Rock Star of the Week, Miss Representation. Ending Sexism As We Know It.

So, I had the flu yesterday. It was the kind of flu that you aren’t going anywhere for at least 24 hours. So what else do you do when you’re sick besides sleep and watch TV? Well, that’s exactly what I did; however, I don’t usually watch a lot of TV anymore. Needless to say, I got a wake-up call from the amount of trash that’s currently on TV, especially, degrading women. What really blew my mind was the amount of trash on AFTER kid’s get out of school.

Ironically, the night before I got the flu & the night before my weekly Rock Star post, I received an email from a friend with a video trailer on an organization called Miss Representation. As I watched the video she sent me, I just sat their in awe. This is exactly what Rock Star of the week is all about. This is IT.

The video challenged media’s portrayal of women in advertising, movies, TV and the affects it has on the lack of female leadership in this country – hence my sick day in front of the TV and my utter disgust with the results I was getting from the challenge I’d received  just hours before from the Miss Representation video.

Miss Representation on a Mission

This organization wants to change the face of media and to challenge the media’s limited portrayals of women and girls. These portrayals, and the message they send, make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and to feel powerful. Don’t believe them? Watch the trailer to their documentary. It’s a MUST watch, click here.

Miss Representation’s newsletter states, “Miss Representation is a feature-length documentary that exposes how mainstream media, with its limited – and often disparaging – portrayals of women and girls, contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. Building off the themes of the film, MissRepresentation.org is organizing tens of thousands of individuals to unite around a common, meaningful goal and spark millions of small actions that will ultimately lead to a cross-generational movement to stop sexism and create lasting cultural and sociological change”.

Here are just a few campaign activities that Miss Representation is working on

• Women and girls are speaking out, telling their stories and influencing change.
• Men andboys are standing up to sexism, counter hyper masculinity and championing women as leaders.
• Schools are using the Miss Representation‘s Curriculum to educate youth around media literacy and to inspire and activate students to make change.
• Communities are hosting screenings and discussions to shift the cultural mindset around gender and end sexism.
• Consumers are using their power to celebrate positive media and advertising, and challenge negative media and advertising.

 The Sobering Statistics

In the documentary, it says at the current rate, women may not achieve equality in leadership for 500 years. 500 years! You can change this through the actions outlined above and by getting involved in Miss Representation’s Campaign.

In one week American teenagers spend 31 hours watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, 4 hours reading magazines, 10 hours online. That’s 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day. And based on what I saw in one days worth of watching TV while being down, it is no wonder our youth are on a rocky path moving forward.

• Women hold only 3% of clout positions in the mainstream media (telecommunications, entertainment, publishing and advertising).
• Women comprise 7% of directors and 13% of film writers in the top 250 grossing films.
• The United States is 90th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures.
• Women hold 17% of the seats in the House of Representatives (the equivalent body in Rwanda is 56.3% female).
• Women are merely 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs.
• About 25% of girls will experience teen dating violence.
• The number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youth 18 or younger more than tripled from 1997 to 2007.
• Among youth 18 and younger, liposuctions nearly quadrupled between 1997 and 2007 and breast augmentations increased nearly six-fold in the same 10-year period.
• 65% of American women and girls report disordered eating behaviors.

My Story

People have often asked and most recently because of the 2012 Rock Star blog, “Lish, where does this passion come from?” Well… I’ve seen it, been through it, experienced discrimination myself and I’m working to see that my son and/or daughters don’t have to go through it during their lifetime.

Women don’t have the same rights as men. Period. The sad part to me, is that society isn’t even aware at this point that it’s an issue. Awareness is half the battle. Until we can get industries and people on the same page, change can’t happen. But it can happen… this is why I’m so excited to announce Rock Star of the Week, Miss Representation. Awareness is happening.

Here is an organization that is making all the right waves to ensure that our next generation of youth can have a world where girls and boys can play in the same darn sandbox.

I started noticing sexism BIG TIME when I worked for a company that took a large handful of guys into a preceptorship program (fancy word for internship) without interviewing them and then took those same guys and promoted them into management positions without being interviewed for that position. The girls? A smaller handful were considered for preceptorships and they had to interview for the preceptorships AND then had to interview for the management position. Which, some how didn’t show up as often. It truly was more of a preceptorship shall we say, with no position available at the end. Fair? Trust me, with the caliber of ladies that were up for those positions… not so much. And the sad part, the male regional managers, really had no idea that they were even doing this. Awareness… half the battle folks.

My next notable act of sexism was when a former supervisor told me that my acts of opinion made me more “difficult” as to where an equal male counterpart (also opinionated) got considered “rough around the edges”. Should I mention my male counterpart got promoted shortly there after, again, no one else was considered for the position. And by the way, different organization. It’s deep across our culture and imbedded in many companies, homes and organizations. In his eyes, I was just the “grocery getter”. No really, he said that.

There’s no place like home… there’s no place like home.

I’ve started Rock Star of the Week because I’m tired of all the articles and sick of no action. Well, here’s some action. It is no wonder that many women decide to stay home, quit jobs, throw their hands up and give up. I’m here to tell you that’s not an option, we need you. Here is a stellar organization that gives you tools, resources, messaging, etc… to move forward and more importantly, be heard.

The Documentary and Screenings

All right you Toledo ladies. You are always complaining there’s nothing to do in the area. The Miss Representation Documentary will be premiering at Bowling Green State University on January 26th, from 7:30pm – 9:30pm. Cost is FREE! Click here for more info.

I will be getting a group of women together to go see the film and would like all Toledo area women interested in attending to meet at the Penta Career Center parking lot off of State Route 75 at 6:30pm. We will caravan down to the film screening as a group. Pass this onto friends, family members, loved ones, etc… We need you starting TODAY. If you’re interested in other screenings outside of the Toledo area, click here .

There will be way more to come in regards to Miss Representation but leave us your comments on an in-just act you’ve experienced, seen or a female loved one has experienced.

Thank you Jennifer Siebel Newsom; Writer, Producer & Director of Miss Representation. We need you and more people like you. Congrats on Rock Star of the Week!

Miss Representation Trailer

Technorati Tags: Alicia Kuehl, career, Dreamsurge, Gender, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation, Sexism, Women, Women in Leadership, Work place equality