Objectified: More Than A Body

One of the most extraordinary moments from this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was when two runners – Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin encouraged each other to finish a race that neither could win. It was a moment that seemed to capture the Olypmic spirit in motion. Now this is behavior we teach and expect of young children, but don't seem to practice enough as adults – that we should pick each other up when we fall down.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, anorexia has one of the highest death rates of any mental health condition and 1% of American females suffer from this life-threatening disorder.

Pornography is defined as printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity that is intended to stimulate erotic rather than emotional feelings. When pornography is introduced into an intimate relationship without mutual consent, it can actually become very emotional in a deeply damaging way. Carol White understands the negative impacts of pornography addiction firsthand.

The show is called “Fat Phobia” and is part of a larger multi-faceted program called “The Body Image Project.” Those at Art Access , which is a community-focused organization that uses art to drive ideas, wanted to tackle the concept of personal and social body image perspectives by deepening the conversation of weight. Within The Body Image Project was the Fat Phobia exhibit.

When the Siemens Foundation and Discover Education began holding a competition in math, science, and technology in 1999 the goal was to increase access to higher education for young students who are gifted in STEM by offering winners scholarships of up to $100,000. That goal is still the same, but seventeen years later organizers have changed the way they encourage young girls to compete and consider careers that could lead to the cure for cancer or identify tomorrow's coolest technology. So, what does it take to involve a more diverse pool of participants...in other words...find a way to get girls to compete?

The movie is called The Abolitionists , and Robin Jones was invited to watch it at the home of a friend. It was shocking, eye-opening, compelling. A 2016 production of Fletchet Entertainment, the film highlights the efforts of Operation Underground Railroad - abbreviated OUR - to rescue children from sex-trafficking, and it opened Robin’s eyes to a problem she immediately knew she had to help solve.

Roller derby is not a sport for people afraid of falling. Because you will hit the floor at some point. And you have exactly three seconds to get back up. When most people think of roller derby they likely conjure up images of women skating in fishnet stockings with bright face paint and whole lot of attitude. And in many leagues, roller derby is still all that. But roller derby is also a growing sport around the country for kids who have chosen to break from the pack; it's a sport where players choose who they want to be. And for young girls, that can be truly empowering.

Ally Wall spent most of her life in hiding. She was a member of the polygamist sect Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lead by Warren Jeffs, who they consider to be a prophet of God. He’s currently serving a life sentence in a Texas prison for the sexual assault of underage girls. Ally tells her story about her life in the FLDS community, how she educated herself on the actuality of the sect she was born in, and how she ultimately made the decision to leave.

Ronni Adams, the Utah chapter leader for the Stop Abuse Campaign , grew up witnessing domestic violence at home and she never thought it would happen to her. Her experience may be a common story for survivors: She met a man. They fell in love. And things were really good for awhile. And then they weren't.

Six years ago, Dr. Susan Madsen and a team of researchers released data gathered to determine the value of higher education for Utah women.

About five years ago, a disturbing trend began appearing on YouTube. Teen girls, and in many cases, preteen girls, started posting videos that asked strangers on the Internet to answer one question: Am I pretty? It's a question that most women wonder about at some point in their lives, often in secret and while standing in front of the bathroom mirror. But a question we don't often ask ourselves is why do we care? And what are the perils that come when society values more how women look than what they think?