A Call to Leaders in the Entertainment and Media Industries:
Give us media images that respect, empower and promote the true
value of Every Girl

The 4 Every Girl campaign is calling on entertainment and media industry leaders to create an environment where young girls feel valued and are defined by healthy media images of themselves.

We envision a time in the very near future when all forms of media – especially
television, films, magazines and advertising – will honor the intrinsic value of every girl. We are working to make that vision a reality!

The American Psychological Association reports that the three most common mental health problems for girls – eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem – are linked to the sexualization of girls and women in media.

The prevalence of sexualized media images is having a devastating impact on generations of girls and young women:

• Mental health problems including eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression.
  • Nine in ten girls say the media (88%) place a lot of pressure on teenage girls to be thin. (Girl Scouts)
  • Half of girls between three and six say they worry about being fat. (British
    Journal of Developmental Psychology)
  • 31% of girls admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight. (Girl Scouts)
• Fewer girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  • Objectification from others and from girls themselves (self-objectification) has been shown to reduce cognitive performance and is linked to lower educational achievement (Fredrickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn, & Twenge, 1998; Quinn, Kallen, Twenge, & Fredrickson, 2006).
  • Accepting stereotypes that equate girls’ worth with physical attractiveness
    narrows girls’ expectations for themselves and the appeal of certain fields (Davies, Spencer, Quinn, & Gerhardstein, 2002; Davies, Spencer, & Steele, 2005; Yoder & Schleicher, 1996).

We hereby call on media producers, distributors, publishers and advertisers, to:
1) Reduce sexualized depictions of girls and young women on screen and in print.
2) Reduce sexualizing messages in advertising and in product merchandising.
3) Provide more visibility to non-sexualizing plots and storylines involving girls and
young women.
4) Create more non-sexualized female role-models in advertising and entertainment programming.

By signing the 4 Every Girl petition, I lend my voice to this urgent call for a media
environment that honors and respects the true value of Every Girl.