About 150 people attended a screening of a documentary about the portrayal of influential American women at the Reitz Union auditorium Tuesday night.
Reitz Union Board Entertainment featured the film's first premiere in Florida. The crowd nearly filled the auditorium.
"Miss Representation" focused on the sexualizing of women in today's media industries. It featured interviews and commentary from women such as comedian Margaret Cho, journalist and television host Lisa Ling and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Liz Martin, interim director of violence prevention at Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network, and UF senior and Peaceful Paths intern Olivia Soutullo led a discussion panel after the movie.
Martin said she was pleased with the overall outcome of the event.
Peaceful Paths co-sponsored the event with the UF Women's Student Association and Student Government.
Peaceful Paths intern and 19-year-old psychology and criminology sophomore Jasmine Esmailbegui said the documentary changed her perspective on media.
"The most substantial thing for me was how unaware I was that I was being bombarded," she said. "I probably won't watch reality television ever again or buy another tabloid."
Nineteen-year-old hospitality and tourism sophomore Kelly Colomberti is a member of the UF Women's Student Alliance and a self-proclaimed feminist and humanist.
"It was a powerful and concise way to get the message out in a way for people to finally understand," she said. "We don't need to become defensive about the term and idea of feminism. No one loses when we respect women."
