Watch The Trailer For "Miss Representation"

When the documentary Miss Representation premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, audiences were riveted. Written, directed and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newson, the film explores how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality.

This misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. In one week American teenagers spend 31 hours watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, 4 hours reading magazines, 10 hours online. That’s 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day.

For young girls growing up watching themselves constantly portrayed as sex toys and targets suitable for violence and abuse, this makes the leap to achieving adult leadership positions an unnecessarily long one, and a waste of much potential talent. It’s way past time to shift our cultural mindset away from damaging sexual stereotypes and towards the holistic balance and power of gender equality.

Miss Representation had its broadcast premiere on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network on October 20th and a DVD of the film will be released soon. Screenings are being held locally and groups are asked to consider hosting a local screening themselves to spread the news.

A call-to-action and educational campaign on MissRepresentation.org has been created that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting labels in order to realize their potential and to encourage men and boys to stand up to sexism.