Its a revulvalution!!

When I first thought about what is girl studies I thought predominantly about body image and the media, but from the reading I’ve come to realize that girlhood encompasses a lot more issues than I thought. Not only does it tackle popular culture and societal influences, but also consumerism, globalization, and how social institutions shape young womyn, among a number of ever changing topics that vary as much as the girls involved with them. The amazing and sometimes difficult aspect of girls studies is its variety, “Even in the same historical time-frame and social context, experiences and meanings of girlhood will shift because gender and age also intersect with race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, and ability” (Young Femininity 1). Girls from across the globe are going to encounter different situations but I feel there will be those same stories everyone can relate to like, the tale of your first period, a lost love, or family issues. I too deal with body issues but my experience is different than the author of Black Beauty. Though it can somewhat overwhelming I think girl studies is an important component in strengthening young womyn and bringing about a change in societal norms. There needs to be a switch from the individual to the collective when it comes to the behavior of girls. The strategy of directing girls to look inward, “to personal solutions rather than institutional changes,” is out of fear (Young Feminity 19). Of course it is easy to blame an individual, but there comes a point when all those individuals realize that it is their environments and societal institutions that are really to blame.

We need girl studies to help put some positive writing up on that bathroom wall, to create a collective that all can contribute and feel like their voice matters. It disheartened me to read, “the now popular idea that girls lose their resistant and authentic voices when they engage with cultural requirements to shape their indentities in line with dominant femininities,” (All About the Girl xviii). And from my experience it is true. The fear of acceptance and fitting in is drilled into our brains and I am mad at myself for just playing into it. We even hold ourselves back with friends, “girls begin to edit their feelings and desires out of their closest relationships, fearing that honesty will breed conflict, and that conflict will lead to isolation and abandonment” (All About the Girl 16). I’m sure we can all look back at times when we just thought it easier to keep your mouth shut, and did just that, and to those who didn’t I applaud you because you already knew that your input/ideas were not to be silenced. I am learning that more and more, and like it mentioned in the book, through girl studies feminism grows as well. No matter what the age you can reflect back and I think that is another reason why girl studies is expanding. Generations are thinking of their silenced times, their moments of “math is for boys”, fighting with an eating disorder or feeling brushed aside by your gender and age. As feminists of the third wave we have the ability, now more than ever, to pass down our oral histories through totally different avenues, like the internet. We can get our stories to the homes of girls all over the country and the world! (This is my first blog so I’m kind of excited and in awe of technology right now) Girls are amazing, there are activists half my age and that blows my mind. I’m a little jealous/amazed that they are so sure of themselves and beliefs and are involved in the movement and making it their own before I did, but it’s never to late to start! There are so many amazing opportunities for girls today and so many more that can be made if we all build more structural support so people of all different backgrounds can have access to them. Girls studies is about opportunity, because it is always changing and means so many things to so many different people. And with that opportunity us as feminists can really pave the way for this study and show just how crucial it is in the betterment of our youth and womyn.