I sometimes wonder, would we be so quick to poke fun of the people around us, if we were accountable for our actions.
On the internet we’re safe behind our shiny screens and keyboards. It’s easy to poke fun and troll. No real consequences there, right?
But what about real life. When you’re walking down the street and see someone different from you, maybe they are overweight or have a quality that marks them as different, are they fair game? If it’s behind their back or out of eyesight, does it count?
Haley Morris-Cafiero sought out to answer just that, with a series she calls Wait Watchers. After experiencing some public shaming about her weight while on vacation a few years ago, Morris-Cafiero decided to run a social experiment of sorts, turning the cameras on the very people who are mocking her.
Wait Watchers documents the way people react to her in public places. Moments we don’t assume are being witnessed by anyone. Moments where we don’t think we’re accountable.
I think it’s an interesting project, but are we doing the very thing we speak against? Making an assumption from a photograph the way we, ourselves, are often victims of assumptions about our weight or health or happiness?
It’s sometimes easy to write off teenage girls with antiquated cliche. Girls who lose their minds at One Direction concerts, post millions of selfies on Instagram, girls who attack twitter users in the name of Justin Beiber.
I mean, look who we see representing them in the news and online? MTV reality show stars? That can’t be a career goal.
Thankfully, the truth is so much better than that; it just tends to get buried beneath the piles of twitter breakdowns and viral youtube girl fight videos. Over the course of a month, I’ve read the stories and followed the journeys of teenage girls who do so much more than that; girls who are changing society, not just for themselves, but for us all. I want to introduce you to some of them.
The Stand Against Slut Shaming. Katelyn Campbell was a senior, 7th in her class with a 4.8 GPA, and student body president at George Washington High School in Charleston West Virginia this year. Despite those accolades, Miss Campbell was not only barred from speaking at her High School Graduation ceremony, she also spent the better part of her school year seeking an injunction against her principal, Mr. George Aulenbaucher. You see, last April, Katelyn spoke out against a Christian Pro-Abstinance Sex-Ed Speaker, Pam Stenzel, whom Principal Aulenbacher booked for a mandatory school assembly. And assembly that featured such highlights as warnings that condoms are unsafe and that sex in high school leads to infertility and renders teens “impure.” You can listen to the audio here. So, because Katelyn Campbell spoke up against this assembly full of blatantly inaccurate health information, screaming and scare tactics, she had to seek legal action against the Principal, the man who booked a speaker who said things like “if you take birth control, your mother probably hates you,” or “I could look at any one of you in the eyes right now and tell if you’re going to be promiscuous,” yeah, that guy, she had to take legal action against that guy from calling Wellesley College, where Miss Campbell had been accepted, and informing them of her “bad character.” Katelyn was a senior in high school. She took on her Principal and the school board, and a whole host of others to have her voice heard, to make sure what people her age were hearing was accurate and balanced, and to have the right to do so without retaliation. Good on you, Miss Campbell, and it looks like Wellesly College is proud to have you!
The Stand For Respect. You can’t throw a rock and not hit a body image story these days, which is a double edge sword to me here at Curvy Girl Guide. On one hand, I’m ecstatic our voices are out there, and on the other, I am anxious and impatient for a day when body hate, suicide, and shaming isn’t an issue anymore. But today I feel thankful. I’m thankful to Brittany Minder, a senior at Central Kitsap High School in Washington, for speaking out about being humiliated at prom and barred entrance because she violated a dress code stipulation allowing strapless dresses as long as cleavage was not exposed. Brittany and her family feel the issue is that that due to her size, she’s going to have more cleavage. Miss Minder, who had to go all the way to Canada to find a dress she felt comfortable in, took the singling out as a “serious blow to her self esteem,” and now she’s speaking out, something that’s difficult to do at any age. As a large busted girl, finding dresses is hard. Especially when you want to dress just like your friends.
image courtesy ABC News
I’m thankful for Julia Bluhm and Izzy Labbe for taking on Photoshopping and the portrayal of realistic bodies in the media, including, but not limited to, Seventeen Magazine.
And I’m thankful the Spark Movement. An international girl-fueled movement to provide a platform for their voices to be heard, and change to happen. Their mission is clear,
“To demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media.” and to “to reject the commodified, sexualized images of girls in media and support the development of girls’ healthy sexuality and self-esteem.”
These are girls ages 13-22 working to promote positive body image and confidence for their peers. And I just don’t think you can get anymore amazing than that.
Are you a teen using your voice? Do you know one? Let’s hear it!
Updated to reflect the notation of Brittany Minder’s dress code violation.
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