If you’re not a social media addict like myself, you may not know that Lena Dunham of GIRLS fame is going to be on the cover of Vogue. And that photos of her shoot have leaked. And that the site Jezebel offered $10,000 to anyone who could offer unretouched photos from the shoot to prove Photoshopping by Vogue. And someone took that offer. And well, the photos are by Annie Liebovitz who is known for merging multiple photos together for a concept and the retouching of Dunham herself is actually quite minimal.
Anyway, there’s lots wrong with this story, much which shows the problems with online magazines and news blogs, current journalism, and society’s need these days for a witch hunt. But let’s not focus on the negative, let’s focus on the positive… positive being created by blogger and fashionista Nicolette Mason and singer, producer, and artist Brad Walsh.
On Indiegogo, a crowdfunding platform, Mason and Walsh have created: $10K for Photos? Let's Raise $10K for Women's Empowerment. The purpose of this campaign is, “Rather than contribute ad revenue dollars to a body-centric bounty hunt, please give directly to Step Up women's network via this fund.”
From the campaign page:
This campaign is raising funds on behalf of Step Up Womens Network, a verified nonprofit. The campaign does not necessarily reflect the views of the nonprofit or have any formal association with it. All contributions are considered unrestricted gifts and can't be specified for any particular purpose.
In response to Jezebel.com's $10,000 bounty for pre-retouched photos of director & actress Lena Dunham, we have set up this project to raise $10,000 to be donated to the promotion of women rather than the sensationalizing of their bodies. We feel that this sort of body-centric "exposé" is distracting from real, positive, productive work and awareness. Sensationalizing bodies distracts from creating change. There is much else that can be done to promote women's leadership, education, and self esteem. We hope to help re-center the conversation on positive change and away from in-fighting among supporters of feminism.
100% of the money raised here will be given to Step Up. Step Up is on the cutting edge of women's social philanthropy. The organization's strength stems from the members' ability to leverage their personal and professional skills and relationships to give back to the community. Programs are designed to engage women in a way that inspires a life-long commitment to responsible, philanthropic involvement encompassing hands-on volunteer work and leadership opportunities. "Invest, Involve and Inspire" is their motto.
Now this is how to take a negative and make it a positive!
I encourage you to visit this Indiegogo campaign, and if you like what you see, consider making a donation. Do note, you can only donate via credit card. Your payment will be processed by FirstGiving, Indigogo’s payment partner for nonprofit transactions. If you are a United States taxpayer, your contribution will be tax-deductible. FirstGiving will send you a tax receipt directly.
