Man Repeller Brand Campaign by Chittock22

BOOTCAMP PROJECT 3

COVER PHOTO PHOTOGRAPHER REBECCA SMYNE MODEL LEANDRA MEDINE ARTICLE ‘MAN REPELLER’S LEANDRA MEDINE IS LITERALLY TURNING DOWN MONEY LEFT AND RIGHT’ WRITER CHARLES MANNING WEBSITE COSMOPOLITAN.COM

CONTENTS 4-5 6-19 20-37

BOOTCAMP PROJECT 3 RESPONSE BREAKDOWN

BRAND BREAKDOWN BRAND IDENTITY ONION MOODBOARD CONTENT TARGET AUDIENCE

MAN REPELLER WRITING FEMINIST ACTIVISM METOO MOVEMENT GOLDEN GLOBES FASHION TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR

38-47

THE ME TOO MOVEMENT #METOO ORIGIN HARVEY WEINSTEIN THE HUNTING GROUND LADY GAGA OSCAR PERFORMANCE

48-55

THE ME TOO MOVEMENT THE WRITTEN PIECE PUSHING BOUNDARIES OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE REFLECTIVE OVERVIEW

Image: Taken from ‘Welcome to Man Repeller’s BrandSpanking-New Site’ by Leandra Medine (manrepeller.com)

AN OPINION PIECE OR INTERVIEW WRITTEN FOR A FASHION OR LIFESTYLE PUBLICATION My initial ideas for this response is to go more for the opinion piece rather than the interview because I find it really difficult to reign in my opinion and want to push my boundaries a bit further and try to write an opinion piece that is suitable for an actual brand that will fit into their aesthetic whilst also keeping my own identity. I want to write something potentially political around the ‘Metoo’ movement seeing as it’s such a hot topic recently. However, I want to write an opinion piece on where I think it will go in 2018, whether its a fad or it will actually make a difference. I think this will go out of Man Repeller’s comfort zone as although they do cover things other than fashion, it’s still a very particular topic to shed a strong opinion on and I think it will still sit nicely with the Man Repeller mindset.

Research Going Forward • Man Repeller brand research • Man Repeller posts • #MeToo • The Hunting Ground • Lady Gaga Oscar Performance • Harvey Weinstein • Instagram

BRAND BREAK DOWN

WHAT IS MAN REPELLER? Brand Bio/Actions

“Man Repeller explores the expansive constellation of things women care about from a place of openness and humor, with the conviction that an interest in fashion doesn’t minimize one’s intellect. When I launched this company in 2010, I had no idea what I was doing. As a junior studying journalism at a liberal arts school in New York City, I hoped it might open doors when I applied for writing jobs following graduation. What I learned instead was of a dearth I had never paid attention to in women’s media. So much of the prose seemed prescriptive, dishonest, none of it felt like it was talking to its readers so much as it was talking at them. Where were the jokes, dammit! And who decided that in order to be taken seriously in fashion, to profess your love, admiration and respect for the industry, you couldn’t also poke fun at it (and yourself)? But I didn’t set out to solve these problems, I just wanted to be real. So I started writing the kind of stories that I wanted to read: casual essays that read like e-mails from my very cool, very informed and very hilarious friend living abroad in Paris. I didn’t know what she would tell me, but I knew I would be interested because of the passion in her tone, the unintimidating way in which she presented an intelligent thought and how she always seemed to make things feel like they were about me. About me! We’re a small but mighty media company with a silly name but very important mission of making women feel more understood and less alone by fostering community and conversation on topics that run a gamut from style and power to culture and identity. But the truth still remains that in spite of what we do and who we are (a clown car of curious, interested and excited creatives), Man Repeller is amorphous. It can mean whatever you need it to mean: maybe it’s a shoulder to cry on, a caffeine jolt on a lazy day. Maybe it’s a blog that curiously makes baseball caps. One thing is fo sho, tho(ugh): Man Repeller isn’t just a website.” - Leandra Medine, Founder Man Repeller

Brand Onion Model H. Posner Marketing Fashion Information Compiled From manrepeller.com, vogue.com, instagram.com Images (round the brand onion) taken from Manrepeller.com

Images (compiled from): pinterest.com, tumblr.com, manrepeller.com

BRAND BREAK DOWN

MAN REPELLER’S STYLE Moodboard

For the moodboard I wanted to try and recreate the energy of the site firstly with as much colour as I could without me putting things in there without it making sense. I put the logo in as well because the logo is famous just like any iconic brand and it’s all apart fof the branding so it wouldn’t make sense to not include it. The main element of the site is fashion and that’s what the blog started out with with Leandra writing it fresh out of university but now it has become so much more than just talking about fashion however I kept that whole focus as the main part of the moodboard to really reflect how stylish the whole blog is. I tried to then represent diversity with the stunning model with the bold lip, and a picture of the founder herself Leandra posing with her man repeller merch against a wall of crisps. Which I think just shows that although it is her business and her income, it’s still fun. You can tell that the brand doesn’t take itself too seriously under the relm of Leandra and that it’s full of life and colour and loads of different levels of intellect. I kind of like to think all the different textures in the moodboard sort of signify how many layers there are to the site, with just how much they cover from fashion, to politics, feminism and current affairs. I like that amidst all the fashion and colour, that there is a hint of food. I chose the picture of Leandra with the crisps as a starting point and wanted to tie everything together with another food picture so chose the one with the candy bars at the top to not only balance out all the images but also to show that they literally talk about everything and anything from fashion to what’s the best chocolate bar to buy. It’s a diverse and loud sight, but I think it has a clear vision.

BRAND BREAK DOWN

FASHION CONTENT

All Images: manrepeller.com

This article is one of the classic week full of outfit posts that you see again and again on most fashion sites just because mostly they’re an easy read and people like to see what other people are wearing. As well as being a funny site, Man Repeller also does give fashion advice and inspiration through different forms. This post is mostly heavily image based with all the different outfits but there is still a small written piece about how she felt in each outfit and whether she would do it again etc. The photos are all instagram ready and no doubt this story was featured on her own instagram as well as Man Repeller’s instagram for more content.

A WEEK’S WORTH OF MAXIMALIST OUTFIT INSPIRATION by Amelia Diamond

Here we have a witty article about all the ways in which Prince George wears sassy shorts and how the writer has no idea about the etiquette of the Royal Family, but it doesn’t matter because this prince has style. She then goes on to make five points that she herself would hope to communicate to the world if she was in fact Prince George, which includes: “My Neck is so expensive” “I enjoy upscale playgrounds” “I have weak ankles” And then goes on to explain each point with a picture of George and how his fashion reflects this. It’s a funny piece and very light hearted, not quite Vogue standard but it doesn’t need to be because it fits into the whole demenaur of Man Repeller so well. PRINCE GEORGE IS MY STYLE ICON by Haley Nahman

A LIST OF THINGS I BUY SOLELY FOR THE PACKAGING

DO THE PERFECT YOGA LEGGINGS EXIST? I TEST 4 EXISTING BESTSELLERS

by Amelia Diamond

by Harling Ross

IM STILL NOT OVER IT: PHEOBE PHILO IS REALLY LEAVING CELINE

SPARKLY NEW YEARS EVE OUTFITS YOU CAN BUY SUPER LAST MINUTE

by Leandra Medine

by Harling Ross

OUTFITS TO WEAR ROUND THE HOUSE IF YOU HATE SWEATPANTS

HOW TO WEAR THE SAME DRESS TO 5 DIFFERENT HOLIDAY PARTIES

by Claire Beermann

by Juliana Salazar

What I really like about this article is that it goes through each member of the team and talk about their favourite product in an interview style, so there is essentially 6 mini interviews with each person which gives a good read. I think it’s nice to see everyones personality through their answers as well and all being part of the Man Repeller team it sort of gives an insight into the brand too. As for beauty products, this one isn’t really sales heavy with the only large format images being of the girls themselves and them with and without the product on their face. This is quite a long piece but gives you the option to flit in and out and read whoever’s interviews you want to read by sectioning it into clear rectangles with the girls image as to wear their interview starts and the other ends. 6 WOMEN ON THE 1 PRODUCT THEY WEAR WHEN GOING MAKE-UP FREE by Haley Nahman

WHAT THE HELL IS LIGHT THERAPY AND DOES IT REALLY WORK?

I FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO DO AN EFFING CAT EYE

HOW TO PICK A FACE OIL FOR YOUR SKIN TYPE

by Julissa Trevino

by Leandra Medine

by Sarah Spruch Feiner

BRAND BREAK DOWN

BEAUTY CONTENT

All Images: manrepeller.com

This article goes on a tangent about the difficulties many of us face with sensitive skin and the pains and aches every time a new season comes round about what products to use. But after talking to another beauty editor, Harling discovered this product and after sticking with it, it fied her skin. The written piece is accompanied by interactive pitcures of the product itself and then the price next to it, which when you click it links you to then buy the product. Sneaky. This isn’t as image leading as the fashion pieces, more selling a product, but it feels genuine in the writing and not like they’ve been told to try a random product and sell it to us through the writing.

I FOUND A PRODUCT THAT FIXED MY SENSITIVE SKIN IN 4 WEEKS by Harling Ross

WHAT IF ACNE WASNT A FLAW? 5 WOMEN SKIP COVERUP AND TALK SKIN

I TRIED FACE CUPPING BECAUSE KIM KARDASHIAN TRIED FACE CUPPING

WHAT IF YOUR EYES WERE PEACOCKS A MAKE-UP TUTORIAL

by Amelia Diamond

by Claire Carusillo

by Janell Hickman

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ASPERGE’S AT 33

HOW TO TEACH YOURSELF TO BE A MORNING PERSON

THE PROBLEM WITH ‘RELATIONSHIP GOALS’ AND WHY I HAD TO CHANGE THEM

by The Writers

by Amelia Diamond

by Jacy Topps

BRAND BREAK DOWN

LIFESTYLE CONTENT All Images: manrepeller.com

MY CREDIT CARD DEBT ISN’T A SECRET I JUST DON’T DISCUSS IT

A CONVERSATION WITH MY TRANSGENDER SISTER ABOUT CHANGE

I MADE A DATING APP FAQ FOR YOUR PARENTS (YOU’RE WELCOME)

by The Writers

by Molly O’Brien

by Amelia Diamond

Through this article the writer goes through the motions of her starting therapy at a young age and how when she started, anxiety and counselling was a taboo and something that wouldn’t be mentioned openly. However, as time has gone on and mental health in the past few years especially has come under considerable light with campaigns and charities urging people to be mre aware. I think it’s interesting not only to see the development of the stigma against mental health but also how she felt coming forward to different people in her life and how they reacted completely fine with everything but at the beginning although her parents were supportive of her going they didn’t want her to tell anyone about the therapy. This is just one of the sort of lifestyle topics they talk about. WHAT I LEARNED AFTER 13 YEARS OF THERAPY by Bonnie Azoulay

“In the name of anthropology, I categorized what appear to be the most common friend varieties* you might encounter in your 20s based on a combo platter of my personal experience, keen observational skills and simply asking around. Scroll down to see which ones you’ve collected (they’re a lot like Pokémon in that it’s way more fun if you catch ’em all).” I like how this article like some of the others they publish is categorised with easy headings that you can flit through with quirky illustrations to sit alongside the statements. It’s definitely targeted at not only a young audience in their twenties but also a more mature audience who have been through their 20’s and can relate to everything that’s being said in the article which is very dynamic from the writer. THE 8 TYPES OF FRIENDS YOU HAVE IN YOUR 20S by Harling Ross

BRAND BREAK DOWN

‘EVERYTHING ELSE’ CONTENT All Images: manrepeller.com

On the website, there’s a section that’s labelled ‘everything else’. The best way to describe this section is it’s basically everything that isn’t fashion but could potentially involve something to do with fashion. There are interviews like the one that corresponds with this image of Reese Witherspoon titled ‘I Talked To Reese Witherspoon About Career, Breakfast and Sweet Home Alabama.’ Where the writer basically just has a chat and gets into the nitty gritty of her life without going into the mundane questions that celebrities get asked on every press tour for any movie they ever do. Then there’s more political pieces, feminist pieces about the metoo movement and just about women in careers etc. There’s also random articles that you would most likely see circulating around Facebook or on twitter as vural articles that you have to read because you relate to it on so many levels, kind of like the equivalent to a meme like ‘how to get rich quick’ or ‘what songs make my top playlist’ I think they’re generic but they are attacked at an angle that still makes it worthwhile to read if you just want something light and easy.

19 THINGS I’VE RECENTLY SAVED ON INSTAGRAM (AND WHY)

ENERGY BARS TELL THE STORY OF A NATION OBSESSED WITH FOOD

A DEFINITIVE RANKING OF THE BEST LAUGHS IN POP SONGS

by Amelia Diamond

by Jaya Saxena

by Erica Smith

WOULD YOU RATHER BE RICH OR FAMOUS?

WE LET AMAZON’S ALEXA BE OUR FASHION INTERN FOR A WEEK

WE TRIED THE REVERSE HOLIDAY DIET

by Otegha Uwagba

by Haley Nahman

by The Writers

HELP ME COMPILE A LIST OF THE BEST MOVIES YOU CAN STREAM

AN ANONYMOUS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT THAT’S CALLING OUT FASHION COPYCATS

AN ACTIVIST AND SCI FI FAN ON HOW TO SURVIVE THE END OF THE WORLD

by Haley Nahman

by Amelia Diamond

by Erica Williams Simon

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L yo IZA ut KO ub S er HY /a , ct 21 re ss

ER S,

LU C sh IN io DA ns C ty H lis AM t B

R sin IHA ge NN r/ A ac , 2 tr 9 es s

Images (compiled from): pinterest. com, tumblr.com, manrepeller.com

TARGET AUDIENCE 38

Represented by celebs

P jo AND ur O na R lis A S t YK ES ,

R ac EES tr E es W s/ IT pr H od ER uc S er PO /e O nt N, re 4 pe 1 ne ur

BRAND BREAK DOWN

For the taregt audience although I think the readership may include males, I do think that it’s more aimed at women. There are a lot of articles at equality and feminism which does include men and the whole point of it is for men and women to be equal and I do think that Man Repeller preaches this but still with the amount of content that is written by women about womenly problems that we go throguh on a daily basis that men don’t neccessarily experience (I’m talking periods and lady problems) I decided to represent the target audience to majority women. I think age is quite loose for the target audience as a lot of the articles written can relate to someone in their 20’s or someone in their 40’s like the article ‘5 friends you will have in your 20’s’ I would read that being in my early twenties and probably relate to some of the content and be surprised/interested to read the rest on what’s to come in life. Whereas someone in their 40’s would read tit and either relate in a cringeowrthy way or reminisce about how good their 20’s were. Therefor I’ve tried to pick a selective bunch of people who I think categorise what the target audience for Man Repeller is (if there even is such a thing for this site). We have Rihanna, a singer and known supporter of many charities helping out women and recently writing a provocative instagram post about the black lives matter movement after her cousin was wrongfully shot in America near the Christmas period. Then, there’s Lucinda Chambers, super fashionable and a key element of the fashion industry who although more mature, still completely in touch with young fashion. Next there’s Nicole Richie and Liza Koshy who both are outspoken and wild personalities in different ways with Liza more catered to a younger audience and Nicole more brash with the older more mature spectrum. Reese Witherspoon makes an appearance to represent the activists and girl power side to the audience, as she continually speaks out about women being under represented in her industry as well as joining the metoo movement and spear heading with Nicole Kidman Big Little Lies under their production company. Finally, we have Pandora Sykes who not only is a well known journalist but also runs the podcast The High Low. I think she’s really similar to Leandra the owner and sort of represented maybe the rich kid vibe, with a work ethic. What I can say about the target audience is that it’s varied in proffession and age, but it’s strong minded women with a voice and opinion, that are deeply interested in the fashion industry and love to keep up with politics and activisim as much as they want to know the next trend that is featuring in the Marc Jacobs show. 19

WRITERS

FEMINIST ACTIVISM Posts on the topic

Image: Leandra Medine collaboration for Outdoor Voices (my.racked.newyork)

ERICA WILLIAMS SIMON

Tarana Burke, Creator of the on the Story You Haven’t He Image: Tarana Burke (manrepeller.com)

“If you were one of the millions who watched the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve, you probably saw Tarana Burke. She was the woman who pressed the iconic drop button that signaled the ball’s descent and carried the country into a new year. Or maybe you’ve seen her face in the feature spread of Time’s Person of the Year issue, where she was celebrated for ushering the nation into a powerful conversation about sexual violence. If you’ve never seen her face, you’ve definitely seen her work: Tarana Burke is the creator of the #MeToo movement, and for the last quarter of 2017, she has received attention, awards and praise for her work. She has become, in her words “a Black History fact,” lauded in headline after headline as “the black woman who started #MeToo.” But Tarana doesn’t actually see herself in those headlines. She believes many of them have missed the point, erasing her and the decade of work that she put in long before white actresses elevated the hashtag to the mainstream. That stops now. In 2018, she is determined to bring the focus and attention back to what she originally envisioned: healing. In this interview, for the first time ever, we get to hear Tarana Burke’s real story about the #MeToo movement, and the black girls and women who started it all. She also talks about the danger of the hashtag, why she feels she and the movement have been misrepresented in the media, and the powerful words she wants to tell survivors today.” With the #MeToo movement being brought to light in 2017 after the Harvey Weinstein accusations came flooding in, people took to twitter to share their stories and be apart of the movement. In this post/podcast Erica talks to the originator of the hashtag who has been sorely overlooked in the uprising of it in 2017. Although it has been around for years it’s been unheard and now other people are seemingly being given credit for something they didn’t start but are merely apart of. The post has a small exerpt at the bottom of the podcast which sort of gives an overview of what they talk about and who Tarana Burke is with a punchy first line that incinuates that 2018 is a new era for women and for stopping sexual harrasment. This podcast is a regular on the website that tackles subjects like these a lot and is run by the writer Erica. The podcast is 40 minutes long and after listening to it all, it just gives more of a back story to why the hashtag was started and how it’s been relevant for years but unfortunately because white, famous actresses jumped on board only now has the media seen it as relevant.

e #MeToo Movement, eard

It took three texts, four headlines and a barrage of Tweets to finally get me to read “Cat Person,” a story published in the New Yorker on Sunday that sounds like a satire and reads like a novella. It’s by Kristen Roupenian and it’s gone viral. “The last time I can remember a short story in the New Yorker being as enthusiastically talked-about as Kristen Roupenian’s ‘Cat Person’ was when Annie Proulx’s ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was published by the magazine in 1997,” writes Slate culture column Laura Miller. “Cat Person” tells the story of 20-year-old Margot as she meets, flirts and has unceremonious sex with 34-year-old Robert. From the text message banter that doesn’t exactly translate into real conversation to the endearing first date at a 7-Eleven, it has all the trappings of a relatable postmodern love story. But it’s not just relatable, it’s arresting, and what makes it sticky enough to share and re-share is the story happening below all that — the story in Margot’s mind. Roupenian narrates Margot’s inner monologue in the third person. In doing so, she lends to the story a sort of disassociated emotionality. It’s never quite dramatic, maudlin or histrionic – the tale is one of everyday circumstance: a forgettable romance that starts slow and dies fast. And yet it’s this very nonchalance that makes it all the more harrowing. The gender-choreographed dance Margot and Robert perform is immediately recognizable and yet it’s one rarely brought to the page so matter-of-factly.

“Margot sat on the bed while Robert took off his shirt and unbuckled his pants, pulling them down to his ankles before realizing that he was still wearing his shoes and bending over to untie them. Looking at him like that, so awkwardly bent, his belly thick and soft and covered with hair, Margot recoiled. But the thought of what it would take to stop what she had set in motion was overwhelming; it would require an amount of tact and gentleness that she felt was impossible to summon.”

I had personally read the story because my house mate sent it to me over facebook and said that I would be interested in the story because there’s been so much talk about it on the internet already so it’s interesting to see Man Repeller’s take on what they thought and how they reported on it. I think throughout the article there’s a strong opinion behind it that women go through something like this all the time and because of society we as women have to take this and just deal with it. However, if society changes then we wouldn’t have this stigma around having to do what a man says just because you agreed to it beforehand and we don’t have the power to then change our minds afterwards. I think it’s refreshing for someone to write so passionately about the short story even though it’s not based on a true story or anything, it’s purely ficitonal but obviously fitting for everything that’s going on in the media at the moment. Through the article there is also evidence of people reacting on twitter and other social media accounts with links to the tweets. There’s no for and against through the article it’s strictly what the writer feels and how the short story rings so true. It would be interesting for the same topic for the article to be written by a man and to see if the opinion differs in any way or they have the same thought process.

HALEY NAHMAN

“Cat Person” Tells A Story Most Women Know About Bad Sex Image: Collage by Louisiana Mei Gelpi

ERICA WILLIAMS SIMON

The 26-Year-Old Activist Who Fought for the Sexual Assault Survivorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rights Act Image: manrepeller.com

“This week I sat down with activist (and future astronaut) Amanda Nguyen. After being raped in college, Amanda discovered just how few rights victims of sexual assault actually had within the criminal justice system. One horrifying example? She learned that even though Massachusetts law gives a survivor 15 years to pursue legal action (the statute of limitations), it also allows the state to destroy the rape kit within six months — unless the survivor files an extension. That extension has to be refiled every six months. Crazy right? That, and so many other nonsensical, unjust and traumatizing legislative hoops caused Amanda to make a decision to break the silence and fight back against the system that continued to victimize rape survivors. Thanks to Amanda and the work of many others, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act was unanimously passed in Congress in 2016. The bill pulls together a collection of rights that exist in different states and guarantees those rights whether or not the person reports the crime or presses charges. Passing a bill like that is a very. big. deal. In our conversation, we talk about Rise, the organization that she now runs to help other survivors, why no one should ever be pressured to tell his or her story, and why she still has every intention of becoming an astronaut. It’s enough to help even the most cynical cynic believe that anything is possible — and to always reach for the stars.”

“I remember walking out of the hospital the night after, you know I was raped and I felt so alone and I remember trying to figure out what my rights were and it was so hard, it was a labrinth. I had these immense resources, I was studying at Harvard at the time, I had proffessors and law proffessors who were like the best in the nation in this issue and even all of us collectively on this issue were finding it really hard to figure out what my rights were”

This is a slightly different topic to the others that I have looked at that they’ve reported on, this goes a little more into depth about the legality of what happens after someone is sexually assaulted and how almost corrupt the system is that they destroy a woman’s rape kit after 6 months if they don’t choose to prosecute straight away and if they don’t renew it every 6 months, however people aren’t actually aware of these rights. It’s also interesting to listen to someone that had difficulties even though she probably had more resources than 90% of people that go through things like this and she still couldn’t find anyway to prosecute her attacker. The interviewer is definitely obviously in awe of this woman who saw something was wrong and essentially wrote her own law to fight for the rights for rape victims to have the right to their own medical exam results, to keep their rape kits and not destroyed if they choose not to go to the police straight away and just basically to help survivors as much as possible. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to everywhere in the world, in terms of victims having to pay for their legal fees etc. because it is different in every country and America is somewhat less abilitating to victims. I think she makes this clear though as she continues to list the different countries that she’s talking about. I think it;s a good listen and definitely comes across more passionate hearing someone talk about it rather than reading it.

TAHIRA HAIRSTON

What Did Black Dresses on the Red Carpet Really Say? Image: Feature collage by Emily Zirimis

“The 75th Golden Globe Awards arrived amid what many are calling the Hollywood sexual harassment reckoning, and a few promising things happened as a result: Oprah gave an acceptance speech that rightfully earned a tearful standing ovation. Debra Messing called out E!’s massive pay gap between the male and female hosts while being interviewed by the network. Eight activists, including Tarana Burke, creator of the #MeToo movement, walked the red carpet and were given a platform for their causes. Laura Dern gave a memorable speech. Women in Hollywood (and some men) came together collectively to speak in support of Time’s Up, an initiative formed three weeks ago to combat gender inequality and sexual harassment in not just the entertainment industry, but all workplaces. But the wave-making call to wear black on the red carpet didn’t add up for me. A few weeks ago, when celebrities declared their intention to wear black on the red carpet, at first as a protest against sexual harassment in the workplace, and then as a way to show solidarity with their “sisters” across all industries, I was skeptical. For the life of me, I don’t understand why fashion, an industry that is having a similar reckoning, was extricated from the conversation when it could have been used to advance it. It seems that whenever women want to have more meaningful conversations on the red carpet, it means giving up the “frivolous” topic of fashion.“

“Black is a color chosen for its easy adaptability; it doesn’t stand out at a black-tie event, let alone on the red carpet. It’s a color that calls upon men, who would normally wear black tuxedos anyways, to do so little work. And it’s a color that was chosen for a hodgepodge of reasons: from mourning and “death to the old Hollywood” to an awakening to “men have been wearing black for years, it’s our turn” to “a moment to stand together in a thick black line, dividing then from now.”

This article took a different approach to the women who wore black at the Golden Globes and the men who wore Time Up badges. Obviously it was made clear that these women were wearing it in support of the Time Up movement calling time on sexual harrassment in the workplace, in clubs, to it all. I for one, when I saw all the women standing together felt proud but reading this article made me think otherwise. Through all the article every reference made to anything skeptical was linked to a different article saying something about the allegation. Like the reference to James Franco linking to an article how he had been accused many times hooking up and assauliting underage girls in the past, yet still wearing a times up badge and it just makes you think is there anyone in that business that can really wear anything to support the cause that they themselves haven’t been apart of. The writer still did make points for the movement, with certain celebrities bringing activists to the red carpet and giving them a platform to speak. Obviously, praising Oprah on her ground breaking speech that (not for the first time) gave her a standing ovation. This article had a strong viewpoint with a lot of background research that made me think twice about what is going to make a difference in the world and whether boycotting is the only way in which any celebrity is going to make a difference not wearing a bland colour.

JENNA BIRCH

Does Time’s Person of the Year Imply Real Progress? Image: TIME from the Person of the Year 2017 Silence Breakers, photographed by Billy & Hells for TIME.

“A look at Time’s 2017 shortlist paints a bizarre picture: Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, Robert Mueller, Jeff Bezos, Colin Kaepernick, the Dreamers, Patty Jenkins. It’s an interesting, if illustrative, assortment. A cast of characters that almost resembles a good vs. evil showdown in a comic book. It’s striking to see the Time selection this year alongside last year’s title-holder Trump (this year’s runner-up). Yes, the magazine’s distinction honors influence, but in the aftermath of the election last year, that Person of the Year anointment felt a little like evil was winning. Some days, it still does. But perhaps this year the scales are shifting. I wish I didn’t have to write about what a big deal it is that Time selected the “Silence Breakers” as Person of the Year instead of Trump. I wish misconduct had never been so normalized. I wish I couldn’t say #MeToo. But here I am, and here you are, and here we are all standing together. In a way, this honor is for all of us. What started as a whisper, passed down through generations of women, has become a relentless scream — and the echoes are splashed all over that Time cover. For that, I am cheering. Maybe this year, “good” is nipping at the heels of evil.” This article isn’t a particularly long one but it still packs a punch. It goes into detail more about the metoo movement and everything that happened pre election with the horrendous election of Donald Trump and how atrociously 2017 started out with sexual offenders ruling America. It seems a bit astounding that Donald Trump also came runner up for Time’s person of the year amidst the many allegations against him and without that, even amidst Donald Trump just being himself. It seems that times are swiftly changing and that came in accordance with Time’s most recent people of the month being labelled the ‘Silence Breakers’. The women that came together to break the silence against sexual harrasment in their different ways. The writer holds a strong point that it has taken too long for this to happen, but the article itself doesn’t particularly go really in depth of how they feel. I feel like this article is more of an overview of events that have happened with a slight interlude of what the writer thinks in accordance to these actions without fully going deep into the issue. I think my piece will push their boundaries by going more in depth about what Metoo will bring in 2018 and how I feel about among many other women. I think that’s what’s missing slightly and what is constantly missing in articles, with writers not really saying what they want to because they’re writing under someone elses platform and they don’t want to come under fire for leaning one way more than the other.

“The difference between peer pressure and acne is that there are people who will be blessed with perfect skin for all of eternity, but everyone experiences peer pressure, again and again, over the course of a hundred ages, across a million degrees of variation. Where drugs and alcohol are concerned, some will have a harder time than others. Some will find themselves struggling in social situations where it feels their personal codes of ethics are compromised. Some will feel peer pressure in areas of appearance, or social media performance, or love or career or success. Remember that peer pressure is not always some slick guy in a leather jacket offering virgin lungs a cigarette. We all have our own demons and achilles’ tendons. It’s part of the human condition. You’ll care less about potential social damnation once you leave behind the confines of a school system. I assure you that as your post-collegiate world becomes a priority, you will barely remember the name of the popular girl who encouraged you to chug (or whatever it was) for the lame consolation prize of an ephemeral Cool Badge. As your life gets busier, friends who encourage you to go against your gut, beliefs and conscience become exhausting, boring and un-fun. At a certain point, it becomes instinctive to pull people into your orbit who support you for your positive endeavors rather than your contributions to the Legends Hall of Fame; in your late twenties, you’ll be so tired by the existential exhaustion of humanhood that you’ll choose the option to nap over nearly everything — so your friends better be friends as fuck.”

“So yes. I still feel peer pressure, but it looks different at 29 than it did when I was in college. Things that would have had more influence on my decisionmaking back then now feel laughably insignificant. My personal experience has proven that people care less about what you do and far more about how they’re being perceived. Once you realize everyone’s selfconscious, it becomes easier to prioritize your own track.”

This one is a slightly different article to the ones that I have looked at within this section just because firstly it’s more of an advice column, so it starts off with an anonymous question asking about the topic of peer pressure and whether it something thats sticks with you through life or if it’s something that fades away over time. It’s definitely written in more of a relaxes stlye because there’s no references that have been linked anywhere or any forced selling content in having to sell any beauty or fashion products and it seemingly seems to be just the writers opinion about her experiences and others experiences. It does seem that she may have spoken to other like minded people about the matter to gauge how they felt about peer pressure but most of it seems to come from her own point of view. I could do this sort of thing for my piece, more of an agony aunt style as this is the first I have seen out of all the articles I have looked at which means it isn’t a common occurence and I could push it to more of a serious topic to really go out of their comfort zone on giving advice. As they aren’t neccessarily an advice page.

AMELIA DIAMOND

How Peer Pressure Changes With Age Image: by Keystone View/FPG via Getty Images.

HARLING ROSS

“I Asked 11 Men About Their Deepest Insecurities” Image: by Leonard Nones/Conde Nast via Getty Images.

“I’m still insecure about my parenting abilities — or perhaps lack thereof. I have two daughters and four step kids, and trying to navigate the ‘being a good dad’ thing is a source of constant internal intrigue. Am I firm enough when necessary? Am I too soft, and why? What are my blind spots? Am I taking every opportunity to model a life in service to others, to each other, and one that matters. What am I missing? What more should I do? Are they okay? Really okay? There is no playbook for this fatherhood thing; at 52, I am still trying to sort it out.” Scott, 52 “I’m not alone at all here, but physically, I’m incredibly insecure about the hair loss that has recently befallen me. I didn’t think it was going to strike until it did. And even then, I didn’t really think it was happening. I now look at other dudes with man buns, slicked back luscious locks, or a sweet haircut that I could never pull off. My thoughts vacillate somewhere between ‘you don’t know how good you have it’ to ‘I just wish I had done that while I could’ to ‘Do I look like my grandfather at 29?’ to ‘Is my head too big to pull off the bald look?’ I feel so superficial complaining about it, but when I look in the mirror, it’s sometimes all I can see.” Will, 29

“I’m insecure about…comparing notes on ‘success’ with old friends or new people I’m introduced to. Am I far enough along professionally? Am I doing enough ‘exciting’ things in my personal life? It sometimes feels like weirdly keeping score. Oh, also, my height. Still waiting on that growth spurt.” Ryan, 29

I thought it would be good to feature a piece about men. I can’t say that there is a lot of posts just dedicated to men along similar sort of topic guidelines but I thought this one was quite interesting not only in the content but also how it was layed out on the site. It was interesting that at the start of the article, the writer referred to women and sort of mentioned how easy it is for us to confess our insecurities because as women we have been allowed to have insecurities but as men there’s this false precade that they have to be manly all the time. She then goes on to link a post where she asked women a similar question and asks (unnoficially) for readers to go and read that article and compare the different answers from men and women to see the difference. I really like how this blog post is layed out because it’s an easy and fun read whilst also actually tackling quite a concerning topic of men feeling insecure about very real things. The insecurities are layed out in the centre with some of the fonts differing so you can clearly see the different insecurities. Also, it’s not completely anonymous, the writer puts the guys name and age next to the insecurity so it makes it even more real and gives it some validity.

HALEY NAHMAN

I Just Realized Drinking Cul “Why did it take a man to validate my drink order? It’s a question I hadn’t even thought to ponder until I read Jaya Saxena’s “Women Aren’t Ruining Food,” piece last week in Taste. “When men enjoy something, they elevate it,” she writes. “But when women enjoy something, they ruin it.” I immediately recognized my own attitude in her words, and that’s when I realized my relationship with alcohol has been sexist for as long as I can remember. “The treatment of women-centric food trends illuminates how, in many respects, whatever a man does is considered the standard that the rest of us should adhere to,” writes Saxena. “If a man is fussy about craft beer or protein shakes, it’s food that should be fussed over. If a man requires nothing more than meat, potatoes, and a Budweiser, neither should anyone else.” She goes on to point out how pervasive this delineation is: movie franchises, music genres, food trends and other cultural touch-points. It’s hard to argue with, impossible to unsee and endlessly troubling. “Men can obsess over every aspect of procuring, drying, and grilling a steak, but women are the high-maintenance ones for arranging a beautiful smoothie bowl,” she writes.” This article when reading the title I thought would be about something completely different but actually tells the tale how drinks are sexist. The writer uses a quote from a psychologist about how when men pick drinks its seemed as cool, like if you drink whiskey its cool because men have been doing it for so long and it’s seemed as a ‘mans drink’ however if you drink rose wine then you are labelled as girly because it has become cool yet because men don’t drink it. It’s a funny approach to have on alcohol but one that when you read the article you sort of sit back and think about it. I hadn’t really thought about my drink order before but it does resonate that if you say you don’t drink a hard drink and another girl does at a bar then instantly guys like her a lot better then they would me. This is just stereotypical observation not that this can be said for everything. In the article the writer also introduces an instagram poll to see whether she was just making this up in her head or whether people think the same as she does. I thought that was a nice touch because instagram is so popular, arguably the most popular social media site out of them all and to have your opinion validated on an instagram poll, definitely legitimises what she’s saying to millenials, although i’m not so sure that more mature readers would agree with that statement. I like that she’s gone to different sources even though I would say this is more of an opinion piece than anything else and she doesn’t neccessarily need facts.

lture Is Sexist as Hell Image:by Louisiana Mei Gelpi; Creative Direction by Emily Zirimis (manrepeller.com)

Image: HUE Super Opaque Tights in Deep Burgundy, available at Bloomingdales Styled with Vilshenko blazer and VereVerto belt bag (manrepeller.com)

RESEARCH

THE #METOO MOVEMENT Posts on the topic

CASSANDRA SANTIAGO AND DOUG CRISS, CNN

“An activist, a little girl and the heartbreaking origin of ‘Me too’” Image: illustrator unknown (twitter.com)

“The genesis of the movement -- to help young women of color who had survived sexual abuse, assault and exploitation.“On one side, it’s a bold declarative statement that ‘I’m not ashamed’ and ‘I’m not alone.’ On the other side, it’s a statement from survivor to survivor that says ‘I see you, I hear you, I understand you and I’m here for you or I get it,’” she told CNN. The movement has taken a life of its own, Burke said. “It started with young people and I quickly realized adults needed it too,” she said.“When you experience trauma and meet other people that have a similar experience, and you show empathy for each other, it creates a bond. “Late Monday, actress Milano credited Burke with creating ‘Me too’ and tweeted a link to her organization.“The origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring,” Milano tweeted.Burke said she’s happy to see her idea reach a larger audience. “I’ve seen it happen over and over again in small waves, but to see it happen en masse has been pretty amazing,” she said.The challenge now is to figure out how to take it beyond a viral moment.” After allegations against the power house that is Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo took twitter and the world by storm. Millions of women and men shared their stories across social media not only to support the many women that came forward about Weinstein but also to share their own encounters about sexual harrasment no matter how big or small. I think the hashtag came at a time where women were fed up. There’s been a lot of feminist campaigns through these past few years with Emma Watsons heforshe campaign, the metoo hashtag and now the times up campaign. Although the hashtag did start over 3 years ago in 2014, it didn’t hit the magnitude it did at the end of 2017 and continuing into 2018. Although personally I think it’s amazing that everyone is openly talking about it and that hopefully it will make a change, it just seems a small bit like a pipe dream in the grand scheme of things. Although celebrities are spear heading the hashtag and under their influence is where the funding and change is going to come from, I still think that they’re the ones that will benefit way more than the general public who also experience the exact same things, if not worse because they don’t have the resources to do anything about it, not the money or the lawyers or the overwhelming support. The hashtag has it’s own site and is taking donations, however where the donations go to is unclear and what will be changed from this hashtag is also unclear but the future is open to speculation.

AL BAKER, JODI KANTOR & WILLIAM NEUMAN

Police Building Case to Arrest Harvey Weinstein After Sexual Assault Claim Image: Harvey Weinstein in 2013. Credit Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Getty Images

“Speaking at a news conference at Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan, officials in the Police Department said they were gathering evidence with an eye toward preparing a warrant to arrest Mr. Weinstein, whose representatives have said he is undergoing therapy outside New York. The claims of the actress, Paz de la Huerta, have been a focus of investigators in the department’s Special Victims Division for several days, since Mr. Weinstein’s long history of allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault of women was detailed in reports by The New York Times and The New Yorker early last month. Those reports prompted a mountain of tips to the police in New York and London about other episodes. If Mr. Weinstein had been in the city, and so much time had not passed, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, Robert K. Boyce, said that his investigators would have sought to arrest him immediately. But with him out of the jurisdiction of the New York police, and with seven years having elapsed since the attacks are said to have taken place, the police will instead continue gathering evidence. “We have an actual case going forward,” Chief Boyce said. “If this person was still in New York and it was recent we would go right away and make the arrest, no doubt. But we’re talking about a seven-year-old case. And we have to move forward gathering evidence.”

“Chief Boyce said that Ms. de la Huerta “put forth a credible and detailed narrative” to his detectives and that those detectives found “corroboration along the way.” He said Ms. de la Huerta was able “to articulate each and every movement of the crime: where she was, where they met, where this happened and what he did.”

Despite the strong words from Mr. Boyce, officials in the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., issued a statement suggesting they were not ready to charge Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Vance’s office would be responsible for prosecuting Mr. Weinstein if he were arrested. Ms. de la Huerta’s claims resemble those by other women who have come forward. But even as the number of alleged Weinstein victims has increased, with a growing number of women across the world claiming that he harassed, assaulted or raped them, it is unclear whether Mr. Weinstein will face criminal charges. Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles and Britain have also confirmed that they are investigating accounts of sexual assault and abuse by Mr. Weinstein, but the announcement by the New York police is the first indication of a possible arrest. Through a representative, Mr. Weinstein has steadily denied allegations of nonconsensual sex. But in interviews with The Times and a statement through her lawyer, Ms. de la Huerta described a series of harrowing encounters in 2010. First, she said, Mr. Weinstein raped her in her TriBeCa apartment. “I know you’re ready to become a real actress,” she said the producer told her as he forced himself on her.

TY BURR

“‘Hunting Ground’ maps out atrocity of campus rape” Image: From “The Hunting Ground,” a demonstration at Low Memorial Library at Columbia University.

“The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about campus rape, is as unsubtle and unsettling as a hammerlock. It’s also as effective. Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering, who tackled sexual assault in the military in “The Invisible War” (2012), amass statistic upon statistic, horror story upon horror story, to present a case that’s damning and seemingly inarguable. At one point, Dick’s camera settles on a US map with a pin for each college in which at least one victim of rape or assault has been documented by the filmmakers. The thing’s a porcupine, testament to a national pandemic. But “The Hunting Ground” would be merely a screed of numbers and outrage without the heroes at its center: the young women — in the dozens — who come forward to tell their stories, pushing past shame and shedding their anonymity. Their confusion and hurt is palpable; their anger, toward their assailants and toward college administrations who will do anything to protect their brands and alumni donations, scalds the screen. Two women, both from the University of North Carolina, emerge as unlikely crusaders. Andrea Pino was a freshman at a party when, she says, a sophomore took her to a bathroom, slammed her head on the floor tiles, and raped her. She was a virgin. “Why am I not screaming?” Pino remembers thinking. “You just stay there and hope you don’t die.” Another incoming freshman, Annie E. Clark, says she was raped before classes even started; when she reported it to a college

“Why should it when the movie has stories to tear your heart out, like the one told by Tom Seeberg, father of Saint Mary’s College student Lizzy Seeberg, who killed herself in 2010. The police claimed they couldn’t locate her alleged assailant; he was on the field at a Notre Dame football game. Or Erica Kinsman, who had the misfortune to get roofied and raped (she claims, compellingly) by Florida State’s star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. Kinsman was hounded off campus.

administrator, she was told to think of it “as a football game: If you look back, what would you have done differently?” This may be why as much as 88 percent of campus sexual assaults go unreported. “The Hunting Ground” tours the country, piling on first-hand stories of physical and bureaucratic abuse. Numerous studies have found that 1 in 5 women will be assaulted during their college experience; the percentage of false claims, 2 percent to 8 percent, is the same as for other crimes. The institutions namechecked in the film run from coast to coast, from high to low: University of Virginia, Occidental, University of Tulsa, Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s, Berkeley, Wesleyan, Florida State, Swarthmore, Yale. In Massachusetts alone, we hear from students at Harvard Law, Tufts, Amherst, Emerson, and Brandeis, among others. Where is this wave of sexual violence coming from? “The Hunting Ground” takes pains early on to stress that a sliver of campus men are responsible. Actually, the statistic cited is that 8 percent of men in college are responsible for 90 percent of all assaults. Dick interviews one repeat predator, his face blurred out, as he describes how easy it is to be a serial rapist given the prevalence of alcohol and new students. “The number of victims is endless,” he says.

Introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, Gaga, who is herself a survivor of sexual assault, breathed deep and let loose and she sang lyrics like “Till it happens to you, you don’t know how I feel.” As she opened into the last two minutes of the song, a wall rose behind her and out walked 50 survivors of sexual assault. They wore plain clothes and bore messages like “Unbreakable” on their arms. “It was an idea that the music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg, me, Lady Gaga, and Diane Warren all had,” The Hunting Ground producer Amy Ziering tells EW of the special guests. “Wouldn’t it be powerful if the survivors in the film performed?” After about 22 people from the doc signed on and agreed to appear, Ziering, her team, the activist organization It’s On Us, and local allies assembled the final group of survivors who would appear on stage. “I had never been surrounded by so many survivors before,” Kirat Sandhu, 21, a survivor of sexual assault and a student at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, tells EW. She became involved with It’s On Us after she got to college and had been contacted by the organization Thursday. She flew out to Los Angeles the same day and the group began rehearsals Friday. “We were with Gaga’s choreographer when she showed up to rehearse and we were just so surprised,” Sandhu says. “She pushed her production team aside and spoke to us. She told us we were not just bodies on a stage. We were there as a support system to her.”

“The tremendous, emotional moment was felt inside the Dolby Theater and to millions worldwide as soon as they took the stage. “Right before we went on, Gaga came over and talked to us again,” Sandhu says. “It was her show but she made a point to say, ‘It’s our show.’ She wanted this to be something where we healed.” Ziering, who sat in the theater next to Warren and Greenberg, says the audience was speechless. “People were sobbing. You could hear a pin drop. It was the only song that got a standing ovation.”

Sandhu says the group of survivors didn’t fully realize the impact the performance would have during rehearsals. It wasn’t until she stood on stage (with the words “Not Your Fault” written on her arm) that she realized what the message would mean to viewers. “So many survivors never come forward and the way society’s structured, it’s so hard to speak out. A lot of us were talking about the work we do on campuses and hoped to connect with each other about it after the show.” The reaction was swift: Pop star Kesha tweeted her support and Brie Larson — who won an Oscar for her role as sexual assault survivor in Room — hugged every person as they came off the stage. Following the telecast, “Til It Happens To You” spiked in streams on Spotify — peaking between midnight ET and 1 a.m. ET, with 1,689 percent more streams than the same hour the day before, according to the streaming service. For Sandhu and the rest of the survivors, the night didn’t end after the performance. Biden asked the group to stick around after the ceremony so he could meet each of them in person. “He made personal phone calls to people’s parents, called people’s friends,” says Sandhu. “When he got to me, we talked about why he’s involved with this fight and he said he wants to combat when power is in the wrong hands.” 46

JESSICA GOODMAN

Lady Gaga Oscars Performance: Sexual Assault Survivors Speak Image: Adam Taylor/ABC via Getty Images (entertainment.com)

THE OUTCOME

THE WRITTEN PIECE Written piece and reflections

When anyone mentions #MeToo they’re always referring to victims as survivors. I feel like there’s this association with survivors being something valiant, like survivors of a war or survivors of a burning building, something along those lines where these people were noble in the fact that they managed to escape death in such a way. But when talking about sexual harrassment, coming from a ‘survivors’ point of view, it doesn’t feel like you’ve survived anything. I know that sentence doesn’t seem very empowering next to the whole premise of what Me Too stands for, but I think it’s the sad truth that isn’t said a lot among victims. Depending on the circumstances of the victim, I would say surviving just seems a bit melodramatic to me, maybe coping would be more fitting. I was assaulted at the rebirth of the Me Too movement. It was in summer, I was in Engladn back from interning in Paris (so swish) and staying for three weeks before jetting off to live white girl dream of travelling around Thailand. It was in those three weeks where I met a friend out for drinks, was spiked and followed home. I don’t think I have to spell it out to you, but lets just say things went down hill from there on out. 50

I did the right thing though, I called the police and am currently in the process of trying (sometimes what seems like failing) to prosecute my former friend for what they did. Although, sadly I knew friends that had been through the same thing, it still felt like an incredibly lonely time. Then low and behold, MeToo surfaced. Seeing the influx of people hashtag on twitter, facebook, instagram was truley astounding. You can’t help but think in your head as a subconscious thought ‘but surely they would never let that happen to them’ which just goes to show, it can happen to anyone, no matter what their celebrity status, or their high flux of income. It was comforting, in a way, that so many women felt comfortable enough to share their story and as much as I consider myself a feminist activist and power to all women, I couldn’t face to post a small hashtag myself. As the movement continued on, I found myself feeling more angry then supported. I understand that the movement holds this statement that we have been conditioned to allow even small forms of harrasment because they aren’t that bad and with the hashtag it’s breaking down the stigma that men can get away with the small actions that inevatably lead to larger actions. But, I couldn’t help but feel like the small triumphs from women confessing that a man had groped her on the train, or tried to kiss them at work almost took away from going through such a traumatic event myself. I then couldn’t help but think that (like a lot of movements started by celebrities) it’s only going to help the people who already have the power to bring down rapists. Sure, the incidents with Harvey Weinstein were tragic, but do you really think they’re going to have trouble getting him into a court of law? For people that don’t have the money, the resources, people like myself, the chance of even getting your case to court is nil to none. And a hashtag isn’t going to solve that. I agree we should talk about sexual harrasment, I think people shouldn’t be shunned for openly using the word rape. But to truly make a difference, victims need more than a hashtag. We need the people in power to help those less fortunate than they are. I’m hopeful that 2018 will bring this, but coming from a situation as bleak as mine, sometimes it’s hard not to be pessimistic.

SOPHIE CHITTOCK

Out of My Comfort Zone & Pushing Their Boundaries Image: Solar mag instagram post (instagram.com)

For me, this was completely out of my comfort zone about what I was writing about. I definitely find it hard to write a piece that isn’t opinionated but to have the freedom to write something where I could use my opinion meant I had to make sense of it. I couldn’t just say something without just cause, I needed to validate why I was saying what and about something I feel so strongly about. Also just putting my writing out there into the world, it’s uncomfortable for me to share my writing and by putting it into my portfolio it’s not something I would usually rely on to present. It was fun to go out of my comfort zone in terms of not playing it safe and styling a shoot because I know I can make something look good, but to make something sound interesting and legible and something that people want to engage with is something I find really difficult. Also, just laying it out and making it look like something that could feature on Man Repeller really was out of my comfort zone as i’m used to making everything look how I want it to and not fit to anyone elses style.

In terms of how I pushed Man Repellers boundaries, I think for writing content it is hard to push their boundaries because they’re pretty much an open book. I think it was more about the language in terms of what words I used and how cutting I was with opinions. As journalists you’re supposed to have an open opinion, you can’t damn one person in fear of being scrutinised by them the next day. Or, you can’t deem to not agree with a movement such as metoo in fear of being called out by the millions that do. I think my take on the metoo movement and by doing more of a different style of writing in the sense of not agreeing with something completely but going more into depth about what perhaps we need to do moving forward rather than just reporting on what’s already been done. I think in terms of layout and design I couldn’t really push the boundaries because they have their layout on the website and that would be submitted and layed out by the people behind the blog but I think in terms of writing it definitely pushed their boundaries slightly.

END OF PROJECT

Reflective Overview Image: Collage by Emily Zimiris (manrepeller.com)

I think for this response to the bootcamp exercises it was the hardest one yet. I find it really difficult to write about something i’m passionate about because I get completely carried away and sort of drift from the subject slightly and forget my research because i’m so caught up in what i’m writing about. But it was fun to step out of my comfort zone and write something for once rather than just doing another photoshoot or film. I also think as a collective it’s nice to have ended the bootcamp on a photoshoot, film and written piece. I feel like it’s all rounded up nicely and given me a variety to put into my portfolio to show that i’m more than just a stylist. It also gives me the opportunity to look at other jobs rather than just styling and gives me options in the industry. I don’t just want to pigeon hole myself with only showing styling aspects. In terms of lookingat a new brand that was also a challenge. I had never looked at man repeller before and it was new and fresh to look at it. In my other two projects i’m really familiar with the previous work of the brands and also know quite a lot about how their brand works and could easily pull apart their target audience, make a moodboard etc. so it wasn’t exactly difficult to get the outcome that I thought would suit them best. However, because I had never really looked into man repeller or what they do, I had only really read a few articles and followed them on instagram so it was fun to pull it apart and go through and read a lot of different articles to get a feel for who they were as a brand and read their mission statement and just really get into the nitty gritty of who they are. To then try and push the boundaries of a brand I wasn’t really familiar with at all took a lot of concentration and really took me further out of my comfort zone from just doing what I know. I really enjoyed this bootcamp project and definitely want to integrate writing into more of my projects as a finished piece. It just doesn’t feel a lot when you see it on paper next to an image, but you forget how much research and work actually goes into that piece and how much background knowledge you need to know about the subject matter to write a logical and thought provoking piece.

BA3A BOOTCAMP

PROJECT 3 by Sophie Chittock 57