Toxic Media

Michelle Wong

MEDIA 384

Toxic Advertisement

     We might not realize the overwhelming amount of advertisements in media. “We are exposed to over 1500 ads a day, constituting perhaps the most powerful education source in society.”(Kilbourne 121) Without advertisements, websites, magazines, newspapers, media in general will not survive, and sadly, advertisements directly contributes to problems with toxic media. 

       An example would be the Ms. Magazine. This magazine is to liberate and empower women, so it is hypocritical to include ads about beauty, but it was impossible for the magazine to function without ads. Though, Ms. tried to include ads for the sake of communication between the readers and advertisers, in hope to change and improve the advertisement game. The magazine tried to incorporate other ads, such as technology ads or car ads, but these companies believed that women were incapable of using their products, so they were skeptical of Ms. When the representatives of the magazine finally got invited to a car show, in hopes of looking for sponsors, they realized something alarming. “…the only women around the technology displays are seminude models serving champagne.” (Steinem 115) In order to sell products, women are stripped of their clothes, to be sexualized, and to be placed in a room full of male consumers. So, this pushes the idea that selling something effectively requires a naked female. 

Take away the car scene, and let’s transition to an everyday setting, a restaurant. An article in Ms. magazine, it said, “There is also the rise of the “breastaurant,” chain establishments featuring young, attractive servers in revealing uniforms.” Even restaurants are trying to sell their products by using bodies of women. A very famous example, Hooters, where they require employees to wear absurdly short shorts and overly tight shirts that expose their breasts. This is a form of advertisement in reality that's not even on a screen. The message that this sends not only shows that society only values those who provide their bodies, but also only value those who are youthful, and it’s a sin to age.

Waitresses at Hooters.

     Products sold in advertisements are also accustomed to beauty myths and standards. For example the Virginia Slims. Emphasizing on slims, the cigarette is created for women, that supports the idea of rebellion and independence, also trying to signify elegance and sophistication. The shape of the cigarette is not in any way a coincidence in the message Virginia Slims try to convey. It is trying to advocate the idea “…desired social trait of slimness.” (Kellner 129) In an ad, there is a slogan on the breast of a thin young woman, “Decisions are easy. When I get to fork on the road, I eat.” Bordo argues, “Presumably, without those forks in the road, she might forget to eat entirely.” (Bordo 101)

Virginia Slim Ad "Decisions are easy. When I get to a fork in the road, I eat" 

We instill poor values onto young girls that damage their development with these types of subliminal messages. Kilbourne points out that the two types of women that are portrayed in ads are housewives and the sex doll. Ads for cleaning products target housewives, throwing them back in their “rightful” positions to cleaning, the only thing they contain value for. Then you have a youthful, skinny, and pretty sex object that “…feel their desirability and lovability are contingent upon physical perfection.” (Kilbourne, 122) This urges girls to believe that in order to be valued, they’d have to follow their patriarchal roles and descriptions, which creates eating disorders and mental health problems. 

When we think women suffer from the influences of advertisements, we should consider those women who are not straight to be victimized in a different way. Different from other groups, “…lesbians have not been easily identifiable as a social group anyways.” (Clark 143) They are a consumer pool that doesn’t attract advertisers to knowledge their existence. But, they do apply the technique, “gay window”, to discretely attract the lesbian and gay market. But, one dilemma the lesbian community faces is the fact that they have to comply with the rebellious, "I don’t care how I look" expectation, while, being drowned with advertisements about beauty and elegance. 
  I am surrounded with media influence everyday with the technology we are provided. I always loved Seventeen when I was growing up. As a child, my mind was simple. I didn’t know what was the hidden messages behind these powerful images, except for the fact that there were beautiful white thin girls in a magazine that I idolized. Although this magazine is so influential to young women, it's just a magazine to that sells beauty as value, and filled with ads that sell products that “give” those values. With no surprise, Seventeen is owned by the Hearst Corporation which also owns Cosmopolitan, another magazine that sells the same agenda to an older group. Not to mention that the whole board of the corporation are white men. 

     A T.V. show that I love so dearly is Glee. I love Glee for the musical content and the fact that they feature a diverse group of students, even having an openly gay character on the main cast. But, in the pool of kids, they threw in cheerleaders that wear short skirts and their sexuality was always emphasized throughout the show. This show teaches viewers a whole lot of great values and morals. But just throwing in some sexualized female cheerleaders is problematic, considering that many young teenagers watches the show. The channel that airs this is Fox 5, a branch of Fox Entertainment, that is also in the same branch of Fox 5 News.

Cheerios of Glee.

  Young teenage girls are fragile because they are learning and growing. This is the market that advertisers want to attract because they’ll become loyal consumers as they grow older. So, it is no surprise that in young adult magazines, there are plenty of ads selling beauty products with thin women. This is extremely distracting for young girls’ growth. “Mass communication has made possible a kind of nationally distributed peer pressure that erodes private and individuals values and standards.” (Kilbourne, 122) 

  It seems to be that media are always playing upon insecurities and vulnerability of women. To be a heavy consumer of media is inevitable in 2017, and it is horrifying for people who are unable to filter out these messages. Media is a medium that communicates a message, and poor examples of media send toxic messages to women. How do we try to alleviate the poor messages media sends us, when media is plagued with it? 

Citations:

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: U of California, 1993. Print. : pp. 101
Steinem, Gloria. “Sex, Lies and Advertising.” pp. 115
Kilbourne, Jean. “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising”. pp. 121-122
Kellner, Douglas. “Reading Images Critically: Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy.” pp. 129
Clark, Danae. “Commodity Lesbianism.” pp. 143

Atrocious Advertising

Claudia Fareri
Women and Media
Doris Cacoilo
18 March 2017

Advertising is a steady churning machine that produces millions of pieces of content each year. And although some of us may turn a blind eye to its presence, its effects can still leave lasting impressions on others. According to "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising" Jean Kilbourne says “the ads sell a great deal more than products. They sell values, images and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. Sometimes they sell addictions” (121). On the surface, it may seem that ads are promoting products but if you take a closer look, ads promote ideas about what to wear, what to like and essentially who to be.

Gigi Hadid poses for Stuart Weitzman's Spring 17 Campaign.

In this example, Gigi Hadid strips naked except for a pair of Stuart Weitzman boots in her Spring 17 ad. Many of the time, girls are dressed provocatively in ads because advertisers are aware that sex sells and that "their desirability and lovability are contingent upon physical perfection" (Kilbourne, 122). Gigi Hadid is yet another tall, skinny, blonde haired and blue eyed model that ads are constantly featuring; it is ads like these tell young woman what the standard for beauty is. And it is in these ads that "women are shown almost exclusively as housewives or sex objects" (Kilbourne, 122). As a result, women start to feel ashamed for how they look: they aren't tall enough, skinny enough, or perfect enough. Surely, these ads are just a fraction of the bigger picture. Ads illustrate the values of popular culture that society indulges in. In television shows, music videos, magazines and on social media, popular culture sets the agenda of what society should be focused on. In turn, this causes girls to feel the pressure and strive to look like the select few models through plastic surgery or weight loss.

Women depicted in magazines.

In the article "Sex, Lies and Advertising", Gloria Steinem recalls her struggle in trying to find companies who will put ads in her magazine Ms. in order to keep it alive. In one instance, she has lunch with the president of Estee Lauder, Mr. Leonard Lauder. When asked about including ads from his company in her magazine, Mr. Lauder refused and explained how "Ms. readers are not our women. They're not interested in things like fragrance and blush-on" (Steinem, 119). Even when a magazine focuses and centers around women, it takes more than just that. In Mr. Lauder's eyes, Ms. readers were not woman enough, in the sense that they didn't follow the gender role that women are believed to follow such as wearing makeup and being feminine. This shows how ads are strategic and manipulative by feeding off of the stereotypes and gender roles in society that encourages people to continue accepting something that isn't right.

But despite the negative impact it leaves on young women and society in terms of your body and who you should be, ads still exists as our "U.S society invests over $102 billion a year into advertising" (Kellner, 127). They may be small and subtle but are powerful and controls the minds of society. In the article "Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy", Douglas Kellner discusses the influence of ads towards the sale of cigarettes in the 1950s. During this time, Marlboro created a campaign that associated its cigarette with masculinity and being a "real man", a "Marlboro Man". Marlboro included a picture of a cowboy to emphasize manliness and independence and over time, has become a cultural symbol in America (Kellner, 127). Now, a Marlboro cigarette instantly associates itself to this idea that smoking one of their cigarettes makes someone a manly man and reinforces this gender role that society already holds. We can see the same effect in this social experiment for chewing gum.

In this social experiment, pairs of identical twins sit in front of an audience, with one twin chewing gum and the other sitting still. A member from the audience listens to a list of questions such as "which one seems like he has more friends?" or "which one gets invited to more parties?" and chooses the twin they thought best fit the answer. After the experiment is over, the results showed that 73% of people preferred the twin who chewed gum. Going off the idea about the Marlboro man, this gum company highlighted the benefits of their product through associating it with desirable features. When people want to chew a piece of gum, they'll pick Beldent and be reminded of the affirmations it provides such as being more popular and generally more preferred. Ads are powerful in the influence it has on the thoughts we have about ourselves along with how we represent ourselves with the clothes we wear and products we use. Buying a Marlboro cigarette doesn't simply mean you want a smoke, it means you want to show your independence as a man. Likewise, buying Beldent chewing gum doesn't mean you want to freshen your breath but that you want to be seen as the cool kid.

Many of the media outlets I consume don't incorporate as many ads as I would expect. On social media, I spend my time on Instagram and YouTube. Instagram is owned by Facebook, which is another platform I use as well. On Instagram, I notice that ads that pop up are related to items I have searched for previously or items that I may be interested in, which I find happens often on Facebook as well. On YouTube, I enjoy watching vlogs or makeup tutorials and often find that my homepage is contained with videos related to the ones I've watched in the past or may be interested in watching. As for ads on YouTube, I downloaded the Google plug-in called Ad Block which blocks all ads on YouTube. Not only am I saving time from viewing these ads but it steers me away from the message it's trying to sell me. For entertainment, I turn to Netflix, which is a publicly traded company owned by numerous investment funds, institutions and private investors. Again, just like on other platforms, it suggests related shows and movies I should watch based on my previous choices. What I enjoy most about Netflix is how I can stream a show or movie without an interruptions from ads or commercials. Finally, for news, I check The NY Times, which is owned by the Ochs-Sulzberger family since 1896. I enjoy that one company has been owned by a single entity for a long amount of time because this gives the newspaper consistency. I don't find may ads on The NY Times website - just ads for themselves.  

Works Cited

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. Advertising (pp. 121-125).

Kellner, Douglas. Reading Images Critically: Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy. Advertising (pp. 126-132)

Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies and Advertising. Advertising (pp. 112-120).

Advertising!

Alex Caminer

Professor Doris Cacoilo

Media 384

March 18, 2017

                                                Advertising History

If we have to talk about advertising, we would have to take a trip into the past and know how and when this all came about. As we know long ago there was the origin of patriarchy, where authority was exercised by man and had the absolute power to say and do what they wanted. The man at that time was considered the main head of household, or the strong sex of the relationship. While the woman was considered the weak sex and had to fulfill different roles like being at home, doing household things and taking care of their husband and children. 

In reading, "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising" by Jean Kilbourne. The quote "Women are shown almost exclusively as housewives or sex objects"(Kilbourne 122). In times past we realize that the ads that had to do with women showed not only a product also a standard model of a woman. They undergo different changes in their face and body. Generating a perfect woman because women see her face as a mask and her body as an object.

Advertising was created to sell a product and create profits, but Advertisements created different conflicts between women. They did not compete for knowledge or for something important, they competed for being the most beautiful woman in each of its parts, be it face, breasts, arms or legs. Because she feels dissatisfied with and ashamed of herself.  This was the stereotype that ads created long ago. This advertising had two-way advertising. For example, in this advertisement, we see this woman with a perfect body, beautiful and having a similarity with this beer. Both are of brown color and the bottle has red colors that make a similarity with the suit of a bath of the model. With this, I can say that this is a symbolic image where not only is selling a product but also are pointing to a worldview, lifestyle and a value system increasing capitalism.

The protagonists of this publicity in times past have been the television, flyers and the newspapers. Since on the television they have commercials where the woman is used as a sexual object, but not as a person. For example, Sprite’s important company creates advertising that creates a great deal of contortion. A woman doing oral sex to this black person. In times past, black people were having problems with slavery and not getting the same rights. Like the woman, she was segregated and did not have the opportunities. Black people and women are used like objects for sell products.

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc_g9MV_sqs

On the other hand, Gloria Steinem in her reading “Sex, Lie and Advertising”. She gives us some reason for better advertising such as in men and women. Here we know that the authority figures were males although the aid is products that women used. She says “a car is an important purchase for women, one that because symbolizes mobility and freedom” (Gloria Steinem 113) For example, The Marlboro cigarette company through advertising wanted to show women that it was cool to smoke and that the advertised advertising was of a modern woman. To show this, they created ads with a smoking man. This company wanted to relate cigarette with masculinity and show that just “real man” could smoke. Also, Marlboro has used to the Cowboy and the cigarette as a symbol of masculinity, power, and nature.  

Personally, I use 5 social media. They are television, YouTube, Instagram, the newspaper like New York Times and Facebook. There is a television show called Fox Sports. This program I like because it shows sports like Tennis, Swimming, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer. In this channel, I love to watch what football is. And as we all know, racism is something that has always existed, but with the help of all the countries in the world, fans and public entities like FIFA is something that has been eradicating step by step. Earlier in the football matches, you could see black players playing and some white fans, shouting sounds and racist words like a monkey. This usually came from white people.

Once, in a football match a black player tired of these shootings, stopped and he did not want to play anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_z3GTmUQI

But here I attach a video where football plays advertising so there is more racism. FIFA is the organization that has started to create this idea against racism and football players have followed this idea with banners and banners that say "No to racism". They wanted to show that football is a sport of joy, adrenaline and passion. No matter color or race and no matter where you are, we can enjoy this beautiful sports as brothers and we can enjoy the nice game like football.

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ_qUbx5pkM

Finally, I think there are negative advertising that create stereotypes and damage to different cultures and sexes. However everything is not bad in advertising. Since there are also good advertisements like racism that has helped to eliminate this abuse and damage to the cultures and different races that there are proving that we are all equal.

Work Cited

Jean Kilbourne - “Women are shown almost exclusively as housewives or sex objects” 122.

Gloria Steinem - “A car is an important purchase for women, one that because symbolizes mobility and freedom”113.

Jean Kilbourne, who has written extensively about the effects of “the beast of advertising”, succinctly sums up the impact of advertising, saying that it sells more than products. Advertising sells “values, images and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy” (Kilbourne 121). She notes that young people are especially vulnerable as targets for advertisers because of their inexperience as consumers (Kilbourne 121). When Kilbourne wrote “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising” in 1989, her analysis showed that advertising painted a vision of the world in which no one was ever ugly, or overweight, or disabled; a place where women were either housewives or sex objects and where girls were expected to be “both sexy and virginal” (Kilbourne 124). Ads were conceived to support the patriarchy using film and photo techniques that would make men look dominating and superior while women looked childish and playful. Frequently women were positioned in ads to look submissive, or their body parts were “dismembered” to imply a disconnect between their bodies and their minds. Douglas Kellner dissected and analyzed cigarette ads that appeared during the 1980s and found the different representations of men versus women to be striking. Both ads (a Marlboro ad and a Virginia Slims ad) honed in on what the advertisers felt were socially desirable traits for their target audience. In the Marlboro ad for men, masculinity and ruggedness were implied as desirable while the Virginia Slims ad, which identified the “modern” woman as its target, emphasized smoking as a symbol of progress and, at a deeper level, tied it to being slim, a highly desirable trait.

Both Kilbourne and Kellner note that in the late 1980s changes were taking place in the representation of women in advertising, but they both conclude that the changes did not represent real progress, but rather a “myth” of progress (Kilbourne 125). Kilbourne wrote that a “new woman” was emerging in advertising – a more liberated woman and a sort of “superwoman”. She pointed out, however, that this woman was still depicted as deriving her independence and self-esteem from the products she uses (Kilbourne 125). Kellner looked at ads from the end of the decade and saw a transformation in the depiction of women who were presented as more assertive and powerful. Yet, he noted, the women were still shown as perfectly beautiful and positioned suggestively, thereby continuing to objectify them based on appearance and sexuality. 

Up until the 1980s really nothing much to speak of could have been said about marketing to, or including, the LGBT community in advertising. Prior to that, these groups were entirely excluded both as consumers and as advertising characters. However, the New York Times Magazine published an article by Karen Stabiner titled “Tapping the Homosexual Market” in May 1982.  Around that time several films that included homosexual elements were released and the homosexual community – at least “the white, single, well-educated, well-paid” section of the community - started to become the object of marketing strategies (NYT). As Stabiner noted, “In tight-money 1982, men with high earning power and low financial obligations are making purveyors of luxury items and leisure services take a second look” (NYT). Gay men were also, according to Stabiner, becoming recognized as influencers of style for the mainstream population. This made them even more attractive to advertisers. Things were not the same for the lesbian community and Stabiner wrote that lesbians were still being discounted completely, in part due to their lower earning power and to their lack of visibility. This sentiment was echoed in “Commodity Lesbianism” by Danae Clark. Clark and Stabiner both wrote about a trend, which continues to this day, called “gay window” advertising, which refers to a discreet advertising approach in which ads “speak to the homosexual consumer in a way that the straight consumer will not notice” (Clark 143). Clark noted that this dual strategy “packages gender ambiguity” and has been used in marketing to both lesbian and gay communities (Clark 145). Stabiner’s article concluded with a discussion about whether a homosexual prototype would ever be seen in advertisements, in the way that black, ethnic and career women prototypes were gradually introduced. Opinions from men who worked in advertising were mixed, but the overall consensus was that it would be a long time off.

The relationship between advertisers and the media where they spend their advertising dollars turns out to be very intertwined, as Gloria Steinem found out when Ms. magazine tried to devise a new way of dealing with advertisers. In “Sex, Lies and Advertising” Steinem details numerous examples of her attempts to change the status quo, from wanting to have traditionally “male” products advertised in Ms. to refusing to provide “complementary copy” to advertisers (Steinem 112). Her attempts to increase the diversity in images used in advertising were slow to gain traction and she faced battles with men who would, in a reflection of the patriarchal society, say things such as “but women don’t understand technology” (Steinem 114) to explain why they would not place ads for electronics in the magazine. Her problems illustrate why change in advertising has been so slow in coming: magazines and other media forms typically rely heavily on advertising and find it hard to forego advertising dollars in the name of social progress. Media alone has not been able to force changes in advertising and it is up against corporations that have wanted to reinforce certain images and values in order to sell products. An example of this would be all things related to weight loss, ads for which are still very prevalent today.

In order to determine whether we still face the same issues with advertising in 2017 that we did when the above essays were written, I looked at some more recent ad campaigns and my conclusion is that finally, some progress has been made, although there is still a long way to go. For example, on the negative side, a 2011 ad for Mr. Clean featured on Mother’s Day suggested that women should “Get Back To The Job That Really Matters”. A picture of a woman cleaning accompanied this copy and the image of woman as housewife comes immediately to mind.  A Dolce and Gabbana ad featured a group of men, with one of them pinning a woman down. An American Apparel ad, targeting young women, depicts a woman photographed from above, wearing only socks, and with pornographic overtones. The ads for this year’s Super Bowl were generally considered to be relatively free of the kind of sexual stereotyping that is often seen, however one ad, for an Australian brand of wine, featured a woman in a bikini with a man and a kangaroo and had the tag line “wanna pet my roo?” This ad objectified the woman and was criticized both by media critics and by viewers through social media. Interestingly, advertising analysts noted that while women were less objectified in this year’s Super Bowl ads, they were also very much excluded from a large number of the ads that ran. I would not call that progress.

On the other hand, perusing a current crop of magazines indicated to me that some strides have been made. Print advertisements for products such as cars and appliances often seem to be excluding people altogether and focus more on the style of the product itself. There is more racial diversity in ads that do feature people and advertisers seem to be more sensitive to the layout and positioning of their models. A GQ ad features gay “prototypes” touching hands in a way that seemed almost impossible to imagine when Stabiner wrote her article in 1982. TV ads, including some seen on the Super Bowl, have become more issue based and supportive of issues such as immigration and transgender rights. Companies such as Absolut Vodka have for example run ads in support of transgender rights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgHCzV2FrSM

Additionally, companies such as Nike and Johnson and Johnson have used transgender people as the face of their products. Douglas Kellner wrote that “all ads are social texts which respond to key developments during the period in which they appear” (Kellner 128) and I consider that this provides an excellent explanation of why we are starting to see changes in advertising. An article in PRWeek.com from 2016 says that it is early days yet, but that increased images of transgender people on TV, in film and in real-life “will start connecting into communications and marketing strategies as advertisers look to be inclusive of the transgender community” (PRWeek.com). Zandro Zumo, the head of a PR firm said “we are living in an ever-more-multicultural mainstream and consumers want to see greater diversity reflected in marketing efforts. It’s a move toward a greater understanding of shifting demographics and acknowledging diversity and multiculturalism as business imperatives” (PRWeek.com).

One ad that I viewed recently appealed to me as being non-sexist. In an ad for Audi, the advertisers target both men and women equally and create a stunning visual ad free of objectification:

Of course, one of the most significant changes to hit advertising has been the rise of the internet and social media and the ability of advertisers to target their ads specifically to consumers. This actually makes it difficult to analyze ads featured on social media and websites because what appears is aligned with one’s own interests and purchasing habits. It strikes me that it is possible that some users may see ads that are sexist or racist for example, based on their viewing/purchasing history. However, for those who reject this culture, their targeted ads may be very different.

In looking at examples of media that I consume I find that I am exposed to less advertising than in earlier years. Regarding music, I choose to pay to listen “ad free” on Spotify and for news, I turn to bbc.co.uk which has very few (and very discreet) targeted ads. For example, today I had an ad from OpenTable with images of restaurants that I have previously booked. On television, I frequently watch SNY (SportsNet New York), which is partly owned by the New York Mets. Given its ownership, it is unsurprising that it frequently advertises Citibank, the Daily News and other major Mets sponsors. It has a fairly limited rotation of ads. I view Twitter on a daily basis and on my feed I see ads that are targeted to me, based presumably on the tweeters that I follow. In recent days I have noticed one sexist ad but in general the ads I see are for vehicles, sports and the Wall Street Journal. Finally, I will often have NY1 News on in the background. It is owned by Spectrum – my cable provider – and has very few ads along with a few “bumpers” advertising upcoming shows. In general the ads are simple and are often local in content. In my personal viewing experience, content is not really affected by advertising in the way that one finds in women’s fashion magazines or in television shows that trade “product placement” for advertising dollars.

The one last thing I believe must be mentioned is that my review of current ads showed me that, while there has been change, we are still in an advertising world where, as Kilbourne said, no one is ugly. Diversity of skin color and a spectrum of genders appears to be an “easier” bridge for advertisers to cross than the acceptance of people who do meet certain criteria of beauty.

Works Cited

Clark, Danae. “Commodity Lesbianism.” pp. 142-151.

Daniels, Chris. “Marketing to the T: Brands get inclusive of transgender consumers in LGBT marketing.” PR Week. 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Kellner, Douglas. “Reading Images Critically: Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy.” pp. 126-132.

Kilbourne, Jean. “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising.” pp. 121-125.

Steinem, Gloria. “Sex, Lies and Advertising.” pp. 112-120.

Stabiner, Karen. “Tapping the Homosexual Market.” New York Times. The New York Times Company, 2 May 1982. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Group 3 - Body Image/Body Shaming

There are a number of academics such as Jean Kilbourne who are recognized for their work and advocacy on women's body image. However, a group of blogger/activists are supporting the academics' themes and driving the message of body positivity home to young women across the country in a very relatable style. These women are role models who are using blogs, Instagram and other social media to empower women and push for greater acceptance and diversity in the media and throughout society. One of these women is Jes Baker.

Baker is a body positive activist, a mental health professional and a writer who uses her voice to offer a fresh perspective to anyone who has ever been ignored or vilified because their appearance doesn’t meet societal expectations. Baker blogs as The Militant Baker, gives talks and has written a book, titled Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, in her self-proclaimed mission “to turn our society’s concept of beauty on its oppressive head.” She believes that we are all worthy of respect and should be valued, so she preaches the importance of body autonomy, self-love and mental health and does so with vibrancy and humor.

Baker’s website, which she started in 2012, is infused with her charm and personality. It tackles a wide array of topics, some of which are serious and where her intent is to inform and inspire, and others that are more whimsical and speak to her own loves of fashion and cats. This combination clearly appeals to a wide audience that appears to value Baker’s mix of directness and humor, and the site garners in the vicinity of half a million views per month. The Militant Baker is replete with links to resources related to body activism, intersectional feminism and mental health.

In October 2015, Baker released her book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, subtitled “A Handbook for Unapologetic Living.” It is described as a manifesto and a call to arms for people of all sizes and ages. In a series of essays, including some by guest authors, Baker uses humor to share her personal experiences and impart valuable guidance, encouraging her readers to reject prejudice and the body-shaming put forth by the media. The book has been well-reviewed online. Baker’s irreverent attitude - seen clearly in her motto “lose the bullshit, love your body” - is forthright and her style is accessible. Her work, especially her advocacy, has been covered by some of the biggest names in media including the BBC, The Today Show, CNN and New York magazine.

-Tiffany Gamboa, Kianni Johnson, Thomas Ranocchia