Part 2: Myth versus reality In my last post, I laid out how girls* are still objectified, judged, and put in boxes by our toxic media culture. We looked at the reasons that social media encourages girls to judge themselves and each other harshly. All of this points to an urgent need for media education… Continue Reading →
The first time I saw “Killing Us Softly,” Dr. Jean Kilbourne’s take-down of the toxic, dehumanizing culture that surrounds women in advertising, it was 1996. I was a naïve sophomore at the University of Michigan who had been raised, above all, to be pretty – with Victoria’s Secret catalog pages and Self magazine workouts pinned… Continue Reading →
Which part of Victoria’s Secret do I disdain most deeply? There’s the catalog! The fashion show. The website. The storefronts. All with their models with exactly the same body type — not the body type of most healthy women on the planet. It’s incredibly awful for girls’ development and women’s mental health, and harmful for… Continue Reading →
Let the girls tell it for themselves! We asked eighth graders at Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland, CA what they thought of their About-Face Education Into Action Lab.
We’re pretty excited over here at About-Face to share a brand-new video, “Digging In with About-Face”, where badass women sit on a couch, eat, laugh, and rant and rave about current media and culture issues.
Oh Shrill, how we love thee! This week, we watched all 6 episodes, and this show earned its spot in our Gallery of Winners for its awesome, real body positivity — with a funny, sharp attitude. Read more in our Gallery of Winners and contact the makers of Shrill to tell them you want more!
So what do we think about this whole Serena Williams thing? Was she justified to be upset or was she being a sore loser? First, she wore a special “catsuit” created to prevent blood clots (which had almost killed her) in the French Open. This was rejected by French Open officials, who started “One must… Continue Reading →
Thank you to all the About-Face moms dedicated to helping their children build healthy self-esteem! Happy Mother’s Day! Here are some resources for parents and other adults to give teenagers the tools they need to understand and resist media: Check out our list of resources and organizations that support positive body image, high self-esteem, and empowerment…. Continue Reading →
Yesterday, About-Face’s executive director, Jennifer Berger, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle with an op-ed (that is, “opinion editorial”) about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. In it, Jennifer praises Sports Illustrated for running the images of the larger models, but also states: On the other hand, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is really just… Continue Reading →
