Money Honey
Last week I gathered a group of tweeps together to watch the film Miss Representation. It was a fund raiser for Huckleberry Youth Programs at the Rafael Film Center.
Besides having a very creative name, Miss Representation was a reminder that not much has changed for women in the media (and in general) over the last 20+ years. Miss Representation is about women being misrepresented in the media -> Miss Representation get it? 😉 Catchy title.
Twenty plus years ago Thelma & Louise and The Accused came out. I was in college at the time and I was angry about the way women were treated but I was happy to see films addressing the issue.
What got to me in Miss Representation were the statistics: The number of women unhappy with their bodies. The number of women with eating disorders. The number of women who have been raped.
I’m all for focusing on the positive and for individuals being responsible for themselves but I also believe somethings are bigger than the individual and we need to talk about this issue and problem solve it together. However, a pet peeve of mine is people who preach to the choir but never actually do anything, they just talk, complain, blame and finger point. So I’m not going to do that.
Working in the Financial District of San Francisco I often walk by the TV screens with CNBC on. Did you know that people refer to the female reporters on CNBC as the Money Honeys?
I don’t know what the answer is because blaming men is not going to change anything, we already tried that and men are a product of this society just as much as women are. Blaming individual women isn’t going to work either because if a female news reporter or actress is asked to use a little botox here, show some cleavage there or lose some weigh,t she’s probably going to do it to keep her job. Unless she is Rachel Maddow. 😉
One thing we can do is show our support by paying to see movies: written, directed or produced by strong women, support women in politics, female bloggers, news reporters and companies who advertise with these outlets. In this society money talks faster than anything else!
If we focus on the positive and put more of our dollars in to the positive the media will follow the money and the ratings.
I say instead of boycotting the negative and drawing more attention to it, IGNORE the negative media. Focus on the positive media, spend money on the positive media and shout it out to the world about all the films, shows, reporters, bloggers, artists, musicians, writers and politicians who are doing great things and being positive role models.
I’d love to start a list of all the great media women (and men) are already doing to bring more balance and happiness to the world. Please list your favorites in the comments below. Also if you saw the movie I’d love to hear your thoughts.
“Energy flows where attention goes.”
Newest Miss Representation Trailer (2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection) from Miss Representation on Vimeo.
Follow the film on Twitter. @RepresentPledge
PS. After the film a group of us pledged to blog our thoughts about the film. I will link to their blog posts below as they are published.
when de ja vu draws the same blank by @Alembic
Women and the Media, Revisited by @CurtisFinancial
Week of Representing: Rachel Taormina by @TamHolland
Yep, you said it “energy flows where attention goes.” I am happy to see your energies on track to get our attention for action. The movie can easily turn a discussion into despair over how little little seems to have changed over the years in the ways in which the media sees and represents women, but you took it into a positive groove, leading to steps we can take to make a difference. Great post!
I’m pleased to say that I work for a news station where all of the female anchors are over 40, two of us are over 50 & i don’t think they’ll be swapping us for younger women any time soon. Then again, it’s a (major) radio station, not TV. Still, broadcast journalism tends to be a biz for the young. Thankfully, at our place it’s also for the experienced, aging & wise!
Thanks for organizing the tweet-up, and for following up with this blog post, and for rallying others to do the same . . . and for the positivity. My favorite part of the film was at the end, where folks talked about ideas for change. Often, “all” we can do is what we, personally, can do. Thanks for starting the ball rolling.