[Self harm trigger warning. If you need help, contact Suicide Prevention Australia ]
So, we’ve just marked World Suicide Prevention Day.
World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September promotes worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides. On average, almost 3000 people commit suicide daily. For every person who completes a suicide, 20 or more may attempt to end their lives.
The sponsoring International Association for Suicide Prevention, the co-sponsor WHO and other partners advocate for the prevention of suicidal behaviour, provision of adequate treatment and follow-up care for people who attempted suicide, as well as responsible reporting of suicides in the media.
At the global level, awareness needs to be raised that suicide is a major preventable cause of premature death. Governments need to develop policy frameworks for national suicide prevention strategies. At the local level, policy statements and research outcomes need to be translated into prevention programmes and activities in communities.
Preventing suicide is something you would think everyone would support, right?
Unfortunately not. Some companies appear to see the ultimate in self-harm as mere fodder for their ad campaigns.
Take a look at this advertising shoot for a South Korean clothing company called Lewitt and featuring our very own Abbey Lee Kershaw. Shot by Ryan McGinley, it depicts a distressed looking Kershaw frantically running through the streets. At one stage she curls up in a foetal position. She then climbs a building, seems to hesitate, before leaping off the edge. She lands in a crumpled heap on the pavement at the bottom of the building.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/14898433[/vimeo]
There have been a rash of female suicides in South Korea, among them nine models who have committed suicide in the last two years alone. As Frockwriter and Jezebel point out, South Korea has the “highest suicide rate in the developed world.”
So how does the company respond?
Well, they say it’s all about Alice in Wonderland.
Oh, of course! Alice in Wonderland, tumbling down a rabbit hole. Except I don’t remember the bit where she ends up dead.
Patty Huntington, aka Frockwriter, asked Abbey Lee Kershaw why the suicide-related theme, given that so many South Korean women take their own lives. She gives non answers.
Frockwriter: I just wanted to ask about this Korean video you’ve done, Lewitt. What is it exactly?
Abbey Lee Kershaw: It’s an Asian label and it was based around the story of Alice in Wonderland.
FW: So what, she’s supposed to be falling down the rabbit hole?
ALK: Ah…I don’t…I mean…however you…we were shooting all day. There were different scenes all day. So his, ah, edit of it…I haven’t even seen it to be honest. I haven’t seen it yet. I think it just came out.
FW: Some might be concerned that it looks like you’re trying to jump off the building.
ALK: Yeah of course people are concerned about things like that. People are always going to perceive…
FW: South Korea has the highest female suicide rate in the world and there have also been a lot of model suicides, with many of them jumping. Do you not understand why it might concern people?
ALK: I understand. I haven’t seen the video.
FW: But wouldn’t you have had the right to see it before it was finished?
ALK: [Starts to move away] I’m done here. I’m done. Thank you.
Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg describes the campaign as ‘manifestly irresponsible’ and wonders if someone did end their lives, if the advertisers could be sued (personal correspondence).
Lewitt should be held to account for glamourising suicide to sell men’s fashion. And Abbey Lee Kershaw should apologise for a terrible lapse of judgement in agreeing to be part of this.
It’s also another example of the increasing trend of violence in advertising, fashion and celebrity culture, which I’ve written about before. See Gucci: Because silent female corpses are so hot right now
So, I’m on a train to my mate’s place after addressing Generation Next’s Teen Mental Health seminar to get ready for another event. It’s Friday, World Suicide Prevention Day (as noted above). I have a new gig of trawling through girls and young women’s magazines and writing about what I find (I feel like I’m being punished for something). So I started with Girlfriend. To my amazement I come across this on p.52.
TLDR – internet speak for Too Long, Didn’t Read – can be used “to hilarious effect” says Girlfriend, “right after someone spills an intensely personal and emotional post detailing their innermost thoughts and feelings”.
The example is given of an individual whose dog has died. They express great loneliness and loss. They are not coping, they feel sad and their “heart hurts so much”. After which the reader adds “TLDR”, at GF prompting.
What is this really saying? Essentially, it is an act of straight out ridicule. TOO FREAKIN’ LONG , CAN’T BE BOTHERED, COULDN’T GIVE A STUFF.
I would have expected the editors to be more responsible about behavior that could constitute, or at least lead to cyber-bullying, which has become so common and devastating for so many young people.
Remarkably, on the adjoining page is advice from GF’s “Life coach”. Under the heading “It’s cool to be kind”, GF advises practicing “random acts of kindness for an extra dose of happiness. Like now”. Just not to someone expressing their grief in an internet forum.
Susan McLean, an expert on cyber safety and cyber bullying, speaks on this issue pretty much around the clock. Also speaking at the Generation Next event, she showed this anti- bullying video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNumIY9D7uY&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Being mean isn’t hilarious. It’s cruel. We need to do all we can to support those in pain, not make fun of them. World Suicide Prevention Day is a good reminder of this.
14 Responses
Someone left the ‘TLDR’ comment on my blog yesterday. I had no idea of what it meant so I googled it and then promptly deleted it. It’s rude and offensive and you have to really question the mentality of someone who even bothers to leave such a comment. It is a form of cyber bullying and really reassuring (sarcasm) that GF is making sure readers are well versed in the latest slang to be able to bully their peers on the net.
“if this is the sort of cruelness I can expect for the rest of my life, then I just don’t think I can take it.”
as a counsellor trained in suicide prevention, this type of statement needs to be taken very seriously – it is on par with saying “I just wish I could go to sleep and never wake up” or “the world would be a better place without me.”
Those who commit suicide often make statements such as the one published in the GF magazine and need professional intervention, not ridicule.
Shame on GF for pretending to be a positive influence in girls’ lives. this is a mockery!
well said Gillian! It’s totally invalidating and demeaning. this Girlfriend magazine is promoting cyberbullying, and should be boycotted.
As someone who works with teenage girls I see a strong culture of indifference and teasing and bullying… they often try and dismiss it with ‘Oh I was just joking.’
Girlfriend magazine is perpeuating this culture and the tragedy is that if asked to account for themselves they will probably try and dimiss it with “Relax, we were just joking.’
Like you Melinda, I purchased Girlfriend magazine this month, interested to see how the ‘revolution’ was going. I’ve noted the following:
front cover, Katy Perry, completely airbrushed, their little ‘self-respect reality check’ icon says ‘Don’t be fooled by her perfect locks, Katy regularly wears wigs in public.’ No mention of airbrushing.
Girlfriend has apparently banned catwalk models from it’s publication, however this month’s edition offers you two opportunities to become a model. “Ever dreamed of becoming a model?” asks one ‘advertorial.’ Another advertisement boasts that Girlfriend is also an official sponsor of the Rimmel model search. The headline here says RIMMEL LONDON AND GIRLFRIEND MAGAZINE are looking for the next modelling SUPERSTAR!
There are only a handful of these ‘reality check’ disclaimers in the magazine (I might have counted 4) which all alert us to the non-models, however there are none pointing us to the airbrushed images of girls and women throughout the magazine. The magazine is full of advertisements featuring very thin, ‘flawless’ women. Why no ‘reality check’ disclaimers on these?
Disappointing. They could do so much more than this.
Each time I log in and read one of the blogs about the girl’s magazines, I am really shocked and upset by it. These are magazines that I spent my teens pouring over; and I remember being shocked by some of the content back then – but what I read now is beyond me… “tl,dr” … oh the hilarity of using it when someone is bleeding words about losing someone or something precious to them… What an effect, I am sure that will win all the kids big laughs when they use it…. My God…
I then went on to watch both videos and quite frankly, the second one made me sit with tears running down my face. As a teen I went through a hideous amount of bullying that ended in me leaving school at an age far too early, thus leaving behind my right to an education…. I am only lucky that the internet had just began to grow popular and for me it was a place to go for escapism as only a small handful of kids in my classes had it at the time. I was also very lucky that I was blessed with older friends who I could speak to and an outlet for my upset… Children / teens arent as lucky these days and my heart really hurts for them.
It’s so sad. 🙁
Girlfriend magazine are giving permission to girls to be hostile and demeaning to one another. Why couldn’t they give some answers which are supportive of each other and the struggles young women have. Its not that hard.
Most schools are dealing with the reality of cyber-bullying and trying their best to tackle this ever growing issue.
I was in a parents night a few weeks ago and this was a hot topic, both educators and parents were concerned and rightly so if Girlfriend are giving this kind of advice.
Girlfriend this is not cool, it’s totally irresponsible.
Strange thing isn’t it – expecting girls magazine content to be encouraging, upliftng , intelligent, educational and maybe even inspiring… by that I mean ‘entirely’ – not just as a token.
First step to a revolution is awareness and acknowlegement that there is a problem. Don’t think we’re past first base yet!
There should be checks and balances and protocol about what is and isn’t ok…and there are just too many slip ups!
Any publisher, retailer, broadcaster, advertiser or marketer aiming to a child or teen market MUST be proactively responsible!
We all have such an opportunity to contribute positively to the lives of young people – question is – can any industry player really prioritise the health and wellbeing of kids when the bottom line is the $$. ???
I think there is a definite glamourisation of suicide these days.
It’s like the “damsel in distress” idea taken too far – so many times i see images in the media of (stereotypically) beautiful women covered in blood, posed as deceased, & now… we have them jumping off buildings in beautiful dresses. Great.
As someone who struggled with severe PTSD & other mental illness, i made some very serious attempts on my life (once resulting in a coma, from which my family was told i might not wake up). These were acts of a overwhelmingly distressed & desperate young woman, who really needed help. Luckily i realised how serious a situation it was, & i did get help.
But how do these media images convey the severity of these actions? How do they encourage people who might be contemplating suicide to get help? Quite simply, they don’t.
Instead they make suicide look beautiful, dreamy…
Many people who contemplate taking their own life feel a sense of calm & relief in having made such a decision, & might already be seeing it as somehing beautiful & dreamy.
How completely irresponsible, & DANGEROUS, for media to promoting these ideas through advertising & articles.
I think the media has also had a lot to do with the glamourisation of self harm (which i too suffered – yes, SUFFERED – with for many years as a symptom of mental illness) – which, thanks to slogan tees, etc with simplistic messages such as “cheer up emo kid”, has now become something that a lot of people see as normal teenage behaviour.
It’s not. It’s serious. And a warning sign that not only is someone in distress, but they may possibly be at risk of taking their life.
You know what? The phrase ‘tl:dr’ actually CAN be used to hilarious effect. I’ve used it myself. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
But my concern is this: where the f**k does Girlfriend Magazine get off trying to teach people how to be funny? It’s literally like they’ve just stumbled across this OMG SO TOTALLY FUNNY device and just had to tell all their friends about how hilarious and awesome they are for having come upon it. That is possibly the LEAST funny thing someone can do. The person who wrote this must be going through a serious struggle on their journey to becoming a wit.
And also, the example they used is just lame. It’s not that funny if there’s a real victim who’s actually hurting, especially if it’s one of your girlfriends. FFS.
TL;DR
Hey dee…
I think any blogger and a blog of this kind deserves more respect than you gave it above.
I suggest you head off to another blog if you don’t want to contribute to this kind of discussion.
And remember when you do, you just trivialised the very reason a blog like this is written.
I also suggest you check out some information regarding the impacts of bullying and the like.