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Coalition Speaks Out Against NBC and Sports Illustrated Interactive Bikini Contest
January 10, 2005--A national coalition of education and advocacy groups today criticized NBC's new reality show "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search". The series consists of six, one-hour episodes, airing Jan 4 – Feb. 16, 2005, showing young women competing against each other based on their body shape and size, for an opportunity to be a swimsuit model in the neo-soft-porn annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Beyond the now familiar strutting of women in underwear or bikinis before worldwide TV audiences, this program features a component of competition- reality TV that encourages TV audiences to compare, judge and nominate women who "outrate" other women based on their body sizes and shapes.
The coalition is comprised of the Girls, Women + Media Project, Mind on the Media, Dads and Daughters, and the National Organization for Men Against Sexism-Boston Chapter. (For more information on each group, see below.)
"This program moves a few steps --- really unhealthy steps --- beyond traditional beauty contests or shows featuring women in lingerie or bikinis" says Tamara Sobel, Founder and Project Director of the Girls, Women + Media Project. "By encouraging any viewer, a young boy or girl, or an adult, to take on the role of judging a woman by her breast or waist or buttocks or leg size and shape, NBC, Sports Illustrated, and all their corporate sponsors are sending a really negative message about women, about sexuality, and what we consider acceptable in the way men and boys treat women, and in the way girls and women treat themselves. Even if these women are just strangers on a TV screen, even if they might be doing it for a chance to win loads of money, if we watch it, and support the sponsors, it reflects what is OK to do in our society. We help the corporations make money on this so they can do more of the same. And its interesting to ask why aren't we rating mens bodies like this all the time if its perfectly OK."
"Once again, a network, advertisers, and producers have chosen the sleaze common denominator," says Joe Kelly, president of the national advocacy nonprofit Dads and Daughters "We want to ask the CEOs of these companies: `Would you be so eager to put production and marketing dollars behind this show if it was your own daughter who had her body verbally dissected on national TV?' You can bet they'd say no; so how can they sending these horrific messages to our daughters and sons?"
"Children and specifically girls are constantly being bombarded with this unrealistic definition of beautiful", says Caroline Ticarro- Parker, Executive Director, Mind on the Media. "We can't say that it's OK to promote even more television programs that encourage these sexist stereotypes. The networks, promoters, sponsors, producers and even the contestants need to take some responsibility ando start teaching girls (and boys) that beautiful is defined by something other than her size and how little clothes she wears."
Jack Kahn, Co-chair, National Organization for Men Against Sexism, Boston Chapter: "With the growing rates of eating disorders amongst women and men and problems and unhealthy and unrealistic views of the human body in general, we are concerned that shows such as SISMS exacerbate and reinforce these kinds of destructive behaviors. We are also concerned that these kinds of shows reinforce men's roles as being the judges of female worth by being in a position to rate and evaluate women as sexual objects. We would like to see media and entertainment that encourages us to grow in our acceptance of others, rather than perpetuating unrealistic views of body image and men's views of women as sexual objects to be appraised."
Most of the advocacy groups in the coalition receive a steady stream of letters and emails from women and men of all ages from the U.S. and beyond who object to degrading or unhealthy images of girls and women in popular media. The organizations help direct consumers feedback to the companies creating and sponsoring them.
Take Action – Let Your Voice Be Heard
What you can do: Speak out against sexist programs at NBC -- it just takes a minute or two!
Sponsors Include:
America Online
• Give feedback
Nautica Clothing • Give feedback
Verizon Wireless • To give feedback, email James Gerace, Vice President
About the Coalition
The Girls, Women + Media Project is a 21st century educational inititative and consumer advocacy network working to improve how popular media portrays, serves, and employs women and girls. www.mediaandwomen.org.
Mind on the Media is a non-profit organization concerned about sexist stereotypes in all forms of mass media. It creates positive change by teaching kids and adults media literacy, helping them gain the critical thinking skills they need to transform themselves from passive media consumers to savvy media analysts. MOTM sponsors Turn Beauty Inside Out (TBIO), a national annual campaign that engages thousands of people in grassroots media education and activism. www.motm.org
Dads and Daughters is the national advocacy nonprofit for fathers and daughters. DADs inspires fathers to actively and deeply engage in the lives of their daughters and galvanizes fathers and others to transform the pervasive cultural messages that devalue girls and women. www.dadsanddaughters.org
NOMAS-Boston is a group of men and women working to bring local communities, organizations, and college students together to break down barriers around issues surrounding sexism, racism, and homophobia and show that living without being confined to one's gender roles will enhance our lives. www.nomasboston.org
Contacts
The Boston Chapter of the National Organization for Men Against Sexism
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