Miss Representation

 In honor of Women’s History Month, I want to share with you all a powerful documentary that I think every woman and girl should watch. While flipping through the channels last fall, I came across the most thought provoking piece that I’ve seen in a long time. Miss Representation is a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The documentary explores the complex relationship between the images that are perpetuated by the media and the impact that such images have on the self-esteem and self-awareness of girls and women. Newsom was inspired to make the documentary after the birth of her own daughter. She became more and more critical of the messages that her daughter received.

Every day, women and girls are constantly bombarded with images and messages, some subliminal, some overt, of what they should be. Many of these messages normalize unhealthy body images and poor behavior. As a result, girls and women internalize a standard of beauty that is unhealthy and most of the time, false. We’ve all seen the photoshopped ads. The proliferation of such ads and images has led to an uptick in eating disorders, plastic surgery at younger and younger ages and even depression. As women, it is important that we leverage our power and say no to unhealthy images. Miss Representation takes an in depth look at the effect of these images and encourages women and girls to take a stand against them. 

Best,

Ciji Dodds
Miss International 2011