Action Alert

August 2012

What actions do I take to promote gender equality?

Do you know that the average U.S. teenager spends over ten hours/day consuming media? While this may not be new to many, the way that women are portrayed in this media is pause for consideration. In 2011, a documentary entitled Miss Representation (90 minutes) was released. According to the website, “the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which makes it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.” In addition, “stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics."

Among the statistics presented in the documentary are:

• 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies. That number increases to 78% by age 17 (Source is here).
• 65% of American women and girls have disordered eating behavior (Source is here).   
• About 25% of girls will experience teen dating violence (Source is here).
• The number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youth 18 or younger more than tripled from 1997 and 2007 (Source is here).

After the release, the director and filmmaker, Jennifer Siebel Newsom teamed up with a diverse group of educators to design a curriculum that gives media literacy a much needed gender focus. This K-12 and collegiate curriculum is divided into age appropriate content modules. According to the website for Miss Representation, the modules include age appropriate film clips, definitions of relevant concepts, reflection exercises, discussion questions, in-class activities and homework suggestions. The modules are sequenced to build on one another and equip both girls and boys with critical thinking skills to question the media that they are amidst daily.

This documentary leaves individuals imaging what healthy media looks like. Included on the website is information on the Healthy MEdia Commission. They recently developed a list of elements that all forms of healthy media should strive to include. Among these are healthy body images, active and diverse female characters, equal and healthy relationships, and increased number of roles for women and girls.  More information on this is located here. 

Reflection/Action:

• In addition to speaking with the manager of a store whose advertisement portrays women negatively, make an effort not to shop at these stores.
• On a monthly basis, how many magazines do I browse through? What would I put into a letter to the editor about the use of Photoshop to alter women’s bodies? How might I challenge them drop the use of Photoshop or limit its use?
• What do health, education, religious, political and other institutions share with us through action and word about equal and healthy relationships and the role of women?
• Women will account for close to 40% of participants at the Olympic Games while the percentage of women in governing and administrative bodies of the Olympic movement has remained low. This is often the case in many institutions. In solidarity with the SCN GA2008 directive, what more can I do to empower women to assume their rightful place in church and society?
• How gender friendly are the institutions and places of ministry that I work within with regard to recruitment, hiring, pay, and promotion?
• What mentorship programs and opportunities are available to young female leaders where I live?
• The documentary, Miss Representation, can be viewed here.      
•  Host a showing together with a group at work, in school, and other places. Be sure to preview BEFORE viewing with younger audiences for age appropriate clips.
• The website for the documentary is located here. In addition to a resource link, it also includes a link to a facebook page with abundant resources.
• The curriculum can be purchased from the website located here. There is opportunity here for donating curriculum to educational institutions.
• The first ever UN celebration for Day of the Girl will be on October 11, 2012. A toolkit is available for helping organize events by clicking here.
• Urge legislators to support gender friendly legislation for women and girls.
• Choose suppliers, distributers and business partners that promote women as leaders and challenge those that do not.

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International Day of the World's Indigenous People

August 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. The focus this year is Indigenous designs: Celebrating Stories and Cultures, Crafting our Own Future. The purpose of this UN celebration is to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.

According to the State of the World's Indigenous Peoples Report released in 2010, “indigenous peoples make up around 370 million of the world’s population – some 5 per cent – they constitute around one-third of the world’s 900 million extremely poor rural people. Every day, indigenous communities all over the world face issues of violence and brutality, assimilation policies, dispossession of land, marginalization, forced removal or relocation, denial of land rights, impacts of large-scale development, abuses by military forces and a host of other abuses.” “When indigenous peoples have reacted and tried to assert their rights, they have suffered physical abuse, imprisonment, torture and even death,” states the publication.

Given this reality of poverty, poor health and displacement, this year’s focus of celebrating stories and cultures is as important as ever. As individuals celebrate in solidarity, they are encouraged to reflect upon:

• What further understanding do I have related to the harsh realities of the indigenous people in my country? In other countries?
• Who are/were indigenous of the land that I currently occupy?
• How can I impart the significance of the present/former indigenous peoples?
• What concrete actions can be taken to demonstrate my own/others indigenous pride?
• What pieces of indigenous art exist in my surroundings?
• What aspects of wisdom do I have from indigenous ways of knowing?

Human persons are willed by God; they are imprinted with God's image. Their dignity does not come from the work they do, but from the persons they are. (The Hundredth Year, Donders translation, #11)

Reflection/Action:

• In reflecting upon the reality of indigenous persons and catholic social teaching, what call do I feel to promote the human dignity of the indigenous persons in my local, state, or national setting?
• Updated information for reflection and sharing is located here.      
• Several resources for use with others exist here.