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Sick of supporting consumer values every holiday season? Check out these gift guides that help you truly get into the spirit of giving.
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The American Academy of Family Physicians has prompted outcry and lost members over its new six-figure alliance with the Coca-Cola Co. The deal will fund educational materials about soft drinks for the academy's consumer health and wellness Web site, http://www.FamilyDoctor.org...
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Just got word from the fantastic girls' media company that despite tightening their belts, they will go out of business in December unless everyone can take a second to help! Here are 3 really easy things you can do:
* Sponsoring memberships for libraries, schools and programs serving low-income girls. It's quick and easy to sponsor one, ten or 100 girls - every dollar matters! http://www.newmoon.com/donatePosted via email from
Just got a great announcement from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC):
"CCFC's ongoing campaign to stop the false and deceptive marketing of baby videos has had a stunning success. We've persuaded the Walt Disney Company to offer a full refund to anyone who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD in the last five years...Recent research shows that screen time is not educational for babies [and The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under two]. Now parents who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs, mistakenly believing the videos would make their babies smarter, can recoup their money." The refund is only available for a limited time, so make sure to act now! Also, share this fact sheet from the CCFC with parents you know.Posted via email from
The American Cancer Society has changed its tune a bit on the importance of cancer screenings. Check out this NY Times articles for more. Posted via email from
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Eliza wrote, “The other day at work, I put a note in the bathroom that said "YOU are BEAUTIFUL!" The next week later, I used the bathroom and was standing at the sink washing my hands...
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Fat Talk Free Week starts early at Lululemon Athletica in San Antonio. (Fat Talk Free Week is a five-day effort to draw attention to the damaging impact of fat talk and the “thin ideal” on women, starting October 19.) What will you do for Fat Talk Free Week?
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Lately, Europe seems to be eons ahead of us regarding their recognition that the fashion and media having a significantly unhealthy effect on women's body image. The latest is Germany's most popular women's magazine's announcement of their intention to omit professional models from their pages in an effort to combat unrealistic social beauty standards:
The editor-in-chief of Germany's bimonthly Brigitte told reporters that, starting next year, the magazine will feature a mix of prominent women and regular readers in photo spreads for everything from beauty to fashion to fitness.I like this sentiment; we should humanize models not just as "more realistic" subjects of voyeurism. I just worry these kinds of efforts (cough, Dove, cough) often end up having some contradicting issues to contend with - like if the new magazine's campaign consists of shaming underweight women, that's not very productive either.
Andreas Lebert said the move is a response to readers increasingly saying that they are tired of seeing "protruding bones" from models who weigh far less than the average woman.
"We will show women who have an identity -- the 18-year-old student, the head of the board, the musician, the football player," Andreas Leberts said in Hamburg, where the magazine, published by Gruner+Jahr, is based.
Either way, it's interesting to see how fast the efforts to combat body image issues and eating disorders are spreading among the fashion and media industries on one continent, while others (ahem) seem to be at a standstill.
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Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei's new book, Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby is now out! They do amazing work. Check it out.
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I just donated and you should too--If you have $5, 5 cents, or 5 pieces of pocket lint, give them to WAM!. This is one of the most important, helpful, and sisterhood-focused group of people...now becoming an organization. Reach into those pockets--even a little help will really make a difference!Women, Action & the Media
READ BELOW FOR A MAJOR WAM! ANNOUNCEMENT
BIG NEWS!
The Center for New Words is transforming into WAM! (Women, Action, & the Media), which will now be an independent national organization.
Jaclyn Friedman, co-founder and director of WAM!, will head the effort to move WAM! into its new role as an autonomous organization. In its first five years, as a program of CNW, WAM! has already grown from a small-but-spirited gathering of 100 women to an influential national force that this year convened more than 600 activists and media-makers from 29 states and 9 countries, and recently forced the Washington Post to revise its editorial policy after WAM!mers publicly protested yet another sexist slur aimed at Hillary Clinton.
There is some bad news: in order to focus on the strategic planning, leadership development and fundraising required to launch an independent WAM!, we have postponed the next WAM! conference until 2011.
We won’t lie — it’s not going to be easy. In order for the new WAM! to succeed, we have to find brand-new sources of funding at a time when many funders are having a hard time even fulfilling their existing commitments. But we have one thing most organizations don’t have: YOU.
If you’ve ever considered yourself a part of the CNW or WAM! community, this is the moment to be counted. What you do right now will determine WAM’s future.
Yes, we are asking you for a donation. One that means something to you. We are trying to raise $30,000 by October 20. These crucial funds will not only be the seed money from which we can begin to grow the new, independent WAM!, they will also demonstrate to potential large-capacity funders that WAM! has the broad grassroots support to be a national force to be reckoned with.
But we’re not going to make that goal without everyone pitching in. Can you donate to WAM! right now?
With your support and Jaclyn’s leadership, WAM! is now poised to take another great leap in power and influence.
In the next two years, we can launch thriving local WAM! chapters in major cities across the country, which will foster on the grassroots level the kind of cutting-edge thought and action WAM! already inspires nationally. We can build an engaged online WAM! community through monthly webinars on timely topics, a brand-new WAM! website designed to foster action, and of course, our ever-flourishing listserv. And we can ensure that the next WAM! conference — now planned for Chicago in March 2011 — is the largest and most influential yet, creating an unstoppable force for gender justice that will change the media landscape for good.
New Words has a 36-year history of responding creatively to changing times. In 1974, we opened New Words Bookstore. Thirty-two years later, we evolved into the Center for New Words, where our events and programs have galvanized feminist voices and ideas. Our evolution reflects larger changes in the publishing industry, the women’s movement, technology, and the economy.
Every day, WAM!mers help each other place op-eds and articles, get powerful media jobs, leverage new technology, hold the media accountable, produce and promote books, films, and other projects, get stories told about our lives and work, and change the very structure of the media itself. You can continue your support for New Words’ legacy and join this growing movement by making a contribution today. Please donate now to join the WAM! movement. Once you do, you’ll receive regular updates on our progress and ongoing opportunities to shape our new direction.
With your help, we can ensure that everyone will be hearing the loud, wise “new words” of women for many years to come.
Jaclyn Friedman, Director, Women, Action & the Media
Tina Brand, CNW Board President
P.S. Here’s that button again. Please donate today.
We use Google’s secure server to receive donations. Your donation will go directly to CNW and will be used to support and grow the new WAM!.
Trying out Posterous for the first time with this link to Skin Deep safe cosmetics (which is definitely worth checking out...scary what's in our daily products).
Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group.
Women recently responded with thrill, relief, joy, and love upon seeing a photo of a real woman--with a stomach, ooh aah--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 very happy to see this reaction.
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!
I just came across a Fox newsflash about a Shape Magazine article, called "Country's Leading Ladies Discuss Body Image, Confidence and Jessica Simpson!"
Gee, turns out women running businesses is actually, well, great for business.
From the NYT Fashion & Style section...
Frito-Lay's latest ad campaign is based on women's guilt about eating--and sadly, it was designed with women in mind, in order to appeal to women.
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. 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.
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."
Another great point from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood:
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:
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?
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.
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.
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.
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