To mark International Women’s Day, BBDO New York today launched “It’s Time to Redefine,” a public-awareness campaign designed to challenge the definition of a woman as it currently appears in online dictionary resources.
A review of these sources reveals that the existing definition of “woman” includes terms such as “servant,” “mistress,” and “prostitute.” “It’s Time to Redefine” is intended to spark a movement and to change the definition. The campaign includes a public service announcement and an online petition. It calls on people to sign the petition to help bring to light the disparities in the online definition of “woman” and, instead, to celebrate the countless contributions women have made in society.
“Words matter,” said Kirsten Flanik, President and CEO, BBDO New York. “Words have the power to determine how people feel about themselves and, ultimately, what they believe they are capable of. To achieve women’s equality, a great place to start is by choosing words that accurately and positively reflect woman.”
A PSA video featuring comedian Akilah Hughes encourages online dictionary platforms to revisit their description of “woman” to remove anything degrading or disrespectful. She encourages these resources to replace these definitions with words that reflect women in a more empowering and uplifting light, illustrating the countless contributions women have made in society. Importantly, the PSA directs people to itstimetoredefine.com where they can sign a petition to have the definitions changed.
The campaign is also promoting the #ItsTimetoRedefine hashtag to help spread the word.
