SPARK a Movement!
1. (noun) a movement to speak out, push back on the sexualization of girls, and have fun while fighting for girls' rights to healthy sexuality.
2. (verb) to rouse strong feeling or action
SPARK is an intergenerational movement fueled by girl activists & their allies. Get at us on Facebook, Twitter, & and SPARKmovement.org!
Got questions or feelings? Leave us a note in our askbox, or submit a post.
As any one of the girls on our SPARKteam will tell you, working at SPARK is totally awesome and amazing. We’re building a ton of momentum right now and we need some dedicated, fantastic individuals to help us out. Check out the job description below, & share far and wide! Our offices are in NYC so it’s a bonus if you’re around here, but the right candidate can be anywhere (even outside the US).
SPARK (Sexualization Protest Action Resistance Knowledge) is looking for interns to work on various action campaigns and projects that challenge and push back against the sexualization of girls. We are seeking a team of fierce, bold, creative, young leaders who are passionate about girls’ issues and are committed to fighting for positive social change. Internships may range from 5-15 hours per week, depending on your availability and goals. Tasks may include: helping to launch media action campaigns, organizing young women nationwide, building and fostering partnerships with girls and girl-serving organizations around the country, blogging and/or editing blogs about girls’ issues, devising creative and innovative ways to challenge and END the sexualization of girls. To apply, please email Dana your current CV and a letter letting us know why you are interested in a SPARK GIrls Activism Internship and what you would like to learn and how you would uniquely contribute to the movement. Send to dana@SPARKsummit.com
Y’all, it’s already been a YEAR since our first SPARK Summit in NYC! I can’t believe it! Luckily just yesterday we recovered this amazing video full of clips and highlights from the Summit, so now I can watch it and relive what an awesome day it was. You should watch it too—and if you dig what you see, consider hosting a Summit in your own community!
I made this video forever ago, but I feel like it really applies after the amazing weekend I’ve had with the SPARK ladies. I’m feeling so inspired and empowered to create and make change because it’s our right to do so.
I’m so grateful to have had amazing teachers such as Dana Edell, Dana Hernandez, Shelby Knox, Jamia Wilson, Elisa Kreisinger, Renee Watson, Rebecca Mushtare, Courtney E. Martin, Deanna Zandt, and Jaclyn Friedman. Please look up everyone of these women; they have done and are doing fucking amazing things that NEED to be shared. And you best believe I’ll share them with you.
I’ll hopefully do an extensive post on everything later, but I need to write about it in my (paper) journal :-) And to loosely quote Stephanie, “We debunk girl hate when we get into spaces with each other because immediately we have an instant connection”
I feel like I’ve known these women for years. And even though it was only 3 days, I know that I’ll know and be with them for the rest of my life. This experience will forever stay with me and has been life changing.
Love you SPARKteam. <3
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One of the best experiences of my life. Hanging out with Shelby Knox and Jamia Wilson at the apartment!!
YEAHHHH!
PORTLAND, OREGON: SPARK Summit is coming your way!
Last year’s SPARK Summit in NYC was amazing (check out our videos and photos!) and we are super excited to announce that this year’s summit will take place in Portland, Oregon, on October 29. Sponsored by Girls Inc. of Northwest Oregon, the SPARK Summit is a free day of workshops, action stations, and media critiques open to girls grades 6-12 and their supporters. Register now!
Not in Portland and still wanna SPARK? Email us and we can help you plan a summit in your community!
From the first SPARK Summit in October 2010: what teenage girls have to say about sexism in media.
Last December, I sat in my friend’s living room, glued to her television as we watched one of the last episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I was completely hooked on The Real Housewives series. I loved the characters and their loud, crazy, dramatic interactions with each other. I loved taking sides by celebrating some of the “housewives,” and vilifying others.
I would share the latest gossip with my friends on Twitter and Facebook: “Did you see how “crazy” Ramona was when she confronted Kelly on The Real Housewives of New York? Why is Camille Grammer (star of the Beverly Hills series) so evil and desperate?”
I saw The Real Housewives series, and other shows like it, as fun, accessible entertainment—escapism.
I was wrong.
Even though that Real Housewives viewing party happened just seven months ago, my days of celebrating and promoting the show are long gone. I can no longer stand to watch a program that—while brilliantly produced and written with respect to entertainment value—perpetuates a horrible stereotype about women: that they are hysterical, unhinged, and conniving.
I have realized that I can’t see reality shows like The Real Housewives as mindless, fun escapism anymore. These kinds of shows put women right into the gutter of a society where bias and discrimination against women are still strongly prevalent.
Read moreMiss SPARK Summit? Watch the “Girl Activists Speak Out” Panel, featuring Lexi St. John, Melissa Campbell (pluralisms) and Carmen Rios (carmenrios) and Shelby Knox.
….trust us, it’s awesome.
In the wake of an EXTREMELY successful, SPARK Summit, we are exhausted, and so grateful for all the support and reblogs! In our absence, why don’t you submit a post for us? We’d love to get some of your perspectives on the issue of sexualization of girls in the media, what it means to you, and what you think can be done about it. Let’s work together to SPARK change!!
Submit here:
Gloria Steinem at SPARK Summit’s reception.
(Even without notes in front of her, Gloria Steinem brings it in a speech.)
