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"As a veteran fashion designer, Norma Kamali knows that there's a powerful connection between what a woman wears and how she feels about her body. Norma has always aimed to design clothes that empower women, but she's now going one step further by striving to be a catalyst for social change. Through her short film, \"Hey Baby,\" and accompanying website, StopObjectification.com, Norma is instigating conversation about female objectification in everyday life.\n\nNorma is asking women to post photos of their most powerful body part with a caption that informs everyone of what makes them more than just that physical attribute (ex. \"My mouth is used to voice my opinions and kiss my nephews.\"). We spoke to Norma about her motivation for launching this campaign and what young women need to know about objectification as they apply for their first jobs.\n\nWhat inspired you to launch this campaign to stop objectification?\n\n \"One of the most profound and devastating issues that undermines women is that we have body image and self-esteem problems. Sometimes the problems are just based on a skirt not fitting, or hair not looking right. I try to empower women with my clothes, and it works to an extent. But ultimately when you take off your clothes, there's still an accumulation of experiences that created those self-esteem issues. I believe that all of these issues come from our experiences with objectification.\"\n\n \"As women, we share this experience exclusively. Objectification takes place in the home, in relationships, in situations in the office, and on the street. Women rarely talk about what's happening, so I decided I wanted to start talking about things that happened to me. During my first job interview after I graduated from FIT, the man interviewing me asked me to put my portfolio down and turn around for him. I was humiliated and embarrassed. I was objectified, and I never told anybody this story until recently.\"\n\n \"Objectification can create insecurities and self-esteem issues. Sometimes women mistake objectification for love, so we provoke negative relationship because we want to be appreciated. My goal with this film is to bring awareness to objectification\u2014how it feels and the fact that it happens every day. It doesn't matter if you're wearing a miniskirt or if you're covered up; there's no reason for anyone to speak to any woman in a way that they wouldn't in a private setting. We need to share our stories with men as well as women because men can be strong advocates for us.\"\n\nAs young women apply for their first jobs, what do they need to know about harassment and objectification in the workplace?\n\n \"The first thing young women can do is talk about what's happening. You can say to someone you work with, 'I don't mean to be rude, but I really feel uncomfortable with what you're saying to me.' By doing so, you protect your self-esteem and body image. Dignity and self-esteem is certainly much more important than accepting a job.\"\n\nIn the \"Hey Baby\" video, the camera zooms in on women's body parts. How does this convey your message?\n\n \"The idea is that the camera is looking at women through a male eye. The sound of someone saying 'hey baby' to you is unnecessary and annoying. Having that sound repeated through the video is irritating enough to get your attention and realize it isn't right. It doesn't mean we don't want attention from men and we don't like them appreciating the way we look\u2014that's not it at all. We just want to definite the difference between respect and appreciation.\"\n\nHow do you want women to interact with the online community you've created?\n\n \"When you can take action and turn the tables on something, it's empowering, and it starts a rollercoaster of empowerment. I want women to write a statement over their favorite body part and say, 'I'm proud of my body; I'm proud of my brain; I'm proud of who I am. And because I'm not just a body part, here is also who I am.'\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/norma-kamali-female-objectification>