One of our central missions at Hipsters for Sisters is to help empower and liberate women. Yes, this mission encompasses the physical liberation from the bulk and weight of the traditional handbag, but it goes much further than that. We also aim to help liberate women from the mental and emotion baggage imposed on us by our culture.
As we stated in a previous blog post “As we see it, one of the biggest obstacles standing in our way is our own self-perception. From the day we are born, we are bombarded with messages from the media which subliminally cause us to feel that our worth is determined more by how we look than who we are or what we do. Worst and most damaging of all, is that we have been trained to subconsciously see ourselves as objects to be judged. We want to be pretty because we are told that is where our value lies. Then, just to make us really feel confused and insecure, we are given mixed messages: yes, legally, you can be anything you want, but the only examples we see valued on television or in the movies are women in supporting, sexualized roles. The media seems to make women choose: do you want success or do you want love? This is at the heart of the issue.”
As we start this new year, we thought it would be appropriate to once again highlight and support the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media was founded by Geena Davis, the Academy Award-winning actor. It ultimate goal is to insure that children’s entertainment and media begin to portray boys and girls equally, reduce stereotyping and create gender balance in roles. Their work consists of research, education and advocacy.
Their latest achievement is the joint launch of the Bentonville Film Festival, an inaugural event designed to champion women and diversity in film. Together with Arc Entertainment, Geena Davis has created the first and only film competition to offer guaranteed theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winners. For more information on this festival which will run May 5-9 in Bentonville, Arkansas, please visit: http://bentonvillefilmfestival.com/. For more information on the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media please visit : http://seejane.org/ and/ or read our prior post here:https://hipstersforsisters.com/geena-davis-institute and https://hipstersforsisters.com/july-2013-gender-media-bias-geena-davis
Throughout the months of January and February, we will donate 5% of the purchase price of every bag sold online to this amazing organization. Please join us in our support!