Norm Reform

http://www.tedxteen.com/talks/tedxteen-2012/112-tavi-gevinson-still-figuring-it-out

I wanted to respond to this link from the recent TEDxTeen Event that took place in New York on March 31st. The girl speaking is a fashion blogging prodigy who is now the chief editor of an online internet magazine and she is just a sophomore in high school, but I think she is fabulous and had some interesting points about female representation in media as well as living up to the paradoxical demands and confinements society seems to demand we fit into. She mentions that while she is still figuring it all out she had to overcome people saying she couldn't be a feminist and interested in fashion, and the list goes on and on. She paralleled this one demenionality with female representations in the media and how so much of the time women have only one aspect (ususally thier sexuality) played up when women are obviously more complex, and as she and Lena Dunham noted, full of contradictions.

So her message in this talk and in her publication is that its completely okay for young girls to not have all the answers, not fit into one preconceived cultural box, that its okay to have contradictory feelings and not apologize for it - just like Stevie Nicks - who she says we should all be.

Furthermore my gorup - Mike Roma, Zach Siegel, Rachel Scott and I turned in our two videos for the Media Project, which we are very proud of and hope everyone enjoys of course!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQfbFA6jGRU&context=C4385b2fADvjVQa1PpcFOy20lIrhxQTbW9UEeNER3LokMafuVdblg=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_p1XBwzRM&feature=context&context=C4385b2fADvjVQa1PpcFOy20lIrhxQTbW9UEeNER3LokMafuVdblg=

But also they have inspired us to start a new Youtube channel called Norm Reform

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxPjrUVVSuCUUjossKQZ8bQ

and we were inspired by this assignment to continue making media that asks those proverbial WHYs and examines the assumptions and norms of society in gender and sexuality but in all aspects of life too so people can see just how many of those norms are unfounded and arbitrary and shouldn't be followed!

If anyone is interested check out our channel and subscribe so you can see what we come up with next!