She Can’t Control Herself Synopsis
Four girls navigating the teenage experience of hypersexualization, in the media, at school, and at home.
Hypersexualization of women and girls is a common phenomenon in media, at home, and in school. Because it is something unavoidable, young girls and boys alike grow up with false beliefs and expectations on how women and girls should be treated, how they should act, and how they should dress.
By educating our audience about the hypersexualization of girls — using first-hand testimonials and statistics — our film aims to inform and to start conversations with people about this problem.
Our goal is to raise awareness among girls about the issues of hypersexualization and double standards that have gone unaddressed for far too long. We hope that our audience will feel empowered and inspired to go out into their own environments and call out these injustices — whether at school, in the media, at home, and elsewhere.
There is power in numbers! Reaching more women about this issue will spark important conversations and enable us to work together to bring an end to the toxicity of hypersexualization and double standards.
About the Filmmaker
BY: Xochitl Cruz, Jasmine Rios, Haley Nicole Rodriguez, and Morgan McIntosh
Film Screening Guide
PRE-FILM REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Have you ever felt sexualized? (at school, at home, or on social media?)
- Have you ever compared yourself to the women and “teenagers” you see in the media?
- Have you ever been told what to wear in certain situations?
- Have you ever been called names in response to what you’re wearing?
- Do you think your clothing dictates who you are, or how you are perceived?
- Do you feel powerless against hypersexualization? If yes, why?
POST-FILM DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Can you identify hypersexualization and/or double standards in your own community?
- What is something you can do to combat hypersexualization?
- How can you uplift other girls?
RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS:
READING MATERIALS:
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/social_issues-july-dec13-sexualization_12-21
- https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/not-object-sexualization-and-exploitation-women-and-girls/30366
- https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/uploads/challenge_the_media_2.pdf
- https://voxatl.org/hypersexualization-female-superheroes/
- https://www.sealpress.com/titles/jessica-valenti/hes-a-stud-shes-a-slut-and-49-other-double-standards-every-woman-should-know/9780786750498/
- http://www.cwhn.ca/en/hypersexualizationprimer3
CALLS TO ACTION
- WATCH + SHARE THIS FILM
- Use our hashtags when you share the film:
#girlsvoicesnow, #womensvoicesnow, #shecantcontrolherself , #empathytoaction, #SCCH, #SCCHdoc, #studentdoc, #supporteachother, #embraceanduplift, #girlsunited, #not4dressup, #fight4change, #breakingthechain, #girlsinmedia, #qualityrepresentation, #girlsworld, #not4display
- Start a conversation at home, at school, on social media
- Check out some of the reading materials listed above
- Sign THIS PETITION and others like it
If you have used this Film Screening Guide, let us know!
