[Re-Blogged] Miss Representation: Your Weekly Action Alert, Super Bowl Sunday edition

MissRepresentation.org is awesome. Each week, they send out a weekly action alert to call attention to the misrepresentation of women in the media. I'm a fan because they push for change through individual movements. I'll be re-blogging their weekly actions often.

This week highlights the Super Bowl. Who remembers this 2011 Pepsi-Max ad that had us all in an uproar for perpetuating the angry black woman stereotype? (Kind of like BET's The Game last week...) Both television moments caused a firestorm in social media, and we know those firestorms can affect change. Businesses can be reprimanded, and commercials and television shows can be pulled. Today, the MissRep folks have put out a call to action:   

America's most popular annual entertainment event is a display of male athletic skill, strength and aggression. The commercials take these themes to an extreme by selling products via images of hyper-masculinity. Women, meanwhile, are either hyper-sexualized or entirely absent from the conversation (save the frequent cuts to cheerleaders on the sidelines).

This week's Get Healthy action is centered on being conscious of what we are consuming Super Bowl weekend. Over the past few weeks we've worked to avoid objectifying women and girls and have encouraged each other to be more comfortable with ourselves, but the media continues to present a constant assault on our sense of self. Now is the time to hold them accountable.
  

This Sunday, if you're watching the game, look for differences in the representations of women and men. Point out sexism as it happens and educate those around you by asking questions: who was that commercial directed at? What was the message? Is that a true reflection of the women and men we know?

Read more.