Girls Impact the World

A few weeks ago I started on a documentary. I am entering it in the Girls Impact the World Film Festival held by an amazing organization called Connecther, which works to raise awareness about issues facing women today such as education, domestic violence, health care, sex trafficking, and many other topics.
 
To be honest, when I started this project I was only thinking about how much fun I would have interviewing and editing. I imagined the cheesy smile I would have on my face when I walked away with the grand cash prize. But as I sat into the project and started researching, I began to see that these issues are real and affect us women everyday more than we are aware. This project became something more.
 
Media: the shows, movies and YouTube videos you watch, music you listen to, games you play, magazines you read; it’s everywhere. If you’re an average person you consume 10hrs of media a day (yeah right, it’s more than that if you carry around your smart phone). In consuming this amount we have come to a time when we are no longer influencing the media, the media is influencing, shaping, and distorting our perceptions of the world.
 
This is when I asked myself – how am I represented in the media, how are women represented in the media? I looked around and absolutely hated what I saw and so my video topic “women and girls in media” was born.
 

“Today 78% of women by the age of 17 are unhappy with their bodies”

Do you realize that 100% of women you see in the media are fake! Look, I am not over exaggerating, if you flip through any magazine the women are stick skinny – but curvy. They are smiling – without smile lines. The only ads I could find that showed untouched/normal looking women were the Dove’s Campaign for Real Women ads and a Clarisonic skin care ad that proudly stated “non-retouched image” at the bottom.
 
As obvious as it may seem that these images are false, in the moment when women are flipping through these magazine pages they can’t help but compare themselves to these images. This is why today 78% of women by the age of 17 are unhappy with their bodies and 90% of all eating disorders are suffered by women. Something needs to change.
 

“The media doesn’t focus on the big speech she gave or the big difference she’s making - oh noooo - they are only concerned about how big her tits looked!”

But this issue of Media, it doesn’t just stop at body image. I watched a documentary called Miss Representation and  I was woken up to the fact that the  media really undermines us women. Women are portrayed as the ditz, bombshell, damsel, or bitch. We are sexualized and objectified, and the few times women are the protagonist or leader they are stone hearted and cold. And have you noticed that when a woman becomes a leader in our society, the media doesn’t focus on the big speech she gave or the big difference she’s making - oh noooo - they are only concerned about how big her tits looked, what she is wearing, what her hair is like, and how good her fashion consciousness is. 

How does this affect the everyday woman? Well from an early age we watch things like The Little Mermaid where Ariel, who is really little (probably a size 000) swims around showing her cleavage in her seashell bra. How about Cinderella, she’s a girl that’s chasing her dreams (except her only goal in life to marry the prince). I’m not trying to hate. I love these movies. However, my point is we girls are conditioned from early on to value prettiness, sexiness, and pleasing others over being a leader, being independent, and reaching our own goals.
 

“Media can be an instrument of change”

As a girl who wants to impact the world, through this video competition I will be working to produce a documentary featuring empowering women and discussing how women are misrepresented in the media. But most importantly I want to make people aware of ways in which our society can work to represent women as we truly are! Katie Couric said “media can be an instrument of change” and it can if we take back control and be the change. 

My documentary will be released here in a couple of weeks! When it is, do your part to make a difference by sharing - every share makes another aware! Also what should I title my video? If you have any ideas leave a comment!
 
For more info on this competition and women in media check out:
www.connecther.org
www.film.missrepresentation.org

A Lesson in Flying High

What do you do when someone takes their own life? How do you react when someone who once roamed the same hallways and went through the same day  is no longer there? I didn't know Alexis, but how is it that I was living my life as someone else's life was getting so bad that they went and ended it?

I want to say sorry, I wish so much that I could have been there, I wish I could have held your hand, I wish I could have cried with you through your pain, instead of through your passing.
 
It was all too surreal. Around me people were feeling pain and loss, but I didn't know how to face it. I couldn't feel. I didn't know what to feel. For a couple days I pretended it hadn't happened. But at some point I completely came undone.
 
I learned that the right response isn't to pretend it didn't happen; it is to prevent something like this from happening again. 

A very brave girl I know taught me this. She stood in front of a room full of people and told us Alexis’s story and with strength and courage she told us her own story too. In those five minutes that she spoke she changed me, she made me realize that the kid with the smile isn't  always the happiest. I cried because I wished  I would have known before. Alexis was gone, but the girl who had a similar story was standing before me and changing my life,  and in seeing how far she'd come, I realized that it's never too late.  From now on I'll be there, I'll listen, and I'll hold even the person that appears to be smiling, because you just never know what someone is going through.

If everyone took the time to look beyond themselves and make the life of someone else a little better we could save so many lives.

    Appreciate the people who are in our lives,
    Be there for them not only at their highest points, but also at their lowest times,
    Tell someone who can get them help,
    and Love them even on the days you think they don't deserve it,
    because that day could make all the difference.

These are the lessons I've learned from Alexis.

Loss can sometimes teach us more than life. I've changed and grown through this along with so many others. I would really like to hear what you have to say, share what you’ve learned and  how you’ve changed  by commenting on this post. It's up to each of us as individuals to prevent things like this from happening again.

Thanks and with love, Summer