“If we can’t tell our own stories,
we can’t control our destiny.”

Those are the words of Samhita Mukhopadhyay, executive editor of Feministing.com. And they’re at the heart of everything we do at Women, Action & the Media.

Because whether you care about reproductive justice, ending violence against women, the liberation of women of color, GLBTQ equality, or any other issue that impacts women, we just can’t get there without a just media.

Last fall, WAM! began its transformation from a project of the Center for New Words into an independent nonprofit building an effective, inclusive movement for gender justice in media. Since then, we’ve held 29 events in cities across the country, launched volunteer-run WAM! chapters in New York, Chicago and L.A., played a key role in organizing a national conference on the media’s sexualization of girls, and nurtured a thriving online community that connects hundreds of the country’s leading female media-makers and activists in daily conversation. You made it all possible.

But we’re just getting started, and we need your help now to take WAM! to the next level. We’re building a true movement from the grassroots up, and with your support, in 2011 we can:

  • Launch a WAM! Of The Month initiative, drawing on the power of our WAM! communities to take practical, effective action in response to breaking news;
  • Create an interactive WAM! website to connect WAM!mers who have geography, identity, profession or passions in common;
  • Grow our existing chapters, and launch new ones in D.C., San Francisco, and at least two international cities;
  • Hold a decentralized WAM! conference in communities around the globe, all acting together on the same weekend to build toward gender justice in media;
  • And much, much more…

Will you give now to support this crucial work in support of building a just media? We’re a tiny organization making a big difference – every dollar you give makes a real impact.

As Emily Douglas, web editor at The Nation and co-chair of the WAM!NYC chapter, puts it: “If we want gender justice in the world, we need to have it in media.” With your help, we can do more than tell our stories — we can use them to change the world.

All the best,
Jaclyn Friedman
Executive Director

P.S.  Thanks in advance – your support builds an international grassroots network that will fight every day for gender justice in media.