Ann Simonton
Encyclopedia
Ann J. Simonton is an American writer, lecturer, media activist, and former fashion model. She founded and coordinates the non-profit group "Media Watch", which challenges what they see as racism
, sexism
, and violence in the media through education and action. Simonton has published two autobiographical chapters, I Never Told Anyone
and Her Wits About Her. She has also written and produced two educational videos, one of which, Don't Be a TV: Television Victim, received a Silver Apple Award from the National Educational Video and Film Festival in 1995.
Simonton began as a fashion model in Los Angeles
and vaulted to the top of the modelling world in New York City
in the early 1970s
. On June 24, 1971, she was gang raped at knifepoint in Morningside Park
on her way to a modeling assignment. This event informed her activism to help end sexual assaults on women.
Simonton became a radical feminist activist, and has been arrested and jailed 11 times for committing acts of non-violent civil disobedience
. In the 1980s, she and Nikki Craft
led the "Myth California" protests, a series of counter-pageants which accused the Miss California
pageant
of contributing to "the objectification of women
and the glorification of the beauty myth." Simonton wore various meat outfits in these protests: one of baloney in 1982, skirt steak in 1985, and turkey slices in 1987. In 1987 she shaved off all her bleached blond hair in front of the pageant venue in San Diego to protest "racist attitudes" in the pageants. The protests garnered international attention, and were partially responsible for the Miss California pageant relocating from Santa Cruz to San Diego, California.
Simonton lectures nationally on university campuses with a presentation entitled, "Sex, Power and the Media." She has been a guest on Dr. Phil
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, Larry King Live
, Entertainment Tonight
and CNN
's Crossfire
.
Simonton worked as a Ford
fashion model
in the 1970s.
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, and violence in the media through education and action. Simonton has published two autobiographical chapters, I Never Told Anyone
I Never Told Anyone
I Never Told Anyone: Writings by Women Survivors of Child Sex Abuse is a book edited by Ellen Bass and Louise Thorton. The book was published by Harper and Row: New York, 1983. ISBN 0-06-096573-8...
and Her Wits About Her. She has also written and produced two educational videos, one of which, Don't Be a TV: Television Victim, received a Silver Apple Award from the National Educational Video and Film Festival in 1995.
Simonton began as a fashion model in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and vaulted to the top of the modelling world in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the early 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. On June 24, 1971, she was gang raped at knifepoint in Morningside Park
Morningside Park
Morningside Park is a New York City public park in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The area occupies 110th to 123rd Streets from Morningside Avenue to Morningside Drive at the border between Harlem and Morningside Heights. Its distinctive natural geography is a...
on her way to a modeling assignment. This event informed her activism to help end sexual assaults on women.
Simonton became a radical feminist activist, and has been arrested and jailed 11 times for committing acts of non-violent civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
. In the 1980s, she and Nikki Craft
Nikki Craft
Nikki Craft is an American political activist, radical feminist, artist and writer.-Activism:In 1975, she presented the Rockwell International Board of Directors with "...naked doll[s] splashed with blood-colored paint" to protest their B-1 bomber called "The Peacemaker".The same year, Craft...
led the "Myth California" protests, a series of counter-pageants which accused the Miss California
Miss California
For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss California USAThe Miss California competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America pageant. Delegates from the states of California, Ohio and Oklahoma have each won the title of Miss...
pageant
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
of contributing to "the objectification of women
Sexual objectification
Sexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...
and the glorification of the beauty myth." Simonton wore various meat outfits in these protests: one of baloney in 1982, skirt steak in 1985, and turkey slices in 1987. In 1987 she shaved off all her bleached blond hair in front of the pageant venue in San Diego to protest "racist attitudes" in the pageants. The protests garnered international attention, and were partially responsible for the Miss California pageant relocating from Santa Cruz to San Diego, California.
Simonton lectures nationally on university campuses with a presentation entitled, "Sex, Power and the Media." She has been a guest on Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Crossfire
Crossfire (TV series)
Crossfire was a current events debate television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal pundit and a conservative pundit.-Format:...
.
Simonton worked as a Ford
Ford Models
The Ford Modeling Agency, or as it is known today Ford Models, is a modeling agency in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen and the late Gerard W. Ford.-Company:...
fashion model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
in the 1970s.
External links
- Media Watch
- Media Watch channel at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Radio Interviews by Ann Simonton
- Slow Sex: Moving Toward Informed Pleasure by Ann Simonton, CommonDreams.org, February 9, 2008.
- Sports Illustrated cover, January 28, 1974.
- "The Woman Warrior" by Jill Lieber, Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, February 7, 1989. - "Radical Body Politics for Women" by Kirsten Anderberg, 2003.
- "Getting results with low-budget media activism" by Michael Stoll, Grade the News, January 21, 2004.