Being Keynote Speaker at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
On October 27th, 2022, I had the privilege of delivering the keynote speech at the International Youth Film Festival (IYFF) at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia. The IYFF was established by Jack Wagreich, a high school senior in Atlanta, in an effort to use films to advance social justice movements. The 2022 IYFF was the group’s inaugural event to showcase student-created media.
When I was first approached to present as keynote speaker, I must admit, I was puzzled. Greatly honored, of course, but puzzled nonetheless. Though I spend time (perhaps too much) writing, I don’t have much experience in the arts—especially not visual ones. In fact, my “skill” when it comes to art and film is consumption, as anti-climactic as that may sound. Yet it was this very knack for watching movies that Jack and the IYFF were looking for. In relation to both my identity as a young woman and my work advocating for female empowerment, I’ve gained unconscious expertise in analyzing the way movies have harmed my gender and society—through the perpetuation of toxic beauty standards, to name one aspect—and, conversely, in the potential film has to subvert this oppressive narrative. To that end, I presented on issues of body negativity, body positivity (which, I’m controversially against…see below for my hot take), and body neutrality, the movement I hope our society will endorse.
My experience delivering this keynote and attending the Festival was truly special. Not only did I feel as though my insights mattered, but I was able to influence others to thoughtfully consider our status quo in a way they might not have before. In fact, after the event, an audience member approached me to explain his newly shifted perspective on body image as a father of two young girls. While my aim was not to persuade everyone to my side, I’m proud that I encouraged people to question the world around them—a world they may accept without such deliberation.
I can’t finish this post in good faith without mentioning the astonishingly talented students I met and worked alongside. I urge everyone to visit this link for the full list of members at the 2022 Social Justice Symposium—you will not be disappointed!
As I continue my work on Being Anti-Sexist and become familiar with like-minded youth activists, I’ll never cease to be amazed by the drive and passion my generation displays for advancing our world. It’s a unique dedication, and one that I’m sure will be the cause for our society’s betterment in coming years.
Complete transcript of my keynote speech:
Hi everyone! Thank you, Jack. As you just heard, my name is Francesca Casciari, and I’m a high school senior at the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. It’s such an honor to be speaking alongside these incredible students, and I’d like to thank the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, as well as our mentor, Tim’m West, for hosting us today. What a privilege to be able to welcome you all to the International Youth Film Festival!
Now I must confess, before I proceed any further, that I have nothing to do with film-making. My artistic ability is that of a toddler—on a good day you’ll find me drawing a discernible stick figure—but really, my speciality as it pertains to film and media, is consumption. Like any lay person, I’ve watched my fair share of movies. So I’m sure this begs the question: what’s this girl doing here? Why is she presenting? Fair enough. Well, I have had my hand in social justice and advocacy just through a different lens, no pun intended. The lens I use is that of academia. I refer to myself as an academic activist—I study modern issues through their ancient histories and use that knowledge to spread communal awareness. A modern issue that electrifies me most is women’s rights. Currently, violence against women and girls is considered the biggest human rights violation in the world. I’ve campaigned for women’s rights and female empowerment through a project I founded called Being Anti-Sexist. There, I have a team of six teenage ambassadors who join me in our mission to provide education about the classical and philosophical foundations that have supported the perpetuation of modern sexism.
I’ve also worked closely with the National Eating Disorders Association, NEDA, as an intern and program creator to aid the harm that spawns from eating disorders and toxic beauty standards. This past summer, I helped pioneer a satellite-campus program with NEDA that works to mobilize college students across the nation in our fight against eating disorders. Today, it feels only fitting that I’d focus on these very topics, given our location at the Center. As women worldwide fight to dismantle misogynistic ideologies in our prolonged battle for equal rights, the oppressive beauty standards we face remain a formidable enemy, as they allow for the objectification and degradation of our gender. Yet with the proper tools, (like film, media, and cultural institutions like this very one), I’m confident we can not only change this destructive narrative around body image, but advance all social justice movements, too.
Through movies, we’ve all grown familiar with toxic female beauty standards. Time and again, Hollywood has promoted select qualities such as whiteness, blonde hair, long legs, impossibly tiny waists, and similarly impossibly large chests. Whether it be Marilyn Monroe or Pamela Anderson, as the silver screen conflates these values with the ideal female form, impressionable youth receive a potent message: regardless of her internal qualities, a woman’s appearance defines her worth.
In recent years, our society has seen a surge of measures to counter such negative ideologies. Body positivity movements have largely been labeled as a panacea for millennia worth of harmful imagery and oppression. Both people and films have embraced this trend in its optimistic glory. The late 2010s welcomed a new era of film representation of diverse body types, and for that, we do have this movement to thank. But I’m anti-body positivity. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for women loving and caring for themselves, but I don’t think this movement is the proper way to achieve such ends.
As body positivity has manifested, it’s proven to be a convenient and successful cash grab for corporations and celebrities, (even film producers), thus destroying the trend’s original integrity. Its taglines of “love yourself” and “everyone’s perfect,” have created trauma for young individuals akin to that of body negativity, just now in a disguised fashion. Forcing youth to adore every aspect of their bodies, when they very well may not, establishes a similarly twisted relationship with one’s appearance. These messages, despite their facades of idealism and wokeness, are rooted in the same erroneous belief that a woman’s appearance holds any societal value. The only difference now is that we’ve switched a woman’s worth from being completely negative (unless she fits the Hollywood archetype) to being completely positive, with no exceptions. This transition, though, fails to address the underlying issue of assessing a woman based on her appearance in the first place. Body positivity is a mere distraction as the same forces and the same people benefit at the hands of innocent individuals’ wellbeing. The true solution to this dichotomy between body negativity and positivity is a third option—one that takes this swinging pendulum and throws it away.
Body neutrality is a relatively new term that’s gained traction in recent years. The idea is simple: our bodies hold neither negative nor positive connotations. Our bodies are bodies. They’re miraculously complicated anatomical vessels that perform millions of processes to keep us alive and healthy each day. And that’s a magical thing. No need for a positive or negative assessment. This mentality allows youth to reach true liberation from previous monstrous messages, as we bask in simple neutrality.
Body negativity envisioned a world where everyone hated themselves unless they were societally “pretty,” which is clearly toxic. Body positivity envisioned a world where everyone robotically loved every little thing about themselves—toxic and creepy. Body neutrality envisions a world where all qualitative associations are removed from our physical appearances. Freedom.
As I preach these messages, I’d be remiss to not remind everyone that, coincidentally, it’s currently Body Acceptance week. At NEDA, this means thanking your body for all that it does—not criticizing it. It means accepting your physical form, but honoring your internal one more: your talents, your strength, your mind. It means that you’re allowed to have insecurities, but that the world can’t use those to determine your worth.
So where does this all fit into film? Well It’s hard. And I'm sure that’s not the answer you were looking for. By nature, film-making and -watching are visual experiences. While we can champion efforts of body neutrality and the dissociation of value from physical form, we are, at the end of the day, humans. As such, we carry societal biases with us, whether or not we like it. We’re drawn to certain faces and attracted to specific appearances, so codifying complete neutrality into film and society, at large, is essentially asking humans to challenge our own environmental conditionings. Yet as beauty standards are both established and reinforced through film and media, what better way to challenge them than through those same vessels?
Movies, in their essence, are stories. These stories can evoke powerful emotions, they can define generations, and even influence public opinion. In our digital age, these stories have never been more accessible for people. People who have voices, who have platforms, who have votes. And when it comes time to utilize these provisions, especially that latter one on this upcoming November 8th, people have the chance to alter the status quo. Suddenly, we have film through this transitive link affecting policy and legislation. Film affecting real change. When we tap into this energy and its boundless possibilities, we tap into the potential to use film to subvert this narrative surrounding body image and beauty standards, especially in a time when women have so much at stake.
As a result, we’re able to free youth from their hunger (sometimes literally) to obtain a certain physique, and instead leave them inspired, impassioned, and emboldened. It’s those ends the talented filmmakers today have worked towards, whether in relation to women’s rights or any other social justice movement, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming them all. Thank you.