthen the women’s movement. Again, I’m not saying women shouldn’t go to beauty salons and pilates studios and I’m certainly not against stay at home moms, but when kids are in school, moms don’t need to be. If we want our girls and boys to be less focused on body issues and shallow lives, then their parents, (mom and dad) need to focus less on the latest shallow gadgets, frivolous shopping, and other “look at me” activities. For instance do we really need to buy a different outfit for every occasion of the year? Do we really need to spend 50 or 100 grand on a car “because we can”? Our children see that. They see all of it and they want to emulate it.
Hey Greg ~ Thanks for your comments. I can totally appreciate your point of view and any woman who chooses to stay home its no picnic. I stayed home for years. I was raised to believe that when I had children that would be the optimal choice, to be there for them and shape their existence. My kids are now at that same age (24 and 16) and trust me, its generational attitude towards most parents no matter what we do. Tough to win respect with teenagers at all these days ~ But that’s a whole other conversation!
I believe that part of the equation is self respect first and that comes from within. For me, I gain self respect when I feel appreciated, feel like I’m contributing and feel like I’m serving a purpose and I think that can take many different forms. I’ve known mom’s that ROCK that stay-at-home role, and others like me who withered! Either way we all have intrinsic value and I agree that we should focuse more on the things that really matter and ‘be the change we want to see in the world’.
Again ~ Appreciate your thoughtful comments!
Cheers!