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:
