Contest for women 18-24

Similar to The REAL Hot 100, this contest is looking for an "It Girl"--who's "It" based on her passions and work, rather than looks. (Different than the REAL Hot 100 which is a grassroots effort, this content is corporate sponsored by Ortho Women's Health & Urology™, makers of birth control pills.) Jennifer Kohanim is promoting this contest and writes:

"The “It Girl” Essentials contest –which has a deadline of August 31st– is a search for confident and reliable women who have a passion for changing the world through the arts. The contest calls on participants to tell their story, either by submitting a video (1-2 minutes) or essay (500 words or less) via www.itgirlessentials.com."

More positive talk from Glamour

The buzz from Glamour magazine's photo of a "real" woman continues... The model herself as well as Glamour's Editor-in-Chief talk about their reactions and hopes for women on the Today Show:

Women love seeing a real body in Glamour Magazine

While you all know that I have my qualms about the mixed messages fashion mags send out ("love yourself"/"you're not good enough"), I am happy to see that women in the general public respond with thrill, relief, joy, and love upon seeing a photo of a real woman--with a stomach, ooh aah--in Glamour Magazine.

If real women expect themselves and other women to look like, well, real women, our problems with hating our bodies and feeling physically inadequate would literally be over. (That would leave so much more time for enjoying and taking part in, well, real life!)

It's refreshing to me that Glamour readers didn't just respond with "Ew, yuck!" to a photo of a real human body, but rather, "That's beautiful! We want more of that!" And I'm also excited that this photo was outside of something organized like the Dove Campaign for Beauty...perhaps our efforts to expand into healthier, more realistic notions of beauty are seeping into popular culture. (Albeit slowly, but still--I'm an optimist!)

Please give more positive feedback to Glamour editor, Cindy Lieve, who blogged about this positive outpouring. After all, editors publish what sells, and if the public demands more un-photoshopped images, we just maybe could get them.

Gold Awarded Amid Dispute Over Runner’s Sex

Whoa.

From the NY Times:

BERLIN — As an 18-year-old runner from a village in South Africa received her gold medal in Olympic Stadium on Thursday night, activity away from the track had put her at the center of an international dispute: doctors here and in her home country were examining test results to determine whether she has too many male characteristics to compete as a woman....

Read more

Vote to help fund In Her Image!

Ok folks, I need one second of your time to help fund In Her Image!

For the past five years, I have been lucky enough to present my media literacy/body image program and facilitate accompanying workshops nationwide at schools, conferences, clinics, and universities. Now, to continue this work toward social change, I need some funding!

So a few days ago, I applied to the Nau Collective’s Grant for Change. This grant is exciting because it’s partly decided by public vote — which is where you come in! Please help fund "In Her Image" by logging in and giving 5 stars on the "rate/share" tab!

Thanks so much for taking a second to vote by August 31st. There’s also a “share” feature — if you want to help spread the word about voting that would be amazing too. I'd also love if you want to stick this post on your blog, Facebook profile, dorm-room bathroom wall, wherever you think will help get the word out!

Sign TODAY: Stop Hollywood from marketing violence to young kids

The Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood continues to fight the good fight... Please sign this petition TODAY to stop Hollywood from marketing violence to young kids.

Power of the arts toward social change

Click to view trailer

So we all know what a big fan I am of using creativity and the arts for social change efforts. Creative endeavors help people to think through ideas, be honest with themselves, grow, and open up to each other. And this isn't made-up malarkey.

On Wed. night, I was lucky enough to attend HBO's Latino Film Festival for the premiere of "Stages," a documentary about a theater program for senior citizens and at-risk youth. This amazing piece details the true story of how people of all ages and backgrounds are brought together and transformed through performing and speaking out.

Beautifully shot and beautifully told, the film was made by the Meerkat Media Arts Collective, a very talented group of artists who produce films collaboratively--and in this case, who meaningfully mirrored the collective theater process they were documenting.

In the film, the seniors and youth were equally surprised at how much the other group had to offer and how much they learned from each other, and together they created a community based on trust and discovery. Doesn't that sound like a great basis for the kind of thoughtful, peaceful, vibrant world we'd all like to live in?


Post Script: Just tonight, "Stages" took home the Audience Favorite and Best Documentary awards at the HBO Latino Film Festival awards ceremony! Hopefully this will just be the first stop as wider and wider audiences are moved and changed by "Stages."

My even greater hope is that our culture as a whole will value the power of the arts, and put more of our nation's wealth and respect into its support. The MetLife Foundation only gave money for one year of the Evolve Theater Project that "Stages" followed. What progress could be happening right now if they or someone else would renew this funding?

Women in politics get discredited over appearances yet again. Disgusting.

Regina Benjamin, Obama's pick for Surgeon General, is getting slammed as a bad choice for this position because of her body weight. This seriously pisses me off. Her job would be to assist the *public health* of our country, and in general, a person's individual health is separate from her job description.

Besides--we've had overweight Surgeon Generals before, drug czar's who couldn't quit smoking, and so on, yet no one ever found their personal states important to their professional capabilities...but they were male. I am thoroughly sick of women in politics being attacked for what they look like. This distraction tactic is not only demeaning to women on the whole, but it undermines the incredible contributions the bullied individuals can make to our government, country, and world.

Why on earth do we find a woman's weight, thigh size, pant-suit taste, or other looks- and fashion-based information newsworthy?! I'm disgusted that our media has sunk below the realm of reality TV, and I'm sad at the sexism, discrimination, and twisted sense of health this infuses into our culture.

Mixed messages don't get more confusing than this

I just came across a Fox newsflash about a Shape Magazine article, called "Country's Leading Ladies Discuss Body Image, Confidence and Jessica Simpson!"

In this piece, Martina McBride, Julianne Hough, and LeAnn Rimes talk about their concern for young women who base their beauty ideals and self-esteem on "what they see in TV or in magazines." They also talk about how hard it is to maintain self-confidence and be a star under scrutiny.

But wait, yup, their photo on the cover of the magazine shows them in bikinis, looking teeny and flawless (next to other cover article headlines about losing weight and looking good). These women are famous because they are *musicians,* yet their appearance is just as important to their success as a model's. While they recognize that being ostracized over appearances can be really hurtful, they also contribute to the social norm that being worried about 'being beautiful' is important: “I’m 26 and I’m still a little self-conscious about my looks," Rimes admitted. "When I was a kid, I had psoriasis over 80 percent of my body. Luckily, I’ve found a medicine that helps control it, but I never know when it will stop working or if I’ll have to deal with it again. It’s still a struggle, but as you get older, I think your perspective changes."

So while the stars try to be candid and encourage women to feel confident, they are simultaneously icons on the front of a magazine who fall into the same shape and size as the prescribed ideal.

Is there any way for celebrities to break out of this mixed messaging? Is there any way for everyone else to stop our collective obsession with looks?

L'Oreal's hiring practices found to be racist

The cosmetics giant, L'Oreal, was found guilty of racist hiring tactics in their French market. Their fear that French customers wouldn't buy products sold by diverse models reflects the French cultural climate where anti-semitic acts seem to be increasing, a burqa ban is being debated, and so on. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the [social and cultural] beholder.

Sex just keeps on selling...augh

Check out this "Social Media Roundup: Sex and Drama" by Allyson Kapin... Interesting as always to note who owns what and what goes on behind the scenes because of it.

Poor response to rape on cruise ships

Wow. I have to say, even after years of thinking about women's issues, the issue of rape in the trapped space of cruise ships had never crossed my mind 'til I read this article: Melissa McEwan of Shakesville writes about the fact that cruise lines should step up their no-tolerance to rape aboard their ships.

Self care and respect: S.T.O.P.

Check out RespectRx's personal and truly helpful blogpost on self-care using the S.T.O.P. acronym.

I love that the author, Courtney Macavinta, points out that often we think self-care is about filling life with something fruity smelling or whacking down that credit card, but then we wonder why we still feel incredibly stressed and in need of quality alone time. S.T.O.P. stands for Savor, Talk it out, Opt-Out, and Pause, and the post really gets down to it about what respect means and looks like.

I love that Courtney is honest about how S.T.O.P. applies to her life, and that S.T.O.P.ping really has some meat to it; her post is neither a too-shallow advice column nor is it a too-deep pedantic "method" that makes for an ill-fitting overlay in real life.

Check it out. Really.

Women Rule in Business

Gee, turns out women running businesses is actually, well, great for business.

NYT article: "Women Will Rule Business"

Well said

Katha Pollitt writes on the inaccuracies and "house-dividing" consequences of the feminist wave labels. Right on, well-said, thank you for putting it out there!

To society at large, feminist in-fighting and blaming only serves to highlight women's demands as disorganized at best and hysterical at worst. As a relative young'un who has instinctively resisted the wave label (yes, Katha, I *don't* think pole-dancing is "empowering"), I'm finding many young women who, like me, are turning to collaboration and understanding as the way to change.

Bingeing on Celebrity Weight Battles

From the NYT Fashion & Style section...

Bingeing on Celebrity Weight Battles by Jan Hoffman

The tagline is: "The dieting sagas of the stars might be more frustrating than inspiring to overweight women"--and I'd add, to everyone, regardless of size. These stories are meant to inspire health but they promote self-loathing and an unhealthy obsession with appearance. How can we encourage a healthy weight for heart care, diabetes, etc. separate from unhealthy cultural standards of beauty?

Selling chips to chicks

There is now a Frito-Lay ad campaign based on women's guilt about eating--and sadly, it was designed with women in mind, in order to appeal to women.

Advertising generally plays on our insecurities (and tells us to buy things to fill those holes or shortcomings), and the usual "guilt-free" commercial tactic often used for yogurts and snack foods is plaguing enough. But making a cutesy website of gabby cartoon women with men-focused personalities and back-stories seems to me to show just how far off-track we've gotten.

Who knew that eating junk food could bring such little fun? I mean, if we're not eating for the enjoyment of salty, crunchy, bad-for-you-ness, can someone tell me why we'd be eating chips at all? Revamped health-food-colored packaging and accompanying cartoons about women waxing their bikini lines does *not* make me want to buy or eat chips.

Frito-Lay tried to max out on demeaning stereotypes of women and our culture's guilty obsession with food and appearance--so not cute. At all. Hmph.

Off the Scale

Check out this Australian article, "Off the Scale," about how obesity panic can go too far...

From the Feminist Daily Newswire, two gay rights items of note:

California Supreme Court Will Not Hear Appeal in Sexual Orientation Expulsion Case

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that they will not hear an appeal in a case where a private Lutheran high school in the state expelled two students in 2005 based on suspicions that the students were lesbians. The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled in January that the school legally expelled the students. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar dissented.

According to an ACLU filing with the California Supreme Court, "The opinion could be construed, to contain a wholesale exemption for any private school that in its mission statement claims to 'inculcate [its students] with a specific set of values." The ACLU also wrote that the ruling confuses "when the Unruh act applies in the private school context" and also challenges "one of the express reasons Unruh applies to 'business establishments' -- the refusal of a private school to make its facilities available to African-American students," The Recorder reported.

The lower court's ruling PDF argues that although the California Lutheran High School accepts tuition, "it is not a business establishment within the meaning of the Unruh Act; hence it [can] legally discriminate based on perceived sexual orientation." The ruling relied heavily on a 1998 CA Supreme Court ruling that allows the Boy Scouts of America to legally exclude individuals on the basis of sexual orientation because the Boy Scouts are "not a business establishment within the meaning of the Unruh Civil Rights Act."

Maine Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

Governor John Baldacci signed a bill yesterday that legalizes same sex marriage in Maine. The state Senate voted 21 to 13 in favor of the bill in a final vote yesterday. The state House voted 89 to 58 earlier this week in favor of the bill.

Baldacci told reporters "In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions….I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.", according to the Morning Sentinel. Prior to final passage of the bill by the state Senate, it had been unclear whether Governor Baldacci would sign the bill.

The law will go into effect in September, 91 days after the state legislature adjourns. However, under Maine state law, a people's veto effort can delay the law from going into effect. According to the Bangor Daily News, more than 55,000 valid signatures are needed to place a repeal of the law on the state ballot. A recent poll showed 47.3 percent of Maine residents support the same sex marriage bill and that 49.5 percent oppose the legislation, reported the Associated Press.

Maine is the fifth state to permit same sex marriage in the United States after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in New York and New Hampshire.

While Tony Snow Fights Cancer, Dana Perino Takes Over the Press 'Gaggle' ...with her "Big Girl Panties" on?

According to the Washington Post, Dana Perino, deputy press secretary who's stepping in for Tony Snow, was told by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to "Put your big-girl panties on." In the same 'tough panties' vein, PoliticsDaily has a sub-site called Woman Up. The motto: "Woman Up: Where Big-Girl Panties Are Always a Fit."

There's been some debate amongst feminist circles lately whether phrases like "woman up" and "put your big girl panties on" really do women any favors. I'm especially intrigued with the panty reference. Are we saying that being a larger, more mature woman is where the power is at? Or are we yet again just talking about something kind of petty and taboo (mature women's sexuality), and hindering women's real power?

I do like the "big girl panties" phrase because in it female power is cleaved from sex/beauty and put in a legitimate arena (i.e. gaining a political job takes qualifications and hard work, not thong underwear and blowjobs).

But, it bothers me that when a woman takes a powerful position, this news is often accompanied by media queries or jokes regarding if she's tough enough (the second sentence in the Washington Post article talks about Dana Perino sobbing), as well as references to her appearance and sexuality or asexuality that distract--and detract!--from her validity (the third sentence is, "Three hours later, her face freshly powdered and every strand of her neat bob in place, Perino crisply fielded questions at a televised briefing").

Hillary Clinton's media treatment during her presidential campaign was a case in point: She was picked on for showing weakness when she cried at the same time as she was put down for being too tough (the infamous "b*tch" label). Criticisms (and reactions to criticisms) of her "ugly" pantsuits and the size of her thighs garnered more attention than the content of her campaign speeches.

Repeatedly, women are depicted as emotional coller-coasters who vacillate between complete hysteria and total dictatorship, while the importance of their looks is played up. Doesn't all this negative and contradictory focus on gender maintain levels of sexism and prevent women from concentrating on the work they want to do? (Nobody was quoting cutesy lines in major newspaper articles--at least to my knowledge--about Obama putting his big boy undies on...) I'd say that in this climate, references to big-girl panties probably don't help to put the spotlight back on women's legitimacy and brilliance.

Marketing Earth Day (and Other Stuff) to Children

Another great point from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood:

Marketing Earth Day (and Other Stuff) to Children
By Susan Linn and Josh Golin

Have you done your Earth Day shopping yet? Between greeting cards, jewelry, mugs, and teddy bears commemorating the day, its roots in environmental activism have all but been forgotten. Now corporations use Earth Day to sell us on the belief that we can buy our way into ecological sustainability. We can't.

Reducing consumption is essential to preserving the earth's resources and preventing its degradation. The same companies that are painting themselves green depend on the profits they earn convincing us to buy more than we need.

Nowhere is this more obvious, and more troubling, than in the world of children's media and marketing, where companies like Disney, Sesame Workshop, and Nickelodeon are eco-marketing as never before.

Read on at the Huffington Post...

SpongeBob uproar continues

Joanne Bamberger of the blog PunditMom gives her take on the SpongeBob Burger King commercial on NPR...

SpongeBob isn't sexy

Lots of hullabaloo about Burger Kind's latest commercial that mixes SpongeBob and a bit too much booty. The CCFC offers a way to speak out against it and take action against sexualized marketing to kids:

"Our campaign to get the infamous SpongeBob SquareButts commercial off the air is gaining momentum. More than 7,000 of you have told Nickelodeon and Burger King that SpongeBob and sexualization don't mix and our campaign has been featured in newspapers, blogs, and on television -- including this morning's Today Show.

We've already cast an important spotlight on this reprehensible ad and the depths that marketers will sink to in order to interest children in their brands. Advertisers will now understand that they risk a significant backlash from parents if they include sexualization in their child-directed marketing. Burger King and Nickelodeon are clearly on the defensive, and are now disingenuously claiming the ad - which is for Kids Meals and features perhaps the most popular children's television character - was aimed at adults.

But the ad continues to run and, according to reports, aired this week on American Idol, a top-rated show for children under twelve. So let's keep the pressure on by signing this petition of disapproval to Burger King and Nickelodeon. Please let others know about our campaign by using this tell-a-friend page or by writing directly to friends and family and urging them to visit send their messages too. And please, keep spreading the word on blogs, social networking sites, and Twitter.

Thanks,
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood"

Women and Major Magazines Cover Stories Monitor

According to Beverly Wettenstein at the Huffington Post, "The year 2008 was considered to be transformational for women in politics and the broader perception of women in the media and society." Check out her article, Second Annual "Women and Major Magazines Cover Stories Monitor." What's your take on the coverage?

Marketing to Youth (Culture)

This article geared toward photographers (and somewhat toward advertisers) spells out the do's and don't's of marketing to youth. Thinking from the angle of a photographer, the photos used in ads would, alone, be beautiful portraits of unique people and relationships. (There are some gorgeous examples in this article.) But, when incorporated into ads with taglines and messages, photos become props to spark whatever feelings and connections marketers want us to make...to buy their product.

Marketing to youth and about youth culture particularly irks me because advertisers are cashing in on a stage in people's lives where they figure out their identity--which means they try many things and are open to change and suggestion. Exploring yourself and the world around you sound like such a magical, great thing (and it can be!), but many teens and young adults feel immense pressure from an intangible source to be all at once sexy, perfect, smart, rich, and in command. These pressures are part of our larger culture and of course not created solely by marketing, but the wiley way marketing reflects and tweaks who we want to be seems to head many people down a bad road.

I'm posting this article because I think it's valuable to continually point out just how planned the images around us are. If we are aware of this manipulation, perhaps we can start appreciating ads for what they are, and peel them away from of our definitions of beauty, meaningfulness, and success.

Working Mothers, Careers and Ambivalence: What Else is New?

I'm digging the post and comments on Working Mothers, Careers and Ambivalence: What Else is New? by Cynthia Samuels, at BlogHer...

Better late than never

I've also been meaning to post about SWAN Day, a new holiday celebrating women artists around the globe on March 28th of every year. Check out the amazing stories about how people celebrated, what projects women are working on, and the inspiring video of Sandra Oh interviewed about her favorite woman artist.

Film Clip: "Beauty Mark"

Brought to you by the Media Education Foundation, this film clip of the month is from "Beauty Mark," a movie that "explores the harmful factors that can lead to athletic bulimia and distorted body images."

*Note: Hit the small "play" button at the bottom left hand corner (not the big one in the middle of the image) to get the video to play.

Let's Stick to the Topic

I have to hand it to Meghan McCain (Senator McCain's daughter) for writing so eloquently on weight criticism--especially in the media--as "one of the last frontiers in socially accepted prejudice." She points to the fact that women from Hillary Clinton to Oprah are "victim[s] to...image-oriented bullying," and that women in power can be publicly discredited if they are the "wrong" size or wear the "wrong" outfit.

This article was written in response to conservative radio host Laura Ingraham's dig about McCain's weight. And why did she want to insult McCain? Because she didn't agree with some political statements McCain made in an online column and an interview with talk show host Rachel Maddow.

I think political debate is fantastic--but let's stick to the topic, please. At the least, women can show respect for themselves and their gender by responding to ideas, not appearances. (And if one doesn't have a response, let's not go back to the middle school solution of making fun.)

Good to see coverage of girls' safety--but not in the *Style* section!

In light of the Rihanna/Chris Brown coverage, Jan Hoffman authored a great New York Times article about why teenage girls stand by their men, even when they're abusive. The thing is, the NYT published the article in the--wait for it--STYLE section. I feel like a broken record with all the times I've been chagrined about which section the NYT deems appropriate for articles involving women. Tristin Aaron at the Women's Media Center posts on this diminishing categorization eloquently.

Camel aims nicotine at kids...again.

From Shaping Youth - Like Taking Candy From A Baby: Camel Trots Out Nicotine Tricks (Again)

If only Camel could put their marketing genius toward health and self-esteem programming, windmill energy, or homeless shelters...

Obese Barbie?

In an effort to raise awareness about obesity, a company called Active Life made ads with obese toys and dolls--including Barbie. While I agree that true obesity is a health problem that people should be aware of, and I fully believe kids should eat healthy food and have an active lifestyle (as should we all!), I'm not sure I love the common public understanding this ad campaign relies on: that Barbie is ugly and not cool when she's fat. That obese Barbie is lazy and sits around eating food out of cartons while surfing the web and watching TV.

This visual reinforces mean stereotypes about people who aren't skinny, and again re-entangles beauty and health motivations. While obesity may contribute to heart problems and diabetes, our culture is obsessed with labeling it as a (social) disease because we are obsessed with appearances and have such a limited standard of attractiveness. Unfortunately, this to me, is what this ad series is all about. And promoting an insecure body image to children certainly does nothing to boost their health.

Female Force comic books

From Jill Zimon at WritesLikeSheTalks.com..."Female Force" comic books.

I have to say, I feel unsure what they're about. Is the idea that real women's lives are heroic? That any woman's story can end in success? Maybe it just irks me that when seen together, the fact that all "powerful" women are one step behind a man, becomes crystal clear. And that's certainly not the fault of the comic books, but just another reason why feminism still needs to be going strong. But then, my "media watchdog" kicks in and I start to wonder if creating comic book versions of real people turns them into fantasy characters where hardship and adversity don't exist or can't affect them. ...And now I sound like I want a comic book about "Joe the Plumber" (which would truly be propaganda). Sigh. I clearly need to mull this one over more with your help!

Obama Creates a White House Council on Women and Girls

Way to create something new, Obama! I'm curious to see how this will actually work. No matter what, the existence of a White House Council on Women and Girls is immense. And I like the fact that I randomly happened to be wearing my Obama shirt today when I got wind of this news. (Yeah, ok, so it's time to do laundry, but still.)

Chris Brown Withdraws from KCAs

Following up the post I made the other day...Chris Brown withdraws from the KCAs. Citizen Mom writes more and links.

Interview with Liz Funk, author of Supergirls!

Liz Funk, author of the new book, Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Crisis of Overachieving Girls, is on a virtual book tour--and a mission to widen everyone's tolerance and respect for being the imperfect, interesting, great people we all are.

In this interview with yours truly, Liz talks about how girls today feel they need to be perfect, gives insight into why trying to be perfect diminishes quality of life and relationships, and shares some tips on how to cherish being genuine. Enjoy!


JB: You’ve done a lot of research and interviewing for your book, Supergirls Speak Out, where you indicate that many girls and women today feel they have to be perfect, or “supergirls” who can do and be everything. Why do they have this feeling? What is particularly going on in our society that makes women feel so pressured?

LF: Girls today want to be a perfect 10. They want to excel at everything they attempt; in short, they’re perfect. Sadly, I think many young women get the message from the media, from their peer groups, and most notably, from themselves, that they have to be perfect if they want to be loved. It’s largely caused by sexism in society (especially in high schools and teen youth culture), the media, and our fast-pasted culture that doesn’t really encourage young people to spend much solitary time alone with their thoughts—they’re too busy blogging, and tweeting, and Facebooking!

JB: Is this an issue unique to the current female generation? Or, how does it tie in with past generations’ struggles for gender equality?

LF: The first draft of my book actually had a chapter about how the Supergirl dilemma is nothing new; it’s just the new century’s version of “the feminine mystique” that plagued women in the 1950’s! However, the tone of the chapter didn’t quite work, so I cut it (my initial major in college was women’s studies, so sometimes I have a tendency to write in a very academic way and bring up Friedan and Dworkin when it’s not the right place to do it. Haha…). Anyway, I think that what we are seeing here with the Supergirl dilemma is actually the exact same problem as “the feminine mystique” with symptoms that are the exact opposite. In the 1950’s; women were told that there was one way to be a woman—to be a loving homemaker mother who kept herself extremely busy with being pretty, having the latest swirling skirts and washing machine, and jetting off to PTA meetings and social committees, all in an effort to distract herself from the fact that society’s prescribed role for women was very limiting. Today, girls are told that there’s one way to be a girl: be a good daughter who keeps herself extremely busy with being pretty, having the latest season’s miniskirt and sweaters from American Eagle and the Gap, and keeping extremely busy with school and work and extracurricular activities, all in an effort to distract herself from the fact that society’s prescribed role for women is very limiting. There is the obvious difference that in the 1950’s, young women weren’t encouraged to be smart or intellectual or leaders, and today, young women are required to be intellectual and leaders, but at the end of the day, I would argue that the Supergirl dilemma is the second major crisis for young women since “the feminine mystique” that mostly arose because feminism’s work hasn’t been finished yet. We need to teach young women that it’s good to be a girl, and that they don’t need to feel confined to adhering to a very limiting female ideal in exchange for their community or their peer group’s approval.

JB: In your opinion, how does today’s media play into how women feel about themselves? What particular sources have what effects?

LF: I think the biggest problem in today’s media is that the women in the media look perfect. Female celebrities have never been thinner—Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Nicole Richie, etc. etc.—but also, we’ve never had celebrities all conforming to one limiting female ideal before: long hair, charming and giggly, and not particularly rebellious, like Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Aniston (although I do love all three of these actresses). I don’t think that Angelina Jolie could have ever gotten famous today in her punk-rebel stage, because every female celebrity we see is well-groomed and nice and extroverted. Also, there are a lot of fictional Supergirls that influence how the girls at home feel about themselves: Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, the girls of Gossip Girl, and even Hannah Montana—although these are lovable characters, they give even the youngest girls the idea that beauty and success are simultaneous requirements and that you should make it look as though both come easily.

JB: What role do you feel women have in contributing to each other’s self-esteem or lack of confidence?

LF: Once young women observe perfect women in the media, they emulate having a perfect exterior, and then that model of perfection starts to take off in peer groups. I think that once one girl in a social circle—whether we’re talking in high school, in college, or among twentysomethings—starts to appear effortlessly perfect, her friends and her peers try to imitate that, and it snowballs from there.

JB: What are the consequences of trying to be perfect for individual women, their relationships, and even society or the world?

LF: Statistically, more young women than ever before are considering suicide, and I think it’s no coincidence that this is happening simultaneously with the rise of Supergirls. There are other mental health repercussions that I observed amongst girls, like anxiety, eating disorders, OCD, and depression. And I think the broadest problem is not having a sense of self; not having an identity outside of being a Supergirl or a hard worker.

JB: What are some tips you have for girls and women to positively feel they can be and do whatever they want, without feeling they must be perfect?

LF: First and foremost, girls should get some hobbies. Find things that you enjoy and that you feel passionate about that have nothing to do with work. For example, I just took up the oboe, I love to paint, I love to go to art museums, I love to read novels, and I love stupid movies (like Grandma’s Boy, Superbad, and Little Nicky). Make collages with pictures of random things that you find intriguing. Turn off the lights in your room and listen to music with your eyes closed. Meditate. Find your center! And the most revolutionary thing women can do is look in mirror and say aloud, “I love you. I appreciate you. You matter.” Say it enough, and I think the Supergirls will start to mean it, and see their Supergirl selves fading away.

Young women need to find their sense of intrinsic worth—why they matter regardless of what they look like, what other people think of them, how they make others feel, and what they’ve accomplished. Everyone has worth and everyone has value, and girls need to realize that when they are sitting on their couch in their jammies at 3pm on Saturday afternoon with their hair greasy and their nail polish chipping, they are just as special and just as important as when their hair is blown-dry and they are in a minidress and leggings out on the town for the night with a cute date! What I recommend is that young women spend as much time as possible embracing their creativity, developing their tastes and their personality, and finding themselves! Young women need to find their value, and I think the best way to do that is to be alone with one’s thoughts, spend time alone with oneself, and start to enjoy spending time alone and enjoy listening to one’s internal monologue.

JB: You mentioned that, under the pressure to be perfect, girls and women are oftentimes afraid to be themselves. What are some ways girls and women can feel comfortable exploring and being who they are?

LF: I absolutely love the movie Juno. Casting aside the movie’s puzzling treatment of abortion, I love the character Juno and how unafraid she was to be herself; she liked guitars and punk music and sarcasm and funky clothes. And I think that if more girls could embrace their inner-Juno, and be exactly who they want to be, regardless of whether it would affect how others see them or their place on the social totem pole, we’d be in great shape.

Supergirls on lizfunk.com
Supergirls on Amazon

Excessive Drinking is Apparently a Turn-Off to Guys

Brought to you by Australian Yahoo news: "Young women who think drinking to excess makes them more sexually attractive to men are mistaken, a new international study shows." Read on.

I love studies that show men are humane and have brains too. Gender equality both ways, folks.

And a quote from the article that seems relevant to much more than just who's drinking how much and for whom: " 'I don't want to portray that women are always out to do what men want ... but there is some confusion with equality being seen as having to act in the same way'." Concise and thought-provoking. In my opinion, feminism should not be about imitating men, but it can be an easy trap to fall into when there seems no other way to express female power.

And the Worst Choice Award Goes to Nickelodeon

Chris Brown is up for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, even though his abusive behavior toward Rihanna (who's also up for an award) makes him a hurtful role model for kids. ...Check out the release at PRNewswire.

NYT Video: Sex, Lies, and Photoshop

This New York Times article and video says we ought to give credit where credit is due: Magazines should credit their photo retouchers. Why? Because their craft is an art that takes talent and effort, and after all, results in graphic creations that bear no relationship to how real bodies do and should look.

Barbie's 50, and never looked...er....worse

Check out this article from the BBC, What Would a Real Life Barbie Look Like?

The line that makes me the most sad is from Sarah Burge, a woman who has tried to become a real-life Barbie through plastic surgery: "At the end of the day you don't see a personality from across a room do you." Honestly, I would disagree.

Save Dora the Explorer from a Tween Makeover by Mattel!

I've just heard from Hardy Girls Healthy Women that Mattel plans to give Dora the Explorer a "tween" makeover--please sign this petition to help keep Dora as the adventuresome, independent role model that she's been!

Dear Friends,

We need your help to save Dora the Explorer from a 'tween makeover' by Mattel!

You know the original Dora - she is beloved by little girls and boys everywhere for her adventuresome spirit, curiosity, and bravery. But if Mattel and Nickelodeon have their way, Dora's getting a makeover. There are already too many dolls out there that limit the potential of girls. Find out more and sign our petition.

Thanks for your help!
Hardy Girls

Theater for Social Change

I'm passing along a message from Dori Robinson, who is committed to the power of theater to make change in the world. Here's Dori's note followed by the deets. Hope you can make it!


As many of you know, I am directing and producing a V-Day event.

V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2008, over 4000 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $60 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 6000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic Of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq.

Next weekend, on March 6th and 7th, will be facilitating a reading of the play A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer - the only piece which includes men in the performance. This is a project I am deeply passionate about, as I feel it aligns with my goals towards being a theatre practitioner for social action and change.

Attached please find the press release and the flyer for the event. Please spread the word to individuals/list serves you think would be interested.
Thanks, and I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Dori


Who: Members of NYU Steinhardt Graduate School, Nan Smithner (Faculty Advisor)

What: V-Day New York 2009 presents a benefit reading of Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle’s
“A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer.” This year, 10% of proceeds of every V-day event go to “Stop Raping our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls of DRC.” For this event we are giving the rest of our proceeds to Day One - an educational outreach program for the New York City youth - www.dayoneny.org

Where: Small Pond Entertainment-38 2nd Ave New York, NY

When: March 6th 7:30pm, March 7th 2:00pm and 7:30pm

Tickets: $12 (NYU students with valid ID), $15 (General Admission)

Contact: To reserve tickets e-mail nyuvday2009@gmail.com (Tickets are cash only)

Check us out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52460566709

Goal: To raise awareness and funds in order to stop violence against women and girls.

Proceeds benefit Day One and Stop Raping our Resource: Power to the women and girls of the DRC.

Read, Watch, Check Out

I've been stockpiling some links definitely worth checking out...

Double standards turn up at, yup, the dry cleaners
NEW YORK REGION | February 05, 2009
At the Cleaners, One Woman Seeks Gender Equality
By CARA BUCKLEY
Women's shirts often cost much more to launder than men's, even if they are smaller and made of the same cloth. Janet Floyd is out to change that.


Where media, pharmaceuticals, and women's health intersect (and I love that this is in the Business section, and not Fashion or Lifestyle for once!)
BUSINESS | February 11, 2009
Advertising: A Birth Control Pill That Promised Too Much
By NATASHA SINGER
As part of a settlement, Bayer is running ads that clarify the side benefits of its birth control drug, Yaz. Regulators say earlier ads played down the risks.


Very much in line with articles and books written by my contemporaries on the pressure on girls and women to be perfect...
According to new research at UC Berkeley, Pressure to be a supergirl is causing teen mental health crisis

*I'm excited to say that more on this topic will be coming up as well: An interview with Liz Funk, author of Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Lives of Overachieveing Girls, will be posted here during her virtual book tour March 12th.

Weight bias videos by the Rudd Center

The Rudd Center has recently released videos on YouTube about weight bias at home, school, and in health care. Check out the preview trailer, or watch the full length weight bias in youth full video and the weight bias in health care full video.

When watching the preview, I was really struck by just how confused we are about weight and health. While we campaign for tolerance of people of all sizes, shapes, genders, races, and ethnicities and encourage youth to love themselves as they are, we also campaign for help against obesity as a medical problem that causes many other health issues, in a way demonizing obesity (and its "hosts") even more.

How can we look out for our actual health without becoming wrapped up in how we look and how we are treated because of our appearance? How can we expand our definitions of beauty to include the myriad types of people that there are, while still promoting health?

I'm glad that these videos address the often unacknowledged weight bias that hurts many children and adults - even in an ideal world where everyone eats and lives healthfully, we hopefully will still be able to revel in our diversity.

The Obamas stand up to marketing to children

Check out this editorial by Susan Linn from the latest CCFC (Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood) newsletter, called Protecting the First Daughters (and Other Kids, Too).

When the Ty Company celebrated Barack Obama's inauguration by exploiting his daughters, the First Parents were understandably outraged. The company launched two new African American dolls named "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia," laughably denying that they had any connection to the real Obama children. Michele Obama issued a powerful statement about the dolls saying, "We believe it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes."

The Obama's laudable effort to protect their girls from commercial exploitation is going to be an uphill struggle. They were already publicly urged to appear on the hit Disney show, Hannah Montana. The press refers to them as "first tweens," a marketing demographic dumping ground for children ranging in age from 6 to 14-and the Washington Post has called them "fashion icons."

Before his inauguration, President Obama wrote a public letter to his daughters sharing his hopes for them and, by extension, his hopes for all of the children in America. President Obama clearly sees his daughters as individuals, but can also see "every child" in them. I'm hoping this is one of those times.

While the form of their exploitation might be unique, the Obama girls are not alone. Corporate America routinely uses young private citizens for marketing purposes. They might not be turned into dolls, but they are exploited as research tools and as a vast, unpaid sales force. Companies like The Girls Intelligence Agency exploit children's friendships by conducting market research during pajama parties. Nickelodeon and Toys R Us, among others, have conducted market research in elementary schools. In the name of Internet safety, market research firms track children's online activities for their corporate clients. Popular social networking websites like Webkinz and Barbiegirl.com routinely encourage young users to reel in their friends through viral marketing.

What differentiates the Obamas from other parents struggling to protect their children is that the President actually has the power to take on Corporate America. As a first step, he could call on Congress to reauthorize the Federal Trade Commission's capacity to regulate commercial access to children, and repair the damage done when it was stripped of much of its power at the dawn of the Reagan era. As his administration reclaims the right of government to set limits on the market, I hope he remembers his children-and other people's children as well.

I would just like to add that these dolls were created by Ty, the same company that makes the Ty Girlz Dolls that I blogged about last year...'nuff said.

YPulse Mashup in June

I've just gotten word of this year's YPulse Mashup, a conference coordinated by tween/teen technology maven, Anastasia Goodstein, "Where today's top brand, corporate and social marketers, media professionals, educators and non-profit organizations gather to share best practices, research and latest strategies on marketing to youth with technology."

Anastasia says, "Hey everyone. Please help spread the word about the big Ypulse event coming up in June. If you're press, email me at anastasia@ypulse.com for a pass. If not, use the code FB for an extra 10 percent off the early adopter rates..."

The details
Event: Ypulse 2009 Youth Marketing Mashup
What: Business Meeting
Host: Ypulse
Start Time: Monday, June 1 at 5:00pm
End Time: Tuesday, June 2 at 8:00pm
Where: Hotel Nikko

You can also see more details and RSVP to the event on Facebook.

A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting

Peggy Klaus writes in the NY Times article, 'A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting,' "If we really want to clear one of the last remaining hurdles to gender parity and career success, let’s start treating one another not worse or better, but simply as well as we already treat the guys — or better yet, the way we want our nieces, daughters, granddaughters and sisters to be treated."  I second that and top it with ice cream.

When women respect, value, and help each other--instead of fearing and competing with each other--we will go further in our goals.  And *everyone* will benefit from those efforts!

Check out the full article, brought to my attention by none other than....my wonderful sister.  No joke.

"Bulimia is Curable" guerrilla toilet stickering

Hey all. I just got word about ProMädchen's (ProGirl) in-your-face guerrilla campaign that targets sufferers of bulimia by stickering the inside of toilet lids. Way to go right to the source.

What do you think? Know any other projects like this? Let me know.

Feeling irked? This magazine does something about it!

 

Irked Magazine is a very cool publication where people talk about what irks them and what they're doing about it! I'm honored to be included in their zine, and am posting to help spread the word about the cool work they're doing.