THE REPRESENTATION PROJECT

Using film and media as catalysts for cultural transformation, The Representation Project inspires individuals and communities to challenge limiting gender stereotypes and shift norms. As a leading gender watchdog, The Representation Project’s programmatic work includes efforts to activate the general public across the US, with a special focus on youth as a powerful generation of cultural influencers who are already using their power as leaders, media makers, and consumers to drive systemic change.

The Representation Project is working to achieve the following core objectives:

- Expand The Representation Project’s youth programs to train the next generation of underrepresented youth content creators;
- Maintain the organization as the “gold standard” for producing gender justice documentaries; and
- Continue to be the leading gender watchdog organization by exposing damaging gender stereotypes in ads and other media.

Using film and media as catalysts for cultural transformation, The Representation Project inspires individuals and communities to challenge limiting gender stereotypes and shift norms. Jennifer Siebel Newsom founded The Representation Project in 2011 in response to the overwhelming public demand for ongoing education and social action in support of her first film, Miss Representation. Since then, The Representation Project released Newsom’s second film, The Mask You Live In, and third film, The Great American Lie. The organization is well known for creating popular social media activism campaigns such as #NotBuyingIt, #AskHerMore, and #RepresentHer. The Representation Project offers robust youth programming to the next generation of media creators through school screenings, an online community for creators, summer media training academies, and annual educational summits focused on transcending gender stereotypes.

YOUTH PROGRAMMING:
Through our Youth Media Programs, we educate and train youth to gain media literacy and media production skills; use those skills to challenge limiting gender stereotypes in media; and create content that establishes broad, authentic and intersectional representation in media. The organization’s youth programs have had a profound impact on young people’s lives in ways that will shape their future path while strengthening skills that can enhance employment opportunities.

GENDER JUSTICE FILMS:
Jennifer’s first film, Miss Representation, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It exposed the ways in which mainstream media representations of girls and women contribute to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. In response to overwhelming public demand for ongoing education and social action in support of the film’s message, Jennifer founded The Representation Project (TRP) in April of 2011. Jennifer's second film, The Mask You Live In, explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming our boys, men, and society at large. Newsom's third film in the trilogy, The Great American Lie, was released in 2019. It is the most comprehensive intersectional assessment of the causes of economic immobility— racism, corporate exploitation, and gendered societal values. She brings her unique lens to bear on the subject, revealing how inequality is rooted in “masculine” cultural values (e.g., individualism, power, money) at the expense of things we consider “feminine” (e.g., empathy, care, collaboration). Beyond the films, we offer age-appropriate curricula that provides youth with the opportunity to explore and apply the concepts presented in the films. Our tailored curricula are designed to engage youth at different stages of development through hands-on activities and guided discussions.

GENDER WATCHDOG & SOCIAL ACTIVISM:
TRP has also become the nation’s leading gender watchdog organization through active social media campaigns that hold corporations, content creators, political leaders, and others accountable. On any given week, we reach 2.5 million people worldwide with our messages online, and one in ten engage with our content, by liking, commenting on, or sharing it. Through hosting this large conversation, we provide a platform for our followers to more deeply engage with gender dynamics, tease out the intricacies around intersectionality, and build their skills for bringing these discussions offline. For example, our #AskHerMore campaign around sexist reporting and our #NotBuyingIt campaign around sexist media and advertisements have led to changes everywhere from the red carpet to the Super Bowl to the newsroom. We then amplify the drumbeat of progress by emailing 100,000+ of our constituents simple and specific ways to create change through our “Weekly Actions.”

YOUTH PROGRAMS
• We trained over 1,000 young content creators in our Youth Media Lab in 2019.
• Girls in our Youth Media Academy express greater interest in working in media, engaging in activism, and aspiring to leadership positions.
• Over 600 young people have received hands-on training through our annual Youth Summits. They report a substantial increase in their knowledge of the power of storytelling, racial justice issues, and using their creative voice for social change.
FILMS/CURRICULA
• The Representation Project’s three films, Miss Representation (2011), The Mask You Live In (2015), and The Great American Lie (2019) have been viewed by over 28 million people worldwide.
• Our film curricula has been used by over 2.5 million students.
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS
• The Representation Project has achieved over 1.4 billion impressions through our social media channels.
• Our social media hashtag campaigns have reached 834 million people. #NotBuyingIt changed the sexism of Super Bowl ads, and #AskHerMore transformed red carpet interviews so that female celebrities are seen as more than their youth, beauty, and designer dresses.