Back in 2008 I believe, I was taking a sociology course at the University of Central Florida when I first learned that slavery still exists today. I was shocked, then overwhelmed with disgust and anger, and immediately felt it was my duty to do something about it. I decided it was my responsibility to inform others about what was happening. I created a online forum on myspace and invited all my friends and family and made it public so that others may join. I rented the Lifetime movie, Human Trafficking and watched with friends. I joined the Polaris Project to stay informed as to was the government is doing and I relayed that information online as well. I did everything I thought I could do and I learned that I did educate quite a few people and that continued to spread. For a young college student, I did okay. Although, I always feel I could have done more and I always feel that I still can do more.
There are many different forms of enslavement but the one that infuriated me the most was that of sex trafficking. Britney Spears' song "I'm a slave for you", was a big hit and made the term "sex slave" seem sexy and playful. I do not believe that Britney condones sex slavery nor do I blame her song for enticing the sex trafficking industry to boom. I mention her because she was and may possibly still be an influential person in our society. Being a celebrity comes with all kinds of advantages, one of which is the ability to have followers. I condone Demi Moore and husband Ashton Kutcher for starting up the "Real Men Dont Buy Girls" campaign. Spreading the word is one thing, but relaying an influential message under such celebrity influences is powerful. I only hope that people continue to listen and spread the word and make a difference. I have high hopes for the cause now that this "power couple" has taken on the project. I wish them well and plan to see how I can get invloved in this because the fight against Human Trafficking and the exploitation of women and children matters to me. If one takes the moment to learn about it, I can guarantee you that it will matter to you. This is something that affects everybody personally.
Ashton and Demi went on Piers Morgan's show on CNN to discuss how they are using social media to spread the word. Ashton states it is important to go through social networking channels because the majority of human trafficking that goes on begins online, "so why not take it to the source?" I have included two links below. One titled, Andrea prefers a Real Man, which is a commercial for the campaign where one may be a part of personally. I still find it very neat to see technology create such a bridge and unite people. You will see a message with my full name and next to Eva Longoria; she then personally says "Andrea prefers a real man, do you?" with a picture of my facebook default. Its one way to put your face and your message out there with so many others in a unique way. There are many other commercials to choose from with many other celebrities to chose from. The second link you will see below is of a clip of Ashton and Demi discussing their campaign with Piers Morgan.
Andrea prefers a Real Man
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/04/14/piers.kutcher.moore.trafficking.cnn
Bottom line, one can easily see how influential the entertainment world and powerful social media is today. So much so that it is a great marketing tool that should not be overlooked.
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