#NotBuyingIt: Twitter to Talk Back to Sexist Super Bowl Commercials

This Sunday, MissRepresentation.org is organizing concerned citizens nationwide to use the hashtag #NotBuyingIt on Twitter to call out sexist Super Bowl commercials in real-time. The non-profit plans to reach 1 million plus people with this conversation around the representation of gender in advertising, and in the process inspire hundreds of thousands more to recognize their power as consumers to influence the media and advertisers.

“Eighty-five percent of the purchasing decisions in the United States are made or influenced by women. It’s time we used our consumer power to let the media know: sexism won’t sell,” said Jennifer Siebel Newsom , CEO and Founder of MissRepresentation.org. In 2011 Newsom wrote, produced and directed the award-winning documentary Miss Representation, which exposes how mainstream media contributes to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America. She is also the Executive Producer of the Academy Award nominated The Invisible War.

The Super Bowl is by far the most watched television event in America, and nearly 50% of its viewers are women and girls. Yet most advertisers direct their messages to adult men and often portray women in demeaning and degrading ways. Through the use of #NotBuyingIt, MissRepresentation.org and its followers will demand that Super Bowl advertisers better reflect the actual audience of the big game and further educate the general public on the importance of gendered media literacy.