The Super Secret Project Is…

For almost a month now, I have been telling you that I have been working on a super secret project. 

Well, I can finally tell you what it is!

After our story went viral, I realized how important the issue of girls’ clothing really is and how many other cultural implications are tied to it, so I started writing a book. But as more comments and emails and pictures from you poured in, I very quickly realized that some stories just need to be told in a more visual way. I needed to be able to share more pictures, more interviews with professionals, and conversations with the girls themselves. I needed more viewpoints than just my own, and more than I could pack into the pages of a book.

I needed to turn this into a documentary. 

So I called my friend Jeremy about a month ago (Remember how I told you he owns a production company?) and together we came up with the concept for Seamingly Obvious. It will be a feature-length documentary that explores the sexualization of women via the media and fashion industries today and its long-term psychological effects on a girl’s sense of identity. We will interview representatives from the fashion industry, developmental psychologists, parents, and children in an effort to discover how our current cultural attitudes affect the various stages of development.

I am so excited to have the amazing opportunity to partner with Awarehouse Productions and Percepto Studios to make that vision a reality!

And we’ve actually already started. (Fair warning, there are a few PG-13 images in the first 30 seconds of this video, which are only meant to serve as examples of what our daughters are seeing on magazine covers and advertisements every day.)

Seamingly Obvious from PERCEPTO STUDIOS and Awarehouse Productions. 

(Click the gear icon and make sure it is set to 720HD for the best viewing experience.)

Partnering with small, independent film companies was a very purposeful decision. In the height of the media frenzy that surrounded my blog post calling out Target, I was approached by several large retailers, and I told some of them about this idea. But when they asked if I would use the same vendors that they use to shoot commercials for their products, it left a bad taste in my mouth. 

I knew I couldn’t in good conscious put this project in someone else’s hands. Jeremy was the one who encouraged me and introduced me to the best people he knows—which is how we put together our team—but said that I was going to have to be the one who told this story and directed the film. (gulp!)

Then the American Psychological Association expressed interest in helping since our mission ties directly into a report that their task force put together, and I knew I had a responsibility to keep myself un-biased. So we decided to try to crowd-source this project, which is going to be a huge undertaking. And it means that I need your help. 

I want to be able to continue to tell this story honestly, in my own words, the way I have been doing all along. 

We all agree that media has been part of the problem.

I want to use it as part of the solution.

We have a big goal, but I am confident that we can achieve it together.

Everyone knows that movies are very expensive to make.

We need to raise $100,000 to make this one. 

I know that is a lot of money– it’s more than I paid for my first house. 

I also know that this movie is important. And I know you think it is important too, because you told me so. Those are your words in the beginning of the video. We took them directly from comments you left on my Facebook page. 

So, I’m asking you today if you can donate $10, $20, $50 or whatever you can afford, so that this momentum doesn’t stop at one mom’s blog post. I know that we can turn this into a major movement toward change.

Because our daughters deserve better. 

I am donating my time to this project and I refuse to take a salary out of the money you provide. The money will all go toward equipment, travel, production, and post-processing costs. And it goes a lot faster than you think.  

For weeks now you have been asking me what you can do, how you can help. This is a chance to do it. This can be the first step in achieving the changes that we all want to see. So please share this post and donate what your family can afford.

Also, please visit the website for Seamingly Obvious and like our Facebook page. Please share these pages on your social media channels. The further we can spread the word, the better. 

Thank you so much for your continued support. I cannot wait to see how far we can get together!

Head on over to our website to make a donation! 

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