Saturday, December 8, 2012

SPARK proposal.


Since we were first introduced to the SPARK movement, I've always taken a special interest in it by reading their blogs and seeing what the media is saying about them, which isn't much. After studying various movement throughout the course of the semester in my Polisci class, I learned a couple of things on how a movement can be successful by analyzing case studies. So I decided, for this media project, to send a proposal to the movement on tactics they can use in order to become successful in the years to come. 

Though the proposal only obtains a brief guideline, I decided to also incorporate a video in which could be helpful to advertise their movement. The ultimate goal here is to get the word out about this movement. To use the media itself to send a quick message to viewers and to get them to act!


Here's a link to the video:


And here's my proposal:

SPARK – Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge
·      Movement’s goal and history:
o   Goal: To push back against the increasingly sexualized images of girlhood in the media and create room for whole girls and healthy sexuality. SPARK will engage teen girls to be part of the solution rather than to protect them from the problem.
o   Background information: After The Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls was published; the consciousness caused the formation of Spark and along with 30 other organizations to hold a Summit. The report established the present danger sexualization poses on girls and so they mobilized to educate and decrease the female sexualization that is a problem so pervasive in media.
o   Constituency: Young female adults, from ages 14-22.

·      Recommended strategy and 3 tactics:
o   Strategy:
·      Goal: Specify that it is not only targeting the sexualization of women, but also the lack of diversity that exists in the media. And also include women and teen girls, than just framing it to be teen girls being the activists.
·      Framing: Instead of limiting it to ages 14-22, they should emphasize that this is for women by women. Though it is important to obtain the image that these young ladies are voicing their opinions on what affects them, especially at the critical stages of life their in, they’ll gain more “seriousness” (i.e. be taken more serious) if older women support them. The reason why is because it will show their concerns on how this affects their children. Though there are adults behind the scenes, it will give the movement more credence if they, too, are making appearances alongside the teen girls.
·    Allies & Resources: They began with 30 other organizations who are concerned too about the sexualization and objectification of women on media. (Keep it up!)
·      Target: Need to focus on just one specific target. They began to target magazines, so they should continue to do so. They should concentrate on magazines such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, and Cosmo.
·      Media Coverage: They’re fairly new so they need to concentrate on making impacts that will give them more news coverage. They’re on very low profiles now which is evident, considering they post every link of media coverage they’ve obtained on their site and the list is restricted to 11 links.
o   Tactics:
·      Frame amplification: They need to truly emphasize the importance of the effects that sexualization and objectification of women in media affects everyone. One way they can do so is by raising consciousness to young adults how their cause is pervasive in their daily lives that it has become so sterilized to be “normal”. And how parents don’t realize the effects they have of purchasing products for their kids, without critically analyzing the messages it gives.
1.     Conventional tactic:
·      Hold public summits and take advantage of other organizational allies to promote their summits. Should happen more frequently.
o   They obtained one summit at Hunter College to support and stand with girls. It was held on Friday October 22nd, 2010. The Summit was a day to speak out, push back on the sexualization of girls, and have fun while igniting a movement for girls’ rights to healthy sexuality. The Summit gave girls between the ages of 14-22 the information and tools to become activists, organizers, researchers, policy influencers, and media makers.
o   They should obtain these more frequently and make them publicly because that way they will gather a bigger crowd and hopefully manage to obtain a bigger pool of constituency. 
2.     Demonstrative tactic:
·      Hold a fashion show out in the open.
o   They had two petitions against the lack of diversity and sexualization of girls in magazines, one against Seventeen and another one when they petition against Vogue. The fashion show they held for Vogue allowed them to obtain bigger news coverage but it was evident that only a few girls participated. Therefore the movement needs to be organized better by working on obtaining a larger crowd to take part in this to mobilize and magazine to obtain more media coverage.
3.     Non-Violent disruptive tactic:
·      Boycott magazine
o   After organizing and mobilizing more individuals to join the cause, they can take larger steps, such as declining the profits of their business by boycotting.
§  Tactical innovation: Invite girls and women who own a magazine from Vogue, Teen Vogue, or Cosmo to point out the sexualization of women and lack of diversity with post-its. While also implement the same “oath” Seventeen magazine took on the magazine business to follow (oath found on pg 4).
·      Spark used this tactic when Teen Vogue told them they had not done their homework by handing them editions of magazines pointing out the “real girls” in their magazines. In retaliation, they grabbed 2010, 2011, and 2012 editions of Teen Vogue and placed post-its where there’s a photograph of white, thin girls. The results were that about 82% of the magazines were perpetuated with white thin girls. *need to keep doing this and emphasize to other girls to keep doing it*.
§  Create their own magazine or create a Teen Ms. Magazine
·      Use their ally Ms. Foundation for women as a resource to create one that appeals to the younger generations as well as promoting Ms. Magazine for the older generation.




This is the oath that SPARK should convince other magazines to follow up on. More to be a symbol than be taken as a "policy".



Sources:












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