Hence, I came up with the idea to create a spoof movie. I wanted to put a spotlight on the ways in which female bodies are needlessly, endlessly, sexualized, exploited, and objectified, so that a bunch of selfish motherf***ers can earn more money. As a fitting reaction to the 'wow-factor' of the original ad, I decided to go for a shocking, provocative, attention-grabbing approach! Hey, you only live once, right?!

I whipped up a storyboard and starting emailing people. Over the past months, I assembled a team of utterly amazing, inspiring people, including a co-producer, actors, a director of photography, a studio manager, a music director, a cook, a make-up artist, and several assistants. They included people of different genders, backgrounds, and ages, and were incredibly enthusiastic and supportive. They and my friends got me through the times when I encountered less-supportive people and felt discouraged or uncertain. After lots of preparation, coordination, and pre-production, we held the shoot over three days in mid-September.

I hope to have the final product ready sometime in October, and am now busy networking and hammering out a social media and publicity strategy, in order to generate buzz when the film is finished. I want it to go VIRAL!!!

The purpose of this project is, first and foremost, to brighten up your day and put a smile on your face (or a wide grin, or elicit hysterical laughter). It’s that simple.

From the time that children are born, they are confronted with a relentless barrage of gender stereotypes that are not merely old-fashioned, but also harmful and oppressive. Such stereotypes have been concocted and perpetuated over centuries, by marketers and content creators who think in terms of labels, categories, and sales; who are unwilling or unable to either recognise or appreciate the uniqueness and potential of each individual child, and thereby, each individual human being.

When I saw the original ads from New York Pizza, I decided to take action, and make something creative and crazy- to convert the bad karma that they put into the world, into something positive with widespread impact. My fear was that the uproar over their advertisement would quickly die out, and that they, and other companies, would be emboldened to publish sexist campaigns, over and over again, and I would be forced to see them and endure them, again and again, while growing steadily more cynical, sick, and bitter. I say 'no!'

I am now in my thirties and have been exposed to decades of harmful gender stereotypes, hence I have endured years’ worth of indirect insults, sexual harassment, and micro-aggressions, all of which cumulatively suck my energy and reinforce the impression that the world is a horrible place. Making this film was a form of personal therapy- along the way, I met and connected with the most incredible, supportive, and understanding people. People who instantly ‘got it;’ people who found the concept hysterically funny; people who loved it because they have experienced the same gender stereotypes and insults in the media and know that something has to be done; people who have children.

I have received tremendous support and affirmation from parents. They describe how difficult it is to shield children from the pernicious, pervasive stereotypes that are perpetuated by profit-hungry media producers. Almost all parents want their kids to be happy. Kids should be able to aspire to whatever feeds their passion, regardless of gender- a scientist; a dancer; a nurse; a politician; a driver; an engineer; a fire fighter; a CEO; a teacher; an athlete; the president. Some of my team members have young kids, and this gave them an extra boost of motivation to work on the project. My goal is to address stereotyping in the media, call it out when it happens, point out how wrong it is, and insist that content producers and advertising agencies reject these cheap methods and instead create content that reverses the past decades of discrimination. I want to give older generations space to heal, and younger generations space to grow.