NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former supermodel Ann Simonton will cover topics ranging from corporate controlled media’s effects on democracy to issues of gender, violence and sexual intimacy during her lecture, “Sex, Power and the Media,” Wednesday, March 19, at Vanderbilt University. Her talk begins at 7:30 p.m. in Room 103 at Wilson Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Simonton, whose photograph has been featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Seventeen and on the pages of Glamour, Vogue and Cosmopolitan, now works to expose the media illusions she once helped create. She is founder and director of Media Watch, a nonprofit media literacy organization created to challenge sexism, racism and violence in the media through education and action. Simonton has written and produced media literacy videos that are used in schools and universities throughout North America. Her video, “Don’t Be A TV,” received the Silver Apple award from the National Educational Video and Film Festival. Arrested and jailed 11 times for her non-violent and often humorous protests, Simonton was once arrested wearing a swimsuit made of raw skirt steak and ribs and a necklace of miniature hot dogs to emphasize how women are judged in beauty pageants. A pageant-style banner reading “Miss Behavin’” accompanied Simonton’s ensemble. Her autobiographical stories have been published in the books "I Never Told Anyone" and "Her Wits About Her". She has also been a guest on numerous television shows, including Oprah, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Crossfire and Entertainment Tonight. Simonton’s lecture at Vanderbilt is part of Image Week, a series of activities scheduled at the University March 17-24 and designed to heighten awareness of and education about body image issues. The week is a collaborative effort of the Eating Disorders Faculty Task Force and IMAGE: Vanderbilt Student Coalition. The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center and Project Dialogue lecture series at Vanderbilt are co-sponsors of Image Week. Media contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS, >princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu</a>