2nd Annual WAM! Women, Action & the Media Conference

Hello Femministas!

It's been way too long since the last time we ventured in to the wide world of feminist media together, so I want to start off by saying.... I promise I'll make it up to you.

Mark your calendars, because this month we celebrate the 2nd Annual WAM! It Yourself Los Angeles conference, and with it, the 1 year anniversary of LAFemmedia!

One year ago this weekend, I wondered in to a little seminar being led by one my favorite online feminist bloggers, Feminist Fatale, and my eyes were opened to the beauty of the on-line feminist community. Speakers such as Anita Sarkeesian (Feminist Frequency) and Melanie Klein turned me to on to the idea of starting my own forum to discuss feminist media events - or lack thereof - in my beloved Los Angeles.

Throughout all of the discussions, I was most moved by the A in WAM!. Action. Actively participating in the media empowers us all to chose what messages drive the tone of our social culture. I am proud to be a part of that conversation, and I urge you to stop by and support other on-line feminist activists.

The WAM! It Yourself Los Angeles 2011 Conference is happening this Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26 at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica College
1900 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

I am so excited to see you all there!!

xo
LAF

TONIGHT: Me and TED

For me, this week can be summed up in 2 word: Life Lessons. It's been a week of personal advances, and professional set backs. But I get it, it happens. Sometimes the work/life combo doesn't quite pan out the way we hope, but we learn and keep on going. In the end, all this determination and self-reflective brain activity is freakin' exhausting.

So Feministas, I do not have an event for you this weekend because frankly, I don't wanna leave my house. BUT, I do have something to enjoy while deeply buried in the folds of my couch.

Does everyone here know about TED? It's an organization that hosts live conferences, performances and talks by the world's leaders in innovative thought.  If you can name a subject, genre, or idea, TED has a video of someone talking about it. It's awesome.

A woman from CareerOverview.com brought this to my attention, and I thought it would be perfect for this brain-cloudy weekend.

"12 Terrific TED Talks Every Young Woman Should Watch"

1. "Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders" by Sheryl Sandberg
2. "How The Internet Enables Intimacy" by Stefana Broadbent
3. "Embrace Your Inner Girl" by Eve Ensler
4. "Keep Your Goals To Yourself" by Derek Sivers
5. "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz
6. "Standing Out" by Seth Godin
7. "New Data On The Rise Of Women"by Hanna Rosin
8. "Radical Women Embracing Tradition" by Kavita Ramdas
9. "What Adults Can Learn From Kids" by Adora Svitak
10. "Why We Need The Explorers" by Brian Cox
11. "Our Century's Greatest Injustice" by Sheryl WuDunn
12. "The Power Of Vulnerability" by Brene Brown

I've only gotten through a few so far, but I think I'm for a sweet (and rather empowering) Saturday night. Please listen, and feel free to leave comments about what you think of each talk.

Xo
LAF

Netflix Goes Feminist!! (Sort of)

Hello Everyone,

This week I don't have an event for you per se (blame the venues), but I do have an awesome find that will bring feminist media in to our lives every darn day!  Do all of you know about FemaleDirectors.com? Well, you should.

Check this out, it's a link to all of the female directed films and TV shows that are currently featured on netflix. The rad women (and possibly men) at FemaleDirectors.com have recently showcased a study representing that the number of female directed movies on Netflix has almost doubled!  From less than 1% to almost 2%.   Not exactly stellar numbers.

(To clarify, this does not represent any sort of bias on the part of the folks at Netflix. Rather, it represents the low number of female film makers who are being supported by the movie making machines. *See comment below*)

The good news is that we now have a tool that will direct us to the source of female directed media. The more we click, the more we demand a variety in the types of films we want to watch. Let Netflix know that we love what they do - we just want to see ourselves represented appropriately.

I'm going to use this tool to order at least TWO female directed fims/TV shows from Netflix in each cycle, in hopes of showing the number crunchers that we demand more.

Thank you FemaleDirectors.com - your site rules.

Xo
LAF