The Representation Project

No matter who you are or where you live, harmful and limiting gender stereotypes hurt all of us. Women, men, and people of all genders pay the price. The Representation Project exists to expose that cost and invite everyone into a better way forward.

We are a gender justice organization working at the intersection of storytelling, education, and activism. We believe culture shapes behavior, and that changing culture is one of the most powerful levers we have for creating a world where people of all genders can show up fully and thrive.

Our story

The Representation Project was founded in 2011 by filmmaker and activist Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Her groundbreaking documentary Miss Representation ignited a national conversation about the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women and girls in media. The film asked a simple, devastating question: if you cannot see it, how can you be it?

Her follow-up film, The Mask You Live In, brought urgently needed attention to the crisis of unhealthy masculinity, revealing how rigid expectations placed on boys and men fuel emotional suppression, violence, substance abuse, and isolation. The film did not just name the problem. It called men and boys into something better: healthy masculinity, emotional literacy, and active allyship.

Jennifer's later films, The Great American Lie (2019) and Fair Play (2022), extended this work furthfurther extended this workr, examining inequality in the American Dream and the unequal division of care and domestic labor. Together, these films make the case that gender justice is not a single issue. It is woven through every part of how we live.

Our reach

Across all of our films and campaigns, The Representation Project has built one of the largest gender justice platforms in the country.

• Our films have been viewed nearly 30 million times worldwide.
• Our educational curricula have reached more than 2.4 million students.
• Our national hashtag campaigns, including #AskHerMore, #NotBuyingIt, #EndRape, #RespectHerGame, and #BoysWillBeBoys, have collectively reached over 600 million people.

This is not awareness for its own sake. Every film, every curriculum, every campaign is designed to shift attitudes and behaviors, and to build the kind of cultural change that lasts.

Why this work is urgent

Gender stereotypes are a public health crisis. Two-thirds of young women experience disordered eating. One in three girls has seriously considered suicide. Boys and young men who internalize rigid ideas about masculinity are significantly more likely to experience depression, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse, and to perpetrate violence or harassment.

These outcomes are not inevitable. They are learned. And what is learned can be unlearned. By challenging harmful messages and promoting healthy identities, emotional literacy, and shared responsibility, we can change the trajectory for young people and communities across the country.

How we do it

We work through three interconnected channels: film, education, and activism. Our documentaries open hearts and minds. Our curricula give educators the tools to build on those conversations in real classrooms with real young people. And our campaigns amplify both, turning individual awareness into collective action.

We engage women, men, and gender-diverse people as partners in this work because gender justice benefits everyone. This is not a movement for one group. It is a movement for all of us.

What's next

Miss Representation: Rise Up is our newest film, premiering soon. It picks up where the original left off, confronting the evolving ways that media, technology, and culture continue to shape how girls and women see themselves. With the rise of AI-generated imagery, algorithmic beauty standards, and social media as the primary mirror for young girls as they form their identities, the stakes have never been higher.

Alongside the film, we are developing a youth curriculum with a dedicated module on AI and digital wellbeing, giving young people the critical tools to navigate and push back on the media landscape they are actually living in.

Your support makes all of this possible. Join us.