How A Texas Teen Turned Bias and Body-Shaming into Advocacy and Action
Olivia Julianna (who uses only her first and middle name publicly to protect her privacy) has been an activist for several years, advocating voting rights and reproductive-health care. Like many in her generation, she found the political side of TikTok where young people post about important issues facing them. Olivia is involved with Gen-Z for Change, a nonprofit organization leveraging social media to promote civil discourse and political action on a variety of topics including COVID-19, climate change, systemic inequity, foreign policy, voting rights, and LGBTQ+ issues.
The online targeting of Olivia started after she criticized an elected official who, at a student-action summit in Florida, called abortion-rights activists disgusting and overweight and said, “No one wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb” among other offensive comments. After Olivia denounced these comments, the politician then posted a photo of her on Twitter next to an article that referenced his insults. That picture went far and wide to his million-plus followers. In addition, she received hateful and biased private messages.
Online hate and harassment are all too common, especially for those in marginalized identity groups like Olivia who is a queer, Latina woman—identity groups that are often targeted in digital spaces. While ignoring, muting, blocking, documenting, and reporting are all options, Olivia decided to address the bias and offensive comments directly. That’s when she engaged in a public social media battle with the elected official, who continued to double down on body-shaming and belittling her.
As a result, Olivia announced she would be supporting a fundraising campaign for the Gen-Z for Change Abortion Fund, which splits donations across abortion funds in all 50 states. This story instantly exploded on social media. Although the number of offensive comments she received increased, she also received overwhelming support, so much so it also brought more criticism but also helped Olivia raise $2.2 million—which is still climbing. She’s inspired people in Texas, elsewhere in the U.S., and beyond. She says, “I’ve been mocked, ridiculed, and harassed for most of my life. I will not tolerate that kind of behavior anymore. Don’t mess with Texas women and don’t underestimate Gen Z!”
For educators and those who work with young people, especially as we return to school in what promises to be another challenging school year, what can we take away from Olivia Julianna’s experience and story?
Teach young people about current real-life activists and others who take action about bias and injustice. Even better if those activists are young people themselves because people like Olivia Julianna can serve as important role models. Civil rights activists of the past are icons in history, and we should teach about them. However, if we also highlight current activists who are young, they will be able to see themselves in that advocacy. You can use children’s literature, current events, and social studies text to explore activism with young people.
Help young people consider what problems and injustices they currently see in their world. Then, as Olivia did, help them transform those concerns into actions. As Bellen Woodard, who dubbed herself the “World’s 1st Crayon Activist” at 8 years old, suggests in More than Peach, her new picture book, “Instead of asking kids what they want to be when they grow up, ask them what they want to change.” What we can learn from Bellen, Olivia, and other young activists is how vital it is we talk with young people early and often about how they want to make a difference in their world.
Don’t just tell young people to challenge bias and bullying—show them how. This means helping them understand and identify what bias and injustice are and then providing tools and practice for them to address and challenge the injustice. Discern the difference between addressing it in person and in digital space because young people are increasingly facing bias and harassment online. Teach them the skills of allyship and the many ways one can act as an ally, advocate, and activist.
Explore with young people the myriad ways they can engage in activism. Olivia showed us a variety of strategies, from educating to organizing to fundraising. Many young people, and adults, are taught that activism is only about protesting. It’s important to show them that as there are many ways to be an ally, there are many ways to engage in activism such as educating others, running for office, raising funds, advocating legislation, and more.
Remember that many young people will not take action when faced with bias and bullying. In fact, many young people will turn inward and may not tell anyone. Young people are reluctant to report bias and bullying to adults, and that reluctance increases with age. As a school staff, explore how you can be more approachable so that students are more likely to tell you when something is happening. Make sure your school’s bullying, harassment, and nondiscrimination polices are current, reflect district and state guidelines, and include clear definitions and consequences, incorporating online behavior as well.
It’s a difficult world out there right now. From health care to climate change to racism to gun violence, young people are facing many issues in their lives, issues that are sure to challenge their future. We can help them navigate these choppy waters by showing them and inspiring them to do something about the injustice they see in their world. Olivia Julianna’s story is instructive and can help show the way.
You’re an Educator. What Can You Stop Doing This Year?
When people ask us how our jobs as teachers or leaders are going, how school is going, our go-to response is typically, “I’m busy,” or, “Things are busy,” or “It’s just really busy.” You get the idea, right? However, if you do a search online, you will find conflicting information about whether we are truly busier than we have been in the past.
For example, these articles from the Atlantic and BBC suggest we are not as busy (yes, they were published before the pandemic). This article from Psychology Today suggests that during the height of the pandemic, we were busier than ever because of Zoom meetings being scheduled to keep up with the changing nature of the pandemic, and this one from Canadian Business (also before the pandemic) says we are definitely busier than before.
Regardless of what the articles may say, many of us feel busier than we have been in the past, even if we are looking at the past before the pandemic with rose-colored glasses. What we really need to do is not get caught up in debating whether we are busy, but instead, we need to focus on making sure as we move forward to reduce or replace the actions, strategies, or initiatives that are no longer impactful.
A few months ago, I published a book called De-implementation: Creating The Space to Focus on What Works (Corwin Press), and from the time I was researching the book to now as I write this post, I have engaged in workshops, coaching sessions, and one-on-one conversations with educators who are looking at engaging in actions in the new school year that are more impactful, at the same time they make space to spend more time at home with loved ones or friends.
De-implementation is the abandonment of low-value practices (van Bodegom-Vos L, et al.). What I suggest in the work I do around de-implementation is that there are two ways to look at the idea of abandonment.
One way to view abandonment is to partially cut back on something. This usually happens because we are required to do it, but we can pull back to meet our needs. The second way to view abandonment is to replace the action because it is just not working for us.
Additionally, to scale down or replace can be slightly complicated, so I am suggesting that there are two methods of de-implementation. One is an informal reduction or replacement, for which we don’t need a team to make the decision and can begin today or tomorrow. The second method is a formal replacement or reduction for which we do need a team and to engage in a process that will take time and some effort.
I have had the opportunity since last year to survey more than a few thousand educators, which includes teachers, leaders, school psychologists, and many others, and I decided to look at the top areas that they would like to partially pare down or replace. The following are the examples of reduction or replacement that came up the most. A few of these are also covered in my book on the topic.
As always with a list, something you would replace or scale back may not be on my list, so connect with me on social media to let me know where you would begin the process.
Email – This example comes up all the time, and I focused on it in the book as well. People need to set boundaries over when and how often they check email.
Meetings – Just like in a few of the articles above, we seem to find ourselves in meetings for meetings’ sake. It’s time to reduce the number of meetings and make sure we start those meetings by developing success criteria. Here’s a YouTube video that helps describe what that might look like.
Assessments – Teachers have consistently told me that they will reduce the number of assessments they give to their students because they don’t always have time to grade them or learn from those assessments anyway. They want to give fewer assessments so they can build in more time to learn from student responses.
The time spent after school – Many teachers have said that they would like to spend less time in their classrooms after school. Teachers shouldn’t feel that they have to spend countless hours after school, unless of course, they want to or are engaging in deeply meaningful actions while they are there.
Fewer walk-throughs – This has been a huge topic of interest. Walk-throughs can be impactful if we engage in them correctly (check out this YouTube video on the topic). Unfortunately, whether it’s due to a directive or a lack of knowledge of the purpose of walk-throughs, some leaders are doing them just to say they do them. Leaders are reducing the number of walk-throughs so they can be more purposeful with their approach.
Zero-tolerance policies – School districts are moving away from zero-tolerance policies that can be harmful and discriminatory and moving toward more equitable approaches such as restorative justice. This would be under the umbrella of formal de-implementation because it takes time.
Traditional grading – As another example of a formal de-implementation due to the time it takes to do it right, schools are replacing traditional grading with standards-based grading.
Traditional meetings – Educators responded on surveys that they are replacing agenda-driven meetings with more of a flipped process in which they can learn from one another around a challenge they are facing in their school or district. The collective leader efficacy process can help with the goal of having more purposeful meetings.
Time in their office – There has always been a struggle for leaders when it comes to leaving their offices. The balance between engaging in management actions as opposed to instructional leadership is often a complicated journey. Leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers on special assignments are scheduling time in their calendars to get into classrooms and learn from students.
