Video and Audio Submissions
You may submit a video or audio of any length, however stories of 1-5 minutes are preferred. Gender Spectrum may edit submissions (or request that you submit an edited version) for length and/or content. You must be age 13 or older to submit a video or audio; submitted stories should be intended for audiences age 13 and up.
All Submissions
Inappropriate content
Our goal at Gender Spectrum is to create safe spaces where young people, parents and families, professionals and others can share stories and connect around gender. It is our priority to insure that the stories shared here are safe for everyone. We may reject a video, audio or written content submitted to it for reasons including, but not limited to:
- offensive, vulgar or violent content.
- age-inappropriate content (videos should be youth-friendly, for ages 13 and up, including avoiding vulgar language).
- content that could trigger anxiety, depression or feelings of isolation and despair.
- suggesting that a person should not seek help if feeling anxious, depressed, isolated or suicidal.
- describing suicide in detailed, harmful ways or in any way encourages people to harm themselves or makes suicide seem like a normal or accepted solution, or in any way being insensitive to or exploiting suicide.
- misrepresenting data about issues pertaining to gender or youth.
- any other content that could trigger mental, psychological, emotional or physical harm.
- any violation of our Terms of Service.
Tips for Better Videos
Sound: Make sure to shoot in quiet environments, preferably indoors in a room with good acoustics (ie, no echoing or room noises), and project your voice.
Lighting: Find a space with good lighting, ideally with indirect light on your face - don't backlight (eg, don’t sit with a bright light or window behind you). Try to find a primary light source that is even and consistent. For example, if you shoot indoors, avoid rooms with windows. If this isn’t possible, position your subject away from the windows to avoid the daylight interfering with your shot.
Rule of thirds: If you want to get a bit more technical, use the “rule of thirds” when composing your shot: divide the frame visually into thirds horizontally and vertically, so the image is divided into nine equal parts, which creates control points. Then place yourself (or your interview subject) along or within these lines, or their intersection. Read some basic background on using the “rule of thirds” here.
Story Prompts
You may want to ask yourself (or your interview subject) some questions to guide your story development. Some questions that you might consider are:
- When was the first time you recall thinking about your gender?
- What were the gender expectations for you as a child? Who did you learn these expectations from?
- How do you describe your gender to your parents or other adults? How do you describe your gender to your friends or peers?
- Can you recall a time when people treated you differently or you felt different because of your gender?
- Are there aspects of gender that were imparted to you that you want to avoid imparting to your kids?