Last week, the conference South by Southwest (SXSW) canceled two panels on gaming and online harassment due to threats of violence, rape, and animal abuse. By canceling the events, the conference sent the message that it condones the very type of harassment it sought to highlight.
In response, we launched a #NotBuyingIt campaign and were joined by leaders, media outlets, and SXSW participants (such as BuzzFeed, Vox, and Verge). Thanks to your participation in this coalition, SXSW has already publicly apologized and announced an all-day summit on harassment.
However, the conference is inviting perpetrators of online harassment to speak at the summit, posing a threat to participants and panelists. That’s why this week, we encourage you to tweet at SXSW or fill out this contact form and continue to push for a safe space for healthy, productive dialogue. Together, we can create a world free of social injustices so that everyone can be safe from gender-based harassment.
Onwards,
Jennifer Siebel Newsom & The Representation Project team
The Mask You Live In at San Francisco’s Castro Theater
Join us December 2nd for a very special benefit screening of The Mask You Live In at San Francisco’s iconic Castro Theater. The film, which explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men, and society at large, will be followed by a Q&A with Jennifer Siebel Newsom and host Joy Bianchi Venturini as well as special guests including California’s Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. All proceeds to benefit The Representation Project. Buy tickets and learn more!
From Around the Web
Check out The Representation Project Founder and CEO Jennifer Siebel Newsom interviewing Reese Witherspoon for the cover of Glamour’s Women of the Year issue!
“I have achieved a certain amount of success, and I felt a responsibility to my daughter and to women in this world to create more opportunities for women.” – Reese Witherspoon, Glamour
- BuzzFeed: “This Mom’s Son Wanted His Own American Girl Doll, So She Worked Some Magic”
- The Guardian: “A List of Things I Wish Women’s Magazines Would Publish”
- People.com: “Woman with Eating Disorder Explains the Problem with a Sexy ‘Anna Rexia’ Halloween Costume”
- Quartz: “Witches Are Some of the Most Enduring Feminist Icons of Our Time”
- Salon: “Billboard Apologizes for Tweeting Now-Deleted Sexual Innuendo About 2-Year-Old North West”
via Miss Representation‘s Instagram