2008 Actionist Essay Contest Winner:
My name is Shelbi and I am 14 years old and a freshman in high school. I am not one of the "normal" kids. I am not goth, not punk, not preppy, I am just me. I have my own style, I dress strange to some, I love to color my hair bright vibrant colors. My mother has always encouraged me to not be a "cookie cutter", not to follow the crowd because it is easier. By looking at me you would never know I get straight A's in school, am an accomplished athlete and am in the honors orchestra. All because of the love and support my mom has shown me and the values she has taught me. Two years ago my mom got pregnant with her fourth child and found out our baby would be born with an extremely rare chromosome disorder that would effect her both physically and mentally. My mom did not even consider abortion. My baby sister, Isabelle, has had may challenges in her two short years and my mom always says well I can either sit in my room and cry or I can laugh it out. Needless to say she laughs a lot. I love my mom for always supporting me, encouraging me to be me and inspiring me to be strong and face hard times with a laugh instead of a cry.
Sincerely,
Shelbi
Shelbi and her mother Lori are the winners of 'Jess' Inner Beauty Necklaces form Beadside The Bay. For the chance to participate in contests and giveaways, please sign up for the Actionist Newsletter!
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Featured Actionists:
Sarah Stinson
In 1999 I was given an opportunity to facilitate a new curriculum entitled GO GIRLS!™ - Giving Our
Girls Inspiration and
Resources for Lasting
Self-Esteem.
At that time I was unaware of the tremendous impact it would have on my life and the lives of so many others!
The GO GIRLS!™ curriculum was created by the National Eating Disorders Association in 1998 and was "designed to encourage teens to voice their opinions to advertisers, letting them know that beauty and success have little to do with the size of their jeans."
The Red Wing GO GIRLS!™ has evolved into a group of dedicated high school girls who travel the country to educate others on healthy body image, self-esteem, media literacy and activism. They meet weekly for the curriculum and then 2-3 times a month throughout the school year. In the summer they participate in workshops, an annual retreat, fundraising and fun group activities. Over the last 9 years they have presented to over 5,000 people, been on a national talk show, developed two educational videos, presented at 4 national conferences, created a GO GIRLS!™
calendar with Tribes of Women author, Connie Bickman, raised over $70,000 in grants and donations, lobbied on Capitol Hill, created a letter writing campaign to boycott Abercrombie and Fitch receiving over 100 signatures from around the world supporting their action, designed a t-shirt that reads "Confidence: One Size Fits All", and co-wrote a song with muscian James Moors.
When the journey began I could have never imagined we would still be going strong as we approach the 10 year anniversary of GO GIRLS!™ in the rural Mississippi River town of Red Wing, MN. Nor would I have imagined the international connections we would make with such amazing people and "Actionists®!"
Through the program and the ongoing year round meetings the girls learn to collaborate and put differences aside, to value their opinions, to have a voice and most importantly to know and believe that their voice and their actions make a difference.
In the challenges of adolescense also comes opportunity. The girls have inspired me to continue the mission of creating a world where each person is seen as beautiful and unique. They have taught me the value of speaking out, the importance of encouraging young women to dream and believe their dreams can come true and the need to give girls a chance to express their own amazing ideas. Girls going through the program report increased confidence, comfort with public speaking, improved body image, and strong leadership skills. They are our future. As one woman shared at a recent GO GIRLS!™ presentation, "Seeing those girls present with such poise and confidence gives me hope for our future!"
The current dream they are working to fulfill is to travel to Fiji, August of 2008. The mission is to follow up on a study that was done in Fiji in the 1990's looking at the effect of television and Western shows on the body image of the native Fijians. The girls would also like to learn more about their culuture. For many of the girls it will be their first time traveling outside of the United States. This dream is providing them with many opportunities one of which is to learn how to do some major fundraising!
Each moment I am with them I am reminded of the ripple affect we each have and that one small action can make a big ripple. We will continue to create small ripples that will lead to big waves!
GO GIRLS!!
For more information visit Go Girls!
For information about Media Awareness
visit these great sites:
The Dressing Room Project
Mind on The Media
National Institute on Media and Family
Also, be sure to check out New Moon,
a wonderful voice for girls!
This group of girls is truly Walking their Talk – getting out into their community and educating their peers on the pressures of Hollywood, media images, body image, and eating disorders. They are a committed, focused, passionate group of young women. And they have a dream: They want to go to FIJI to work with women and girls there and learn more about how other cultures deal with the body image pressures we do in the States. They need to raise money to go – so if you have a few spare bucks or know of a generous corporate sponsor – send an e mail to Sarah and offer your support.
-Jess
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Chenese Lewis
Chenese Lewis is a sought after keynote speaker, expert commentator, and advocate for plus size women. She made history by being the first woman crowned Miss Plus America in 2003 and as a plus size model she has modeled for many companies including Torrid, Kmart, and has been featured in Figure Magazine.
She has made numerous television appearances including Dr. Phil and The Insider and lectures at national workshops and seminars around the country, most recently as a keynote speaker for the 2007 National Organization of Woman Conference.
Chenese’s unique perspective as a plus size woman and role model enables her to connect to real women across the country. It’s no wonder PLUS Model Magazine called her "A leader in the curvy revolution!" As an actress her work on B.E.T’s #1 show “Hell Date” showed her impeccable improvisational and comedic skills, which kept millions tuning in weekly. She also won rave reviews for her dramatic portrayal of Connie Williams, a larger than life professional baseball player in the NAACP Award winning play “The Girls of Summer” set in the 1940’s.
Chenese attributes her success to not conforming to society’s ideals of beauty but rather showing by example, that you can be beautiful and confident regardless of your size. Chenese Lewis is the epitome of the plus size woman.
She is the creator of Hollywood NOW’s
“Love Your Body Day” an annual event where women of all sizes come together to celebrate with confidence a day of self-acceptance and promote positive body image. In 2008 she executive produced the 2008 Flawless Calendar, the very first of its kind, showcasing a wide variety of curvaceous models all different ethnicities, shapes and sizes with high fashion editorial images.
Currently Chenese is working on the 2008 Hollywood NOW's Love Your Body Day in October and seeking sponsors, as well as the 2009 Flawless Calendar which will have premiere parties in Los Angeles and New York. She hosts an on-line radio show called PLUS Model Radio, which covers everything for curvy for women and she has also started writing her first book!
Chenese was also recently named the face of Sizeappeal, a plus size clothing line, and will be making personal appearances and hosting special events. To keep up with these projects and upcoming ones join her mailing list at or her MySpace page.
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