Objecting to Objectification: Collective Shout celebrates a year of wins

Collective Shout, a dynamic grassroots campaigning movement against the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls, celebrates its first birthday in Brisbane this weekend.

Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation, was founded to target corporations, advertisers, marketers and media which objectify women and sexualise girls to sell products and services. The movement has established itself as a serious agent for change.

In its first 12 months, the movement has achieved a number of significant wins. These include:

• Getting Bonds to withdraw bras for 6-year-old girls

• Getting supermarket chain Woolworths to disassociate itself with a sexist Lynx promotion

• Getting Calvin Klein billboards suggestive of sexual assault removed

Collective Shout co-founder and spokesperson, Melinda Tankard Reist, said the campaign had helped remind companies of the importance of corporate social responsibility.

“What Collective Shout has achieved in its first year is extraordinary,” she said.

“We have seen inappropriate clothing, toys and games removed from sale, billboards taken down, sexist ad campaigns stopped.

“We have helped people recognise they have a right to object and equipped and empowered them to take action. We have put corporations on notice that if they do the wrong thing, they will be exposed and boycotted. The bodies of women and girls should not be seen as fodder for companies to exploit for profit.”

Collective Shout’s achievements will be celebrated this weekend at an event featuring Melinda Tankard Reist, Julie Gale, comedian and founder of ‘Kids Free to be Kids’, Erica Bartle, ‘Girl with a Satchel’ blogger and local musos and artists.

Date: Saturday November 20, 2010

Time: 7pm

Place: SPOON, 6/33 Lytton Rd, East Brisbane, QLD

Media enquiries: Melinda Tankard Reist, ph: 0414305738

November 19, 2010