As I wrote here, Girl Scouts supports the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925), a bipartisan bill that promotes healthy media messages about girls and women for the benefit of all youth. This week, Girl Scouts has focused on gaining more attention for this bill.On Wednesday, eighteen high school Girl Scouts from Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital participated in Girl Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill to encourage Congressional support for the Healthy Media for Youth Act.
The girls met mostly with staff from the offices of U.S. Representatives, but also had a few meetings with Representatives themselves. In the meetings, the girls highlighted Girl Scout programming and research, outlined the key parts of the bill, and shared personal stories to emphasize the importance of the bill. At the end of the day, the girls attended a networking reception where they had the opportunity to meet people who work and intern on the Hill.In addition, several blogs featured the Healthy Media for Youth Act and the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network this week, including Rachel Simmons, Shaping Youth, and Women and Hollywood! Jess Weiner also covered the bill in her e-newsletter.
More importantly - What can you do?
Join the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network and send a letter of support for the bill to your U.S. Representative – and then tell your friends to do the same! Include information about the bill and a link to the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network in your newsletters and on your website. Download a web sticker to put on your website or in emails that will direct folks to the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network where they can send letters to Members of Congress.
The bill currently has 42 co-sponsors, but we hope to reach our goal of 75 before the end of the legislative cycle. And there is not much time left! So Take action this week – like the girls from Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital - to support the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925). Head over to the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network now!
Photos of Girl Scouts with Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-5) and Melissa Munoz from Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick’s (AZ-1) office.
6 comments:
We're very proud of our girls! Thank you for posting.
I'm so happy to see our girls standing up for their own rights. I can already see the GirlTopia in the Horizon. Keep up the good work and thank you for posting.
Follow the Shaping Youth link to find out more about the specifics of the legislation (Quote below):
"Here’s what the Girl Scouts put forth in their defining document for example:
“To Promote Healthy Body Images, the Media Should:
*Feature and value girls and women with varying body types and ethnicities
*Portray realistic, unaltered images of females with natural, physical imperfections
*Show girls in age-appropriate attire
*Make an effort to decrease depictions of hyper-sexualized girls and women
To Develop Positive and Active Role Models, the Media Should:
*Include a diverse cast of female characters in active and ambitious roles
*Feature females in traditionally male roles, such as CEOs or action heroes
*Feature girls and women who have confidence in their abilities and appearances
*Include more girls and women in leadership positions and as the main characters
To Portray Equal and Healthy Relationships, the Media Should:
*Show equality and mutual respect between female and male characters
*Feature positive relationships between girls and women, showing them cooperating with each other
*Feature realistic and substantive courtships between characters who fall in love
What a wonderful experience for them!
Good to see these young women learning about the legislative process and their role within it. Government is "us," not "them," after all.
Thanks for including Shaping Youth's links to this important and vital legislation to get the word out and make a difference for our girls (and for humanity as a whole!)
I'll be doing two follow up pieces to keep awareness going, including Jessica Lawrence's trip to Capitol Hill and an active WI parent interview who's met w/WI Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's office about 'Redefining Girly' (see PigtailPals.com)
Could I perhaps use this photo of your GSA advocates in a follow up piece (with attribution/links of course?)
Also, please 'save the date' and spread the word: Oct 22, 2010 girl advocates will unite for the SPARKsummit in NYC to champion CHANGE in challenging media's sexualization and commodification of girls as 'objects' (more details:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/?p=11331 )
Keep up the great work for a healthier representation of kids everywhere...thanks for all you do! --Amy
@ShapingYouth on Twitter
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