it's all in the name, right?
What troubles me most with the Third Wave is that it is still continuing its effort to define ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ as touched upon throughout this week’s article in All About the Girl. Although girls today can be seen praised for holding a baseball bat with polished fingernails, the focus is heavily placed upon the fact that she has combined these two ‘differing’ elements rather than upon her performance as an athlete. I understand that labels can help find one’s identity, but why must we find a name before an action? I say put all of the children’s toys together-advertise men wearing make up above Mary Kay’s row of lipsticks-address each other as person instead of ‘girl’, ‘boy’, ‘man’, ‘woman’. Let the youth decide what they are attracted to without calling it ‘girlie’, because as soon as this label is attached to their person, a sense of obligation to maintain it will follow.
I know this might sound utopian and confusing. I’m still working out the kinks with this abstract idea. All I know is that not having to conform to a prescribed identity is a great way of achieving self-assurance. If we are going to continue these specific groupings of people such as girlie, we should at least create more options. Perhaps this is why so many people are having trouble connecting to the movement because it is still seen as an inflexible group, even though this is the exact opposite of the movement’s goals. And even though the movement is constantly battling the stereotype that all feminists are lesbians or anti-make up etc. etc., we shouldn’t forget that there are still a lot of people who are those things(!) and more importantly, accepting of those who do adorn heels and glitter…
Well, I hope you all can help me figure this thought out. And check out this awesome site about girls creating their own media!
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