Schools

Students Harness Power of Social Media

Students will use social media to challenge portrayal of women in the media

Submitted by the Ethel Walker School

Students at the Ethel Walker School are learning about the power of social media. A group of students will use social media outlets to challenge the popular media’s portrayal of women.

These young women believe that the media promotes a single and unfair image of women: that their value lies in beauty and sexuality, rather than their intellect and leadership capacity.

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On Friday, March 30th, at 7:00 p.m., The Ethel Walker School will sponsor a private showing of the film Miss Representation, a 2011 award-winning documentary that challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls.

This event will kick off student participation in the Not Buying It campaign, an initiative created in conjunction with the Miss Representation film for which people worldwide use the hashtag #notbuyingit to call out products and ads that misrepresent or degrade women as they are seen in our society.

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This campaign is an opportunity for students to learn about social media’s potential to take action on advertisements and products that degrade women.
As one component of the Not Buying It campaign, Walker’s students will present a letter expressing their dismay with contemporary advertising practices.

In the letter, the students suggest that companies feature women with many body types in their advertising to promote the idea that beauty comes in different shapes and sizes.

“You have the power to help women of every body type see herself as beautiful—to dismantle the pressure a girl feels to alter her body, and allow her to focus on what she can contribute to the world,” the letter states.

Following the screening, participants will be encouraged to take action by signing the letter and creating their own video message pledging a personal action to change the media’s portrayal of women.

More than anything, these young students want to be heard. They want their message and voice to be known so that they can actively participate in creating positive change through the power of social media.


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