Monday, June 21, 2010

Hey mainstream media...

In thinking about how to wrap up this project, I decided that I wanted to do something action oriented. The Seventeen Magazine Project has made some strides in calling attention to and promoting discussion about the inaccurate and unfair representations of teens, women, and humanity as a whole in mainstream media. The blog itself, however, has done little to actually spur large-scale, direct change. Having established this blog as a foundation for discussion, I thought it would be nice to end the project with some sort of advocacy campaign-- a project involving readers that called mainstream media out on the carpet for their limited and inaccurate portrayal of what it really means to be a teen, a woman, and a human.

I kicked around some ideas with my dad about possible projects. He vetoed most of my suggestions, pointing out that use of violence/vandalism/open flame/mustard gas would probably cast a dark shadow over the positive message of fair media portrayal that I was trying to promote. At the very least, I thought it might be cool to put some faces to the people that mainstream media is misrepresenting. Here is what I came up with. The project is called, "Hey mainstream media!" To participate in this project, all that you have to do is take a picture of yourself holding a sign with words finishing the statement, "Hey mainstream media! I am...."

Anyone can participate in this project. That is, anyone that at some point has felt misrepresented by or excluded from mainstream media. This project is NOT just for teens. Are you a black woman? Maybe you're more than just a sassy best friend character. A straight man? Maybe you're interested in more than just pictures of naked women. Unlike media, this project does not exclude or alienate any demographic.

You can email me your submissions here, or add them directly to the Flickr pool. I'll add all the pics that I get to the Flickr pool, and post the ones that I find most interesting here on the blog.

Eventually, if enough people participate, I am thinking about having these photos printed up into collage-style posters and mailing/delivering them to the offices of magazines/tv studios as a reminder of how few consumers actually fit the limited set of stereotypes that media prescribes to us.

Make the type on your poster bold and readable! Let's see how many pictures we can get by July 6. Here's number 1....

Hey mainstream media! I am...

33 comments:

  1. I love it!!! I hope you get tons of submissions. I'm planning mine right now... ;D

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  2. Great idea! I'm also planning my submission right now. I just need some crafty stuff and a friend with a camera. Yay, action! :)

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  3. I think this is a great idea! I'll have to come up with some fun picture to send.

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  4. Just got linked to the blog by Feministing and been through the lot. I love the way you write - wonderfully light and bitey and funny - and wish you all the best in Chicago :)

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  5. I loved 17 when I was a teen. Back then it was the same issues and advice topics but the advice seemed more down to earth and real and not "chic-lit". The beauty topics may have stayed the same: in every teen beauty mag there was always a summer issue including tips on how to excercise and exfoliate at the beach using sand-since just hanging out in your bikini wasn't enough. I miss the old 17. I wouldn't give my nieces the new 17. I like the new project idea. I would say to 17 "I am 45 and still struggling w/acne and social acceptance issues" which 17 never cured. Good luck!

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  6. So many things to say and probably not enough characters in this box to write them all! Let's try anyway: I'm a 19 year old female college sophomore. I heard your interview on NPR the other day and LOVED it. btw, very well done-you spoke better than many interviewees on NPR. So now, I'm on my lunch break from my internship and just read every post from your project. I gotta say, great idea and great writing. Thanks for showing the world that not all teen girls are vapid funsuckers. I wish you all the best at Chicago (completely jealous) and I'll be checking up to see what you come up with next!
    -Kaycee, from Charleston, SC

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  7. dido on that. love this initiative :) Ill try and come up with something good too!

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  8. Like many others who have posted recently, I heard your interview on NPR and asked myself, "are all 18 year olds this articulate?" I'm professor, so I do know the answer. I have taken a brief sample of your posts and have been very entertained. Perhaps you have read it already, but may I suggest the book "Packaging Girlhood:Rescuing our Daughters from Marketer's Schemes" by Lamb & Brown (2006).

    I have a question for you about your action project: if media were to provide a magazine that did capture the teen experience, what would it look like? Could you create a prototype?

    Good luck with your future endeavors. I see from a post above that you are headed to Chicago. You'll love it (this is where I am currently).

    Here's my message to media:

    I am a parent who can have an intellectually stimulating career and be an engaged mother...I don't have to choose one or the other. I choose both.

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  9. This is fantastic. "I am more than musical theatre!" "I am not a suit person" "I am not Taylor Lautner, nor do I want to be!"

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  10. That's a neat idea... will talk to my twin sister and see if we should do a "We are fat AND pretty" type one... Or "We are girls AND gamers"... will think on it.

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  11. I love this blog!
    This new idea sign idea is awesome!
    Hmmm...

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  12. I heard your interview on NPR yesterday and it was fantastic. I am a high-school sophomore, and as much as I enjoy reading Seventeen, I'm not content with many of the articles they feature. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's looking for a little more than getting my best bikini body and reading about the hot guys of summer.

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  13. Hi! For Christmas during my sophomore year of my aunt got me a two year subscription to 17, which I still receive (I just graduated, like you)). And I've always felt like I've been completely excluded from the magazine. I am intelligent, I am not obsessed with boys, and I am plus-sized-- All these things put me outside their demographic I suppose. The only good thing 17 ever convinced me to do was buy hotrollers for my hair, which ARE as amazing as they claimed. But that's besides the point: every time I put down a 17 magazine after flipping through the pages, I felt like a failure. How could I not be stylish and thin and flirty the way "normal girls" are? Only multiplying my pain was the fact that 17 with their "Body Peace" project seemed to be mocking me--they thought the pages and pages of bikinis and workouts and diets and dating advice would make me feel BETTER about myself. I wrote the editor a very angry email, which I noticed was never published in that cute little section where people sing the praises of whichever mindless celebrity was on the cover last month. I remember discussing this with my friends, how we would start our own magazine that would have fashion and hair and makeup, but also intelligent articles and inspiring women on the cover. Once I heard about your project, I read the whole thing, and I'm sad it's over! There's so much more to explore! Anyway, expect my picture very soon, and thank you for your efforts.

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  14. I have been lurking for awhile but first things first- I'm definitely going to participate in this project as I think it is an AMAZING, and hopefully super effective idea.

    Now to my other lurking thoughts... just for reference I'm 24 and married, but in a lot of ways I really feel like a teen still, I don't know what that says about me, probably some weird skewed view of adulthood on my part, but my point is that while I'm not a teen, I'm not all that far removed from your experience... at least I don't look at it that way... mainly because I don't have a full time job, but whatever) I have to point you to gorp's comment... if seventeen doesn't "get it" then what would they have to do in order to "get it?" And I'm not saying that they do, or that I agree with everything that gets in the magazine (when I read it, there was lots of sex material- more than just contraceptive options- that I took issue with, considering readers are as young as 12, but some probably welcome that). I know you've mentioned a lot of things here, but I guess I'm saying that I think the problem we run into when we accuse seventeen of "not getting it" is that they do in fact "get it" for some people.

    I know, my heart breaks a little to think of it that way, but there are some teen girls out there who really truly identify (or maybe just enjoy?) this type of material... so I don't think we can get rid of these types of magazines, but I totally agree that they should be more challenging to their readership, and not just recycling the same articles over and over (btw- The nest- a prominent newlywed online magazine literally recycles their material with different headlines... I get an e-mail every month saying "7 great space savers" or "50 of your most embarrassing sex questions- Answered" and I always click on something... I've almost always already read the article, they've just changed the headline... REALLY???? REALLY? You can't write new content? THAT'S YOUR JOB!). My solution would be more magazines, because I don't think ONE is going to represent or speak to EVERY woman, or EVERY teen, or EVERY person.... I think in trying to make money magazines like seventeen try to hit everyone and end up not doing anything all that well (which you've mentioned... I almost direct quoted you there).

    Anyway- I know I seem a bit argumentative, but I love what you've done here, and I agree that there is a lot to be done in "mainstream media". Thinking on what my sign will say...

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  15. I really love your idea making these signs its such a great way to show the media that we do not all fit into one "type." I will deffently be entering my poster picture... right now I am mulling over the idea of doing "Hey mainstream media I am more then just Hard of Hearing!" :)

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  16. What an excellent idea. Now, to make my sign...

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  17. I read Shape....not much about hair and makeup in there. Although Seventeen does cover some stories about humanity. What should be realized is Seventeen has gone through a ton of changes. I use to read it all the time when Atoosa was the Editor I feel like Shoket took it down a long winding road that it will never recover from or maybe that is just Conde Nast. On the other hand Conde has made their magazines so that you do move on. Normally the next progression is Glamour and if you would read that it's not all hair and make-up. Also, if you follow magazine logic Celebrities on the cover may fade away again since there is really only so much you can read on a celebrity, but it's hard to say if that will go through. I think what should be realized is the people behind these magazines are not quite as dumb as one might think and the business side is quiet strong and they know too if people want serious conversations they will bring it to the blogs. Still I wish you luck in your endeavors especially those against such a power house that in 1950 published Sylvia Plath, I guess times change and so do magazines.

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  18. Excellent idea! And hey, did you know your blog has reached western Canada?? Expect my sign in your inbox soon :)

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  19. Great idea! I bookmarked the Flickr pool. =]

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  20. Wow. Just found your blog from a friend. Love the concept.

    Another blogger posts ridiculous takes on Cosmopolitan. Here is one - http://temerity-jane.com/life/sometimes-i-wish-you-werent-so-busy-because-this-shiz-is-gross-yall/

    However, it would be great to see the photos on mainstream media, like Good Morning America. (They used to do a short segment featuring user generated photos and video called 'My week in three words' - not sure if they still do.)

    Good luck!

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  21. Your blog was a fabulous idea! I'm glad you kept it up and managed to show everyone something that we didn't necessarily think about while reading this magazine. I used to love Seventeen when I was 14 and I thought I was so sophisticated. Although I know that fashion rags are just that, rags, I still enjoy them and see them for what they really are: entertainment, albeit frivolous and materialistic.

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  22. I love this concept! It's sad, though, that a lot of media misrepresentations start off well-meaning. Like the term "African-American", for example. It makes you forget that there are black people living in the US who don't fit what that term entails.

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  23. This is way too cool, I'm a senior at east (as in, good ole cb, i noticed your grad pics are from war memorial) full props for initiating this

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  24. awesome idea, jamie! would love to contribute :)

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  25. I am a now 21 year old girl who never read Seventeen in her life & never intends to.

    I am MORE than a fake Barbie doll.

    Thank goodness I never read that magazine as a teen, it would've made me feel even worse about myself than I did.

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  26. This is an AWESOME idea! I'm far from 17 - 25 now - but I obviously remember what it was like, and I'm still young enough that I still get a lot of the same bull thrown at me. Misrepresentation (or lack of representation on the other hand) is a huge issue that affects everyone so it's great that you're putting the word out on this. I'm posting this on Twitter and plan on making my own photo to add to the pool soon!! I'm telling my friends!!

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  27. Hey Jamie,

    I just read through your entire blog and found it fascinating. I just graduates college, but I would have wished I had found more non-mainstream advice when I was your age. I'm a girl who was affected by the mainstream media and has struggled with body image issues, and I found your perspective and confidence refreshing. I hope you keep up your vision.
    thanks

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  28. Hey Jamie,

    Just discovered this blog today (through Jezebel ;) and I think it is fantastic. You are incredibly articulate and have some really great ideas. I love this Hey Mainstream Media project, and wish you all the best in your endeavors.

    Claire

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  29. Jamie: Absolutely fantastic work! I stopped reading Seventeen magazine 10 years ago when I was fifteen. Even back then I saw how lame and vapid that magazine was and still is.

    I'm 25 years old and I am still battling girls my age who think they need to don stillettos and pushup bras in order to be "feminine." After a brief shopping episode from earlier today (I was trying to be one of the girls and failed miserably)...I found your blog and breathed a bit easier. I am not a freak for not wanting to wear beaded silk dresses that cost 250 Euros.

    My birkenstocks and I applaud you. Be strong and always stand up for who you are because that is beautiful.

    My media message would be:I choose Target over Cartier, Birki's over Louboutains, and National Geographic over Seventeen.

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  31. Jamie-

    I just want to tell you how truly amazing and inspirational your findings have been for me. As a young female I have continually striven for the "perfect" body and lifestyle, and at times have let my obsession for this unattainable life that is portrayed by the media to be "normal" and "cool" control my happiness. The goal and execution of your project are very clear, and your results are empowering. I love the "I am..." pictures that you have collected, too! If you continue to question authority and those controlling mainstream media of all types, I know your findings and research will continue to encourage others to do the same. Cheers!

    -Shaina from CA

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  32. LOVE this! I just found out about you and your project, and I'm so excited!!! I will be adding a pic to the pool very soon.

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  33. Wow- I just discovered this project/blog and your other blog Teenagerie last night and have been reading all of your posts completely amused and enthralled. You did an awesome job on this project and you definitely provide very compelling insights on your blog.

    As a thirty-something married mom, I still vividly remember my teenage/college years and thinking/feeling some of the same reactions you have towards mainstream media. One of the great things about getting older is the communal realization that none of my friends/peers felt that they fit the normal teenage conventions either- we all thought we were outcast, awkward teens.

    Your experiences in completing the 17 Project does certainly extend far beyond just teens. As I was reading through this blog, I kept thinking how funny it would be if I were to try to live according to a Good Housekeeping mag... But unfortunately, I think you'll find that the media will be there to stereotype every phase of your life. You'll have Cosmo for your college years, Bride's magazine should you chose to become engaged, Parents will stereotype every aspect of birthing/raising your children, Good Housekeeping... well I'm sure you get it.

    Awesome job on this project and on your blog- you have a lot of fresh and inspiring ideas- I think you have a lot to offer young (and older) women- keep up the questioning, keep up the writing and sharing! Your Hey Mainstream Media project is a great idea- love it. Have you considered publishing the submissions you receive in a photobook? Blurb books is a great option for this- just mho. Best to you!

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