‘Thin, hot and sexy’ is the message that writer, speaker, and advocate Melinda Tankard-Reist is fighting to erase.
Melinda and her co-presenter, Daniel Principe will be presenting a community consultation at the Kingaroy State High School on Wednesday, 19 May at 6.00 pm on controversial issues including navigating a sexed-up world, positive bodies, every day trafficking, and pornography, and violence.
The presentation will take young people on a tour of media and popular culture in a dynamic, multi-visual presentation.
She will unpack with students the images and ideas they receive every day from toys, games, music videos, advertising, marketing, clothing, magazines, and explicit imagery.
Melinda works to challenge implicit messages that their value and worth lie solely in their bodies and physical appearance.
Another key message that Melinda will tackle is how young boys can rise above toxic messages about masculinity to become men of integrity.
She will tackle how young men can deal with being exposed to hyper-sexualized messages and images in media and pop culture.
Melinda and Daniel will be presenting at Nanango State High School, Kingaroy State High School, St John’s Lutheran School, and Murgon State High School.
The project is sponsored by Sistas In Sync Inc and is accepting community donations to cover the cost of Melinda’s visit. Stanwell has also provided a kind donation towards the initiative.