Posts tagged as:

advocacy

Authentic Playlist at Misogyny Free Prom

by cv harquail on May 15, 2009

_images_bustheader.gif A shout out to my girlfriends at Bust magazine, home of the GirlWideWeb and all things hip & 3rd wave feminist . They share the news today of an advocacy movement by The Women’s Health and Issues Club of the high school in Arcadia CA, which has resulted in a prom music playlist that is free of explicitly misogyny.

Specifically, the students in the Women’s Health and Issues Club organized an information campaign and a petition drive, and worked with the school administration  to make sure that songs referring to women as ‘ho’s’ or ‘bitches’ would not be played at their school prom.

How great to see these organization members, and especially young women, advocate to have their organization address taken-for-granted behaviors that ultimately send the wrong kind of message. I’m not exactly sure what high school proms are supposed to celebrate these days, devoid as they are of the excessive drinking that made them so much "fun" in my day, but I’m glad to see that this one prom will not encourage demeaning stereotypes of half the students who will be attending.

[In an extremely disconcerting coincidence, consider that the song playing on my SirriusXMU radio station -- right at this moment -- is the Crystals' "He hit me, and it felt like a kiss." And I pay for this music? Maybe I need to email Sirrius?]

It can be hard to challenge taken for granted behaviors and traditions, especially when you have to begin by educating others as to why these behaviors and traditions are contradictory to what the organization is supposed to value. (It’s hard to believe that the school administration or the students themselves want all the girls there to be spoken of as ho’s & bitches, right? But it seems like the Club met significant resistance).

Let’s applaud the The Women’s Health and Issues Club for putting its own values into action, and making the prom somewhat safer for women and the men who respect them.

As the Bust staff writers remind us, too, the story is not about "banning songs for being sexual, it’s (about) removing sexism and potentially teaching students about respect."  Those sound like values a school should support.

Looking ahead, what if the Club and the school were able to start from scratch, and create a pool of dance tunes that expresses values that they DO want to celebrate? That could be a mightily transformative process. Maybe next year?

If you're interested in this issue, please subscribe to my RSS feed. Or, use the blue box (upper right) to get an emailed update. Join the conversation below...

{ 0 comments }

What’s Collateral Reputation Damage®?

by cv harquail on November 17, 2008

Imagyst Chet Provorse Collateral Damage Collateral Reputation Damage® is damage done to an organization’s reputation when advocacy by individuals or groups who may or may not be associated with the organization is interpreted by stakeholders as being actions by the organization itself.

Image of Collateral Damage from Chet Provorse

Hurting the Organization isn’t the focus, but …

Using the term "collateral damage" emphasizes that the impact on the organization’s reputation is not the focus of the individuals who are taking action. Rather, the damage is an epiphenomenon, an incidental byproduct of some other activity, where the organization’s reputation is damaged through "guilt by association."

Stakeholders, who assume that the organization is guilty of something they reject, diminish the reputation of the organization in their own estimation. Sometimes, these stakeholders work actively to tarnish the organization’s reputation in the estimation of others, through PR campaigns, boycotts, and other practices.

I got this idea from the phrase "Collateral Damage" which is used to describe unintentional damage to non-military people or property. (All those Iraqi civilians ? Collateral Damage.)

Collateral damage refers to: "[the] unintentional damage or incidental damage affecting facilities, equipment, or personnel, occurring as a result of military actions directed against targeted enemy forces or facilities. Such damage can occur to friendly, neutral, and even enemy forces. "

Collateral Reputation Damage ® vs. Reputation squatting ®

Collateral Reputation Damage® is in a way the opposite of Reputation Squatting ® . Reputation squatting® occurs when an organization takes on some or all of the name of a better-known organization that has a positive reputation, when there is no actual relationship between the organizations. The intent is to use the organization’s name to imply a relationship, and thus free-ride on the benefits of the famous organization’s reputation. (The Princeton Review college-preparation business squats on the reputation of the prestigious Princeton University.)

Collateral Reputation Damage is often unfair.

Although there are some ways that damage to an organization can be unintentional and also appropriate, the term "Collateral Reputation Damage" should be reserved for times when the organization is most likely innocent, and thus undeserving of the damage.

Why do I have a ® symbol next to the term Collateral Reputation Damage®?

Hey, I’m still an academic. When I coin and develop a new, useful construct, I still want to have the idea linked to my name. So, go ahead- use the idea; just link back to the source.

{ 0 comments }