Salma Hayek praises social media’s ‘peaceful revolution’ for women

Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek, a leading Mexican actress, has made her Facebook and Twitter debut – and taken her first selfie while commending the “peaceful revolution” on social media that has enabled women to tackle problems such as age and body image stereotyping in advertising.

Hayek used her Advertising Week Europe session with senior Facebook executive, Nicola Mendelsohn, to announce her debut on the social network, with her arrival on Instagram and Twitter to follow on Tuesday.

“I am a rebel and I don’t want to do what everyone else does,” she said, speaking to about 300 attendees at the session held at St James’s Church in Piccadilly. “I did resist [social media]. I have this idea that I [like to be personally] present, I’m not always calling, texting. When I am with you, I am with you. And I feel sometimes people are not so present because of social media.”

Hayek said her belated launch on social media was a thank you to fans who look for her on multimedia channels.

“You cannot deny it is a very important part of today,” she said.

Hayek said that the rise of social media has given consumers a voice which has enabled a “peaceful revolution.

“This is the strength of technology, everybody gets to have a voice,” she said. “People have regained some power, there is a lot of hope in that. I feel many times people in power, in big corporations, dictate which way we go. It is like a peaceful revolution.”
 
Responding to a question from the floor, the Frida actor said that people power has enabled the stereotypes of women used by the advertising and marketing industry to be challenged.

“I think [advertisers and agencies] are making an effort [to change female representation] but not because they are saints,” she said. “It is beginning to dawn on them, and probably social media has something to do with it … that they are beginning to realise many things.

“First, women in their 50s have a lot more of the means to buy things, it is not like before [when advertising] people said OK if you are 50 you are finished. You are supposed to be ugly not work and stay at home, you are done. No, that isn’t happening any more. You sort of surrendered to what they told you you were supposed to be. I am hot and I am smart.”

She said that female consumers of all ages have become empowered, opening up a rethink on the traditional use of young, very thin models to advertise products.

“Women are also saying ‘I don’t want to be a stick, I want curves, I don’t want to starve myself to death,’” she said. “I want to eat, I want to be healthy. I think [the ad industry] is beginning to discover women and women are saying this is who we are and what we want. I think we are empowering ourselves and more and more consumers are changing the advertising world.”


Source: theguardian.com

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