CodeAires' "Here To Be Here" Contest!!!

Let's face it: Adolescent girls of today are facing a lot of struggles - self-image, popularity, school stress, harassment, and other factors that can make them lose confidence in themselves. One of the worst pressures that girls have is the pressure from peers to look a certain way - be girly, wear makeup, have perfect hair, ECT. To rebuke these standards, I came up with a contest to promote natural beauty and to help show some of my younger watchers that the materialistic, capitalistic world we live in is full of bullshit when it comes to beauty standards. There's a special focus on internet bullying in this contest too, as so many girls have had to endure "ur ugly/fat/gay/retarded/stupid/gross" comments from anonymous flamers. This is like a way of saying "I don't give a fuck about what you think of me".

Interested? Here's what I want you to do:

1. OBJECTIVES :

* Make a photo of yourself wearing plain clothes, no makeup, and with simple, un-coiffed hair. Make sure that the photo is of good quality and that it's in full color. It doesn't have to be professional-grade (although that would be great if you can do it), but it needs to be clear. Fuzzy photos, black and white photos, or weirdly-tinted photos will not be accepted. NO PHOTOSHOPS, PLEASE!!!

* You must show your entire face in the photo. I don't care if it's a bust shot or a full-body photo, just as long as I can see you for you. I prefer that all contestants look directly into the camera, but if you want to look away, that's fine too.

* All photos must include a line from a poem or a song that has to do with being you and going against the grain. You can add text anywhere on the photo that you want to and use any color you want, as long as it's legible. It can be a poem or song that's a favorite of yours, or it can be one that you wrote yourself. Some good songs to use for this might be Korn's "Fake", TLC's "Unpretty", Weezer's "Pork and Beans", Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", The Offspring's "Smash", Ashlee Simpson's "I Am Me", or Pink's "Stupid Girl". Once again, those are just suggestions. Surprise me!

* Creativity is good. If you want to get a little artsy or conceptual with the photo's contents, then go right ahead. Just remember the objective of this contest in the process!!!

* ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE FEMALE AND BETWEEN 13 AND 21 YEARS OF AGE. If you're 12 or 22 years old and/or you're a dude, sorry. I'm looking for girls and women loosely in the adolescent bracket, and it wouldn't be fair to have other people cheat.

* This contest is open to any DeviantART user with the above requirements, whether you watch me or not. I would prefer to have my watchers over non-watchers, or for those who enter to watch me after submitting their photo.



2. CONTEST DON'TS:

* DO NOT SUBMIT NUDE PHOTOS. I want the photos to be stripped down, but not THAT stripped down! Besides, if you're under 18, that would be like child porn. Not Good!!!

* DO NOT STEAL SOMEONE ELSE'S PHOTO. If I find out that a photo isn't yours, I will disqualify you. No exceptions. Also, do not steal someone else's concept. In other words, if someone goes out of their way to make a really creative photo for this, don't copy their idea!

* DO NOT INSULT OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR PHOTO. If you're including a song or poem that you wrote, please don't use a line like "I'm not a bitch whore like (insert name here)". This isn't supposed to be used to insult anyone. All photos that are used as insults will not be accepted.


If a photo is offensive to the point of disgust, you might be reported. USE YOUR HEAD!



3. SUBMISSION RULES:

* Only ONE PHOTO will be accepted per deviant. All photos must be submitted by SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 at 12:00 PM EST , no exceptions. Once you have uploaded your photo to your account, drop me a note or comment on my profile with a link to your submission. I get a crapload of deviations in my watch box per day, so I might accidentally skip over yours. This is why sending a link is important!!!

* A Winner will be announced on October 1st, 2008 via my journal and also by news article.



4. PRIZES:

* The first-prize winner will receive a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to DeviantART from me. If you're already subscribed, then I will simply award your prize after your old subscription runs out.

*The first runner-up will have their art featured by me for a month through my journals. It will be good exposure for you

*The second runner-up will receive a commissioned deviation from me. A photo, a fan fic, a comic, or whatever you want that I can reasonably pull off!!!



5. QUESTIONS?

* If you have any questions about the contest, ask them in your replies here and I'll answer you to my best ability!!!



Are we all set? Good! Now get to work! I hope to get a lot of submissions, and I can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

Dorotea